Strict internet censorship in China

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Description

Internet censorship in China is among the most stringent in the world. The government blocks Web sites that discuss the Dalai Lama, the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters and Falun Gong, the banned spiritual movement, among other Internet sites.

In June 2009, the government announced that starting July 1 mandatory new software would be installed on all new Chinese-made computers that would effectively monitor a user's every move.

Enablers

  • Fifty Cent Party
    • The party sets out to neutralize undesirable public opinion by pushing pro-Party views through chat rooms and Web forums, reporting dangerous content to authorities. By some estimates, these commentary teams now comprise as many as 280,000 members nationwide
  • International internet companies, such as Skype and Google, change their service to allow Chinese government to monitor users' behavior and opinion on the internet.
    • Google has modified its Chinese language search engine so that it does not show results for sites the Chinese government deems "harmful".

Inhibitors

  • People against internet censorship by launching related campaign
  • The oppositional opinions from European Union and the United States.
    • The European Commission called on China to hold off from introducing an internet filter, calling such censorship "unacceptable."
    • The US has complained officially to China over its strict new internet censorship rules as tension builds over an issue causing consternation among international technology companies and Chinese internet users.

Paradigms

  • Internet can not spread undesirable news and become a hub for opinion groups. China govnerment has been pressuring internet providers to accept preventive censorship and provide them with the names of those who write “undesirable” articles.

Web Resources

  1. "Internet Censorship in China", The New York Times
  2. "China’s Guerrilla War for the Web", Far Eastern Economic Review
  3. "Chinese censorship of internet 'unacceptable': EU", EUbisness
  4. "US makes official complaint to China over internet censorship", Financial Times

Revision History

September 2009 Created by Chia Wei Lee
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