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Showing posts from August, 2013

A Short, Incomplete History of How China's Web Sites Handle Internet Rumors

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2011  Politburo Member Visits Sina  On August 22, Liu Qi (刘淇), Beijing's Party secretary and a member of the Politburo, visited Sina.com officials and said that they should “resolutely put an end to fake and misleading information.” Footage broadcast on state-run television showed Liu and dozens of officials touring Sina's offices and getting an introduction to Weibo from CEO Charles Chao. Also on hand were former Google China head Kai-Fu Lee and Beijing real estate mogul Pan Shiyi. According to the Beijing Daily article entitled "Liu Qi Survey's Sina: Operate New Weibo Technology Well, Put a Stop to False Negative Information" ( 刘淇在新浪调研:运用好微博新技术 抵制虚假消极信息 ) published the following day, Liu called on Sina to: Put an end to false harmful information, ensure the integrity of information that is published, create a healthy and improving atmosphere for online opinion, while simultaneously taking advantage of their own platform, establishing their own teams of

China's State Media Talks About Xu Zhiyong, While China's Social Media Bans Discussion

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On August 18, 2013, the state-sponsored Global Times published editorials in English and Chinese about Xu Zhiyong and Guo Feixiong. From the English editorial, entitled " Legal Basis Needed for Dissenting Voices ": A human rights advocate from Guangzhou, Yang Maodong, better known by his pen name, Guo Feixiong, was detained recently. Xu Zhiyong, an activist and legal scholar based in Beijing, was also detained recently. Overseas voices have connected the two incidents and believed the Chinese mainland is conducting a "decapitation" campaign against the human rights movement. Meanwhile, they glorify what Guo and Xu did by calling them "pro-democracy activists." . . . . Obviously, China has not found a mature way to deal with these confrontational individuals. On the one hand, they play a new role in society and what they do is not all negative. But on the other hand, they pose a danger to the current social governance system and long-term social sta

Baidu and Sina Weibo Censorship on Day One of Bo Xilai's Trial

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On August 22, 2013, China's official news service Xinhua published an article entitled " Bo Xilai Stands Trial for Bribery, Embezzlement, Abuse of Power ." An excerpt: Bo Xilai, former Communist Party of China chief of Chongqing Municipality, stood open trial Thursday on charges of taking bribes, embezzlement and abuse of power at the Jinan Intermediate People's Court in east China's Shandong Province.  The trial started at 8:43 a.m. The official microblog account of the court will update the trial proceedings. These screenshots were taken on August 22, and show that Baidu and Sina Weibo were apparently not censoring searches for "Bo Xilai." These screenshots also show, however, that Sina Weibo was censoring searches for "Cherish the Memory of Bo Xilai" (怀念 薄熙来) and "Support Bo Xilai" (拥护 薄熙来), both Sina Weibo and Baidu were censoring searches for "Chongqing Model" (重庆模式), and Baidu had banned users from openi

Communist Party Magazine: "China Could Not Endure the Consequences of Losing Control of Public Opinion"

On August 16, 2013, the Chinese Communist Party's flagship magazine, Seeking Truth, published an editorial entitled "Take Up the Cause of Insisting on a Marxist Approach to News" ( 自觉坚持马克思主义新闻观 ). Some excerpts: Why is it not possible for China to implement a Western news system? The answer is very simple: China is a socialist country, and its political and economic systems are completely different from the West. So how could its news system be the same? . . . . One major aspect of Western criticisms of China's news system is that China has no independent media. . . . . Westerners often say that, when the media is owned by the State, there is a power monopoly. As we see it, when the private sector operates the media, there can only be a capital monopoly, a money monopoly. Socialist countries will not permit the news media to be privatized, and this is a fundamental difference with capitalist news system. In China, each political Party, civic organization, and s

Global Times and Xinhua Report Porn Movie As Video of an Actual US Prison Execution

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In July 2013, the Beijing-based Xilu Net (西陆网 - ) web site published a series images from a video under the title "Record of American Female Prisoner Executed by Lethal Injection: Her Corpse is Almost Raped Post Mortem." (美国女囚注射死刑实录:死后差点被奸尸) According to Xilu: Mike is a medic at an American prison, its exact address cannot be disclosed because it is classified. I'd say he's a doctor, but in fact he's also responsible for additional duties. 马克,美国一座监狱的医疗人员,具体地址不便透露,因为这是机密,我说是医生,其实也负责某些额外工作。 Original URL:  http://pic.xilu.com/zutu/201307/50176789/50176789_297958.html On August 1, the Communist Party Youth League's Guang Ming Net (光明网) published the same series of images (with the Xilu watermark) on its web site, this time under the title "Record of Female Prisoner's Execution Shows This World's Darkest Side" (女囚死刑实录 揭世界最黑暗一面) Original URL: http://it.gmw.cn/2013-08/01/content_8478339_38.htm On August 3, the Global Times (published

China's Weibos, News Sites, and Search Engines Censor Story About Shanghai Judge's Alleged Corruption

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Excerpt from complaint from 70 of Cui Yadong's former subordinates. On August 9, 2013, the state-sponsored China Daily published an article entitled " Shanghai Judges Sacked Over Prostitution Scandal ." Some excerpts: The municipal legislature of Shanghai decided on Thursday to sack four senior judges from the city's higher court over their alleged hiring of prostitutes at a nightclub.  Chen Xueming, was sacked by the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, from his posts as a member of the Shanghai Municipal Higher People's Court's judicial committee, chief of No 1 civil court and judge.  Zhao Minghua was dismissed from his posts as deputy chief of the No 1 civil court and judge. Ni Zhengwen was fired from his post as judge of the higher court.  The legislative session also approved the removal of Wang Guojun from his posts as deputy chief of the higher court's No 5 civil court and judge.  The four had all served t

China's Weibos, News Sites Censor Report on Group Suicide Attempt in Beijing

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On August 14, 2013, the English web site of the state-sponsored China Radio International published an article entitled " Group Suicidal Attempt Fails in Beijing ." Some excerpts: More than ten people failed in their attempt to commit suicide together by drinking pesticide in Beijing on Tuesday, thanks to the arrival of police and medical personnel. The incident occurred at about 11 a.m. in a busy street near Beijing West Railway Station. . . . . Reporters from Beijing Youth also found that several patients were wearing T-shirts bearing the Harbin Railway Bureau logo. On August 14, CRI's Chinese language web site also published an article on the matter entitled "A Mass Suicide Takes Place in Beijing, Over Ten People Drink Pesticide and Collapse on the Sidewalk" (北京发生一起群体自杀事件 十余人喝农药倒路边) here - http://gb.cri.cn/42071/2013/08/14/5892s4217309.htm . But as these screenshots show, that article was deleted within hours. The original Chinese language report