Fei Chang Dao

On July 29, 2014, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported “The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has decided to place Zhou Yongkang under investigation for suspected ‘serious disciplinary violation.’” Zhou is a former member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Public Security. These screenshots show that Sina Weibo recently stopped censoring searches for Zhou’s name, but that it continues to censor search results for “Xi Jinping Zhou Yongkang” (习近平 周永康). Screenshots taken hours after the Xinhua announcement.

On July 25, 2014, the state sponsored China Daily published an article entitled “ Critics Busy as Giant Toad Floats Into Beijing .” An excerpt: An inflatable golden toad that first appeared in Beijing earlier this month in an attempt to emulate the success in China of the Rubber Duck created by Dutch designer Florentijn Hofman has stirred controversy on the Internet. Guo Yongyao, chairman of Ningbo Jinluban Carpentry Co, designed the toad in December and said his initial intention was to compete with Western art and raise funds for the protection of cultural relics. These screenshots were taken on July 27, and show that Baidu had banned users from establishing  PostBar (Tieba 贴吧) forums on "Toads" (蛤蟆) and "Rivers" (江). These screenshots were taken on July 23, and show that both Tencent and Sina Weibo were not censoring searches for “Gold Toad” (金蛤蟆), but was censoring searches for “Gold Toad River” (金蛤蟆 江).

On July 20, 2014, the New York Times published an article entitled “ Alibaba’s I.P.O. Could Be a Bonanza for the Scions of Chinese Leaders .” The article appeared in Chinese the following day under the title “The Red Descendants Behind Alibaba’s IPO” ( 阿里巴巴上市背后的“红二代”赢家 ). Some excerpts: In September 2012, the Alibaba Group announced that it had completed a $7.6 billion deal to buy back half of Yahoo’s stake in it. The giant e-commerce company raised part of the money by selling shares to select investors, notably China’s sovereign wealth fund and three prominent Chinese investment firms. What Alibaba did not detail was the deep political connections of the investment firms, Boyu Capital, Citic Capital Holdings and CDB Capital, the China Development Bank’s private investment arm. Their senior executive ranks included sons or grandsons of the most powerful members of the ruling Communist Party, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Documents reviewed by The Times also sh

On July 20, 2014, the New York Times published an article entitled “ Alibaba’s I.P.O. Could Be a Bonanza for the Scions of Chinese Leaders .” The article appeared in Chinese the following day under the title “ The Red Descendants Behind Alibaba’s IPO ” (阿里巴巴上市背后的“ 红二代 ”赢家). Some excerpts: In September 2012, the Alibaba Group announced that it had completed a $7.6 billion deal to buy back half of Yahoo’s stake in it. The giant e-commerce company raised part of the money by selling shares to select investors, notably China’s sovereign wealth fund and three prominent Chinese investment firms. What Alibaba did not detail was the deep political connections of the investment firms, Boyu Capital, Citic Capital Holdings and CDB Capital, the China Development Bank’s private investment arm. Their senior executive ranks included sons or grandsons of the most powerful members of the ruling Communist Party, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Documents reviewed by The Times also

Guo Boxiong (郭伯雄) was a member of the Political Bureau of the 16th CPC Central Committee and a Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission from 2002 to 2012. These screenshots show that, some time between July 10 and July 17, 2014, Baidu began censoring searches for his name.

As noted on this blog, Baidu appears to be imposing Chinese political censorship on certain searches on its recently-launched Brazilian search engine. These screenshots show search results for "Hu Jintao" (胡锦涛) in Chinese on Baidu's Brazilian Busca and its PRC based search engine. The results are identical (Busca also includes two additional search results, both from websites controlled by the central government). Baidu's PRC based search engine tells users "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, some search results have not been displayed." (根据相关法律法规和政策，部分搜索结果未予显示。). Baidu's Busca contains no such notice.

Baidu's Brazil Search Engine [Note: The searches for this post were not conducted from within Brazil. If anyone in Brazil sees different results, please post a comment or contact me using the G+ link at the bottom right of this blog.] On July 18, 2014, the state sponsored China Radio International reported "Chinese internet search provider Baidu has launched its Brazilian site in Portuguese, Convergencia reports. . . . Baidu also signed a cooperation agreement with the country's science and technology ministry for the development of internet in Brazil." According to the South China Morning Post : Baidu spokesperson Kaiser Kuo said that the Brazilian version of Baidu would come decked out with several features not available in the Chinese version. . . . Kuo also added that users can “definitely expect Thai...and Arabic [versions of Baidu] in the not-too-distant future.” This screenshot shows that a search for “Falun Gong” on br.baidu.com appears to only r

On March 16, 2010, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “ Young, Free, and Cynical “ about Murong Xuecun’s (慕容雪村) book, “Leave Me Alone, A Novel of Chengdu,” which had recently been translated into English. Some excerpts: His books have been read by millions before they even go to press. This bestselling author is known for depicting corruption, sex, violence and the truth about modern Chinese society in stark detail. An entire city government tried to speak out about his book, believing that his honest observations would damage their image. On July 6, 2014, Murong Xuecun published the following statement on Sina Weibo: “Notice of Surrender” Two months ago, Pu Zhiqiang, Xu Youyu, Hao Jian, Hu Shigen, and Liu Di were arrested on suspicion of “provoking quarrels.” Their so called provocation was merely a single home gathering, with about a dozen people meeting at Hao Jian's home and discussing the Tiananmen incident of 25 years before, who afterwards

On July 8, 2014, Hu Xijin (胡锡进), writing under the pen name Shan Renping (单仁平), published an editorial in the Global Times entitled "@Lichengpeng Account Vanishes, It Was Bound to Happen Sooner or Later" ( @李承鹏被销号，早晚注定发生 ). Some excerpts:  On the evening of July 7, the Sina Weibo account @Lichengpeng disappeared. Of all the Weibo accounts that have been banned during the recent period, Li Chengpeng's is one of the most illustrative cases. Li Chengpeng is often referred to as "Big Eyed Li," and is extremely representative of the "Big Vs." His language is fierce, caustic, and pretty much always "cursing the government." . . . . Cursing the government gave him a certain kind of notoriety in the Internet's virtual spaces, and this notoriety enabled him to have increased clout in the real world. . . . . Radical liberals are cherishing the unrealistic hope that there will be a subversive change in China's system, or even a collapse o

On May 15, 2014, China’s official news agency Xinhua published a report entitled “ Chinese Police Apologize for Alleged Power Abuse .” Some excerpts: Traffic police in Yanzhou City wrote out a ticket on April 28 and posted it on a car illegally parked by the roadside. In response, the car owner, surnamed Cao, posted "Yanzhou police really suck!" (兖州交警真孬种) on a local Internet forum. In a statement posted on Tuesday on its official account with microblogging service Sina Weibo, the Public Security Bureau of Yanzhou said that Cao had "publicly insulted the police of the people and produced a very bad impact on the society," and consequently had been put into custody for five days as punishment. At the end of the statement, police warned the public that any words and comments on the Internet, even under a pseudonym, could be traced, and that anyone who breaks the law must be brought to justice. . . . . Late on Wednesday, Yanzhou police put up another post on Si

On June 30, 2014, the state sponsored Global Times published an editorial entitled “ Pushing Confrontation Not in HK’s Interest .” An excerpt: Hong Kong's unofficial referendum on universal suffrage, organized by protest group Occupy Central, ended yesterday. Organizers claimed about 780,000 people voted, but that figure has raised doubt. Tomorrow is July 1, the date when Hong Kong was returned to China 17 years ago. Protest groups called on voters to demonstrate on that day and impose pressure on the central government. . . . . If any Hongkongers insist that the central government is aiming to crack down on freedom of speech and democracy, and that only protests can safeguard Hong Kong's future, they should get rid of such a mentality. These screenshots show that on July 1, 2014, Baidu began censoring search results for “7 1 Big March.” (七一大游行)

On May 8, 2014, Netease published an article entitled "China's Elicit Outflows Reach Over One Trillion Dollars Over Ten Years" ( 中国非法外流资金10年超万亿美元 ). An excerpt: In December 2013, The American non-profit organization Global Financial Integrity issued its report entitled " Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2011 ." This report noted that, in China from 2011 to 2011, tax evasion, corruption, crime, and other illicit activity created illegal capital outflows of over 1.08 trillion US dollars, amounting to 1/6 of the global total, making it the leading country in the world in amount of illicit capital outflows.  2013年12月，美国非营利机构全球金融诚信组织(Global Financial Integrity)发布《发展中国家非法资金流出：2001-2011》报告。该报告指出，2001-2011期间，中国(大陆)因逃税、腐败和犯罪等而产生的非法资金外流达1.08万亿美元，约占全球份额的1/6，是全球非法资金外流最多的国家。 These screenshots were taken on May 9, and show that Sina Weibo was censoring searches for the exact phrase “China’s officials flee abroad with billions, and we are powerless