Fei Chang Dao

On December 14, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “Investors Protest in Beijing after Ezubao Halts Operations.” Some excerpts: Protesters who claimed to be investors of online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Ezubao assembled in front of the Beijing headquarters of State broadcaster China Central Television on Monday morning, but they were soon held by the police and have no way to follow up with the company, investors said. Some protesters said they were trying to safeguard their rights, after Ezubao was reportedly involved in an investigation by the police authorities, according to a video sent by an investor based in North China's Tianjin to the Global Times Monday. She asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue, and she said her family had invested about 600,000 yuan ($92,880) in total in the P2P service provider. Ezubao is an online platform launched by Yucheng Group, based in East China's Anhui Province

On December 10, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published a report entitled “ Performers from N.Korea Arrive in China .” Some excerpts: Two traveling theater companies from North Korea arrived in Northeast China's Liaoning Province on Wednesday for a series of performances in China. The two troupes, the State Merited Chorus and the Moranbong Band, will perform in the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing from Sunday to Monday. On December 13, 2015, the Global Times published a report entitled “ DPRK Art Troupes Performance Not Staged as Scheduled .” According to the report: A performance by two art troupes from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) cannot be staged as scheduled due to communication issues at the working level, according to relevant departments on Saturday. China attached high importance to the cultural exchanges with the DPRK, and was ready to continue to work with it to promote the bilateral exchanges and cooperation in

On December 9, 2015, Hu Xijin (胡锡进), editor of the state sponsored Global Times, published an editorial under his pen name “Shan Renping” (单仁平) entitled “The Verdict in the Pu Zhiqiang Case Will not be Determined by the West” ( 浦志强案怎么判不可能由西方定调 ). Some excerpts: Pre-trial hearings in the Pu Zhiqiang case convened on December 9, and observers expect the case will go to trial. Pu was arrested in May of last year, and in May of this year the Beijing Procuratorate No. 2 Branch filed an indictment with the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court charging him on suspicion of committing the crimes of inciting ethnic hatred and picking quarrels. . . . . Objectively speaking, the Pu Zhiqiang case is difficult to judge, because Pu Zhiqiang is himself a lawyer,  has long-held political passions, and is a figure who has called for structural changes in Chinese society and public discourse. His statements about social governance clearly constitute a kind of disruptive force, and as this k

Appellate Judgment Kong Qingdong v Nanjing Radio and Television Group (Nanjing Radio and Television) et. al. Right to Reputation Dispute Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court (2015) First Intermediate Civil No. 02203 Appellant (formerly Plaintiff) Kong Qingdong, Male, Born September 22, 1964. Appellee (formerly Defendant) Nanjing Radio and Television Group (Nanjing Radio and Television), #338 Long Pan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu. Appellee (formerly Defendant) Wu Xiaoping, Male, Born January 27, 1955. Appellant Kong Qingdong filled an appeal with this court because he did not agree with the Beijing Haidian District People's Court civil judgment (2014) Hai Civil First Instance No. 26881 relating to a case of right to reputation. This court formed a collegiate panel to hear the case. Hearing in this case of concluded. In the court of first instance Kong Qingdong claimed: On May 11, 2013, in a report entitled "Is Beijing University Professor Kong Qingdong a

In October 23, this blog noted that, at some time between late June and mid August, 2013, Baidu stopped completely censoring search results for "Xi Mingze" (习明泽) the name of the daughter of China's President Xi Jinping, and was instead only restricting search results to a broad white list of web sites based in China. These screenshots show that, at some time between March and November of 2015, Baidu resumed completely censoring search results for "Xi Mingze."

On November 7, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published an editorial entitled “ Xi-Ma meeting Sceptics Show Narrow Minds .” Some excerpts: The historic meeting on Saturday between Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou has drawn heated discussions across the Taiwan Straits. Worries among some Taiwan people over the island being "dwarfed" seem more prominent than concerns on mainland social media of Taiwan being "lifted" too high. . . . . Major countries do not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The "One China" principle has been widely recognized in the world, which indicates Taiwan is not a country. International organizations either do not accept Taiwan, or consider it a regional body. Taiwan society should accept reality, being aware that nobody in Taiwan can change it, and no international forces, including the US, can help change reality. These screenshots were taken on November 7, 2015, and show that a search for "Xi Jinping Meets Ma Yingjiu&quo

On October 30, 2015, China's Wanda Group published a notice on its website entitled " Wang Jianlin gives an open lecture at Harvard Business School ." An excerpt: Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin was invited by Harvard University as the first Chinese entrepreneur ever, to give an open lecture to students on “Wanda’s Globalization Strategy”. Over 900 students packed Harvard Business School’s Burden Hall to full capacity, while another 800 students had to resort to waiting outside. A student at the event commented on the amazing attendance and was surprised that a Chinese entrepreneur’s were attracting such an avid interest. . . . . After the lecture, Mr. Wang engaged in an open Q&A session with students, calmly handling questions on issues ranging from Wanda's political ties, strategic objectives behind its investment overseas, his outlook on China's slowing economic growth, the US presidential elections and Sino-US relations, as well as China's One C

On October 15, 2015, several state sponsored news outlets - such as China.com.cn and China National Radio - published an article entitled “GAPPRFT Announces 81 Illegal Video Apps, Fengyun Broadcasting Tops the List” ( 广电总局公布81个非法视频软件 风云直播上榜 ). The reports included an image that was posted on Sina Weibo by “Television Eyes” (电视眼 - http://weibo.com/tvread). The Sina Weibo post was subsequently deleted, but the image showed a table entitled “List of Illegal Video Clients (Mobile Clients)” (非法视频类客户端软件名单) listing 81 apps listed along with app stores on which they were available and a column titled: “suspected illegal and harmful content broadcasted” (涉嫌传播的违规有害内容). Five of the video apps were cited for “Providing the Hong Kong ‘SunTv Satellite’ politically harmful documentary ‘National Martyr’ video program” (提供香港“阳光卫视”政治有害纪律片“国殇”音频节目). Some other examples of banned apps and the legal justification: Fengyun : Providing Hong Kong Phoenix News, Vietnam-BPTV1 and other overseas vi

On October 16, 2015, the state sponsored Beijing News published an article entitled "Southern Metropolitan Daily Responds to Criminal Detention of Journalist Liu Wei on Suspicion of Illegally Obtaining State Secrets" (南都回应记者刘伟涉非法获取国家秘密罪被刑拘). Some excerpts: This afternoon (October 16), Beijing News reporters (Weixin ID: bjnews_xjb) received information that Liu Wei, deputy editor of investigative reporting at the Southern Metropolitan Daily, had been held under criminal detention by Jiangxi police for eight days. According to people close to Liu Wei, at around 8:00 in the evening on October 8, Liu Wei left his home in Chengdu to head to the airport to fly to Beijing. After 10:00 pm that evening, contact with Liu Wei was lost. . . . . Beginning in 2013, Liu Wei began reporting on the Wang Lin affair. On October 23 of that year, the Southern Metropolitan Investigative Weekly published a four page report on the affair. Liu Wei was named the Southern Publishing's Group

On October 16, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “ Magna Carta Moved to British Embassy for Practical Reasons: FCO .” Some excerpts: Tian Dewen Credit: CASS British authorities on Thursday said that relocating the Magna Carta display from the Renmin University of China to the British Embassy in Beijing was because of "administrative and logistical practicalities." . . . . The embassy first announced, via its official WeChat account, on October 9, that it would display the document at the Renmin University from Tuesday to Thursday. It later issued a notice changing the display location to the British ambassador's residence one day before the exhibition was due to open. The abrupt change sparked speculation from Western media, with some reporting that the Chinese authorities blocked the exhibition at the Renmin University of China. . . . . There has been no speculation on the location change in the Chinese media. Observers

On October 4, 2015, Ai Weiwei (艾未未) posted the following photos on his Instagram page. These screenshots show that on October 7, 2015, Baidu claimed it could no longer find any search results for the phrase "Ai Weiwei Listening Devices" (艾未未 监听设备), even though on the previous day it was able to find over 500 results, including the results headed "Listening Devices Discovered in Ai Weiwei's Workshop" (艾未未工作室发现监听设备). This screenshot, also taken on October 7, 2015, shows that when a user searched for "Ai Weiwei Monitored" (艾未未 监听), Baidu displayed a censorship notice, and none of the 3 results returned appeared to contained that phrase. These screenshots, also taken on October 7, 2015, show that users were not being permitted to discuss Ai Weiwei on either Sina Weibo or Baidu PostBar (Tieba 贴吧).

On September 8, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published an editorial entitled “ Real Tibet Can’t Be Concealed by Dalai’s Lies .” Some excerpts: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region. People of all ethnicities have held celebrations for this anniversary. For all these years, there have been two Tibets in public opinion. One is the real Tibet. The other is an imaginary one hyped by the Dalai Lama clique and Western opinion who often denounced that Tibet is not what it used to be under the rule of the CPC. The imaginary Tibet does not exist, but with the instigation of Western media and the Dalai Lama, this Tibet has a certain influence in the international opinion sphere. This is perhaps the longest-lasting lie in the modern world. . . . . The lies told by the West will not last long. As China gradually moves to the center of the world stage, people across the world will have the chance to see the real Tibet. These scr

On September 19, 2015, the state sponsored China Daily published an article entitled “ Xi says China Open to Foreign Media, Eyeing Closer Co-Op with US .” Some excerpts: President Xi Jinping on Friday said China will continue to be open to foreign media and he looks forward to more cooperation and understanding between China and the United States. "[We] welcome foreign media and correspondents to cover China stories, introducing China's development to the world, and helping the world grasp the opportunities [afforded by] China's development," Xi said as he met with Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp. at the Great Hall of the People. These screenshots were taken just prior to Xi’s trip, and show what people in China see when they try to access Reuters, Bloomberg, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Their connections are reset and the pages will not load. These screenshots show the search results people get on three of China’s most p

On August 31, 2015, the state sponsored China Daily published an article entitled “ Journalist, Securities Regulatory Official Held for Stock Market Violation .” Some excerpts: Xinhua also learned from authorities that Xu Gang, Liu Wei, Fang Qingli and Chen Rongjie, senior executives of the Citic Securities, China's leading securities dealer, have been put under "criminal compulsory measures" for suspected insider trading. They have also confessed to their violations. On September 15, 2015, the China Daily published an article entitled “ China Securities Executives Under Probe for Insider Trading .” Some excerpts: The authorities have detained four executives from China's largest brokerage, CITIC Securities Co, a staff member of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and a journalist from business magazine Caijing, in the latest moves to crack down on stock market violations. The CITIC executives, who have confessed to their violations, were named as Xu G

On August 4, 2015, China's official news service Xinhua published and article entitled "Ministry of Public Security Presents Series of Measures to Strengthen Its Administration of the Internet" ( 公安部推出系列举措强化互联网安全管理 ). According to the article the Ministry held a meeting on August 4, during which it stated that it would require "major websites and Internet enterprises to put in place website security administration organizations and employees" and "strictly abide by laws and moral bottom lines, and not play up any sensitive incidents that might induce criminal activity" (坚守法律和道德底线，不渲染可能诱发犯罪的敏感案事件).  On August 5, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “ China Launches ‘Online Police Stations' to Strengthen Cyber Security. ” Some excerpts: China will set up "Internet police stations" (网安警务室) on major websites and Internet companies as part of the nation's efforts to strengthen online security, the Minis

At 11:30 pm on September 5, 2015, the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau published the following statement on its official Sina Weibo: #Weibo Rumor Refutation# Just now Baby Shoes asked Little Editor whether or not there really was a female zombie biting people on Nantian Road last night? After Little Editor finished watching he found the video that was the setting for the background, and in fact they were from a movie! We ask that people do not believe this, and to not further spread this rumor~~and as for those so-called "zombie drugs": methcathinone and similar chemicals can produce strong hallucinations and abnormal psychological  conditions in those who consume them. But the effects produced are many and various. Cherish life, stay away from drugs. #微辟谣#刚刚有童鞋问小编，昨晚南田路有女丧尸咬死人是不是真的？小编看完找到了背后的场景视频，其实是在拍戏嘛！请大家不要相信，也不要再传谣啦~~还有所谓的“丧尸药”：甲卡西酮及卡西酮类化学品会使食用者产生强烈的幻觉精神紊乱行为异常。但产生类似效果的远不只这一种。珍惜生命远离毒品。 On September 10, 2015, the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau published the follo

On August 11, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published an editorial entitled “ Japan Must Face up to Verdict of History ” by Sha Zukang, former UN under-secretary-general for Economic and Social Affairs. Some excerpts: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of WWII and the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. At this special time, the attitude that the Japanese government and people take toward its history of aggression and people in victim countries has a bearing on Japan's relations with Asian neighbors. . . . . A great country and nation has the courage to face up to its history. To forget history is to betray, and to deny a crime is to repeat it. Only by taking history as a mirror can Japan look into the future. Otherwise, its future will be like a tree without roots, which cannot last long. These screenshots were taken on September 1, 2015, and show that Baidu had banned users from establishing PostBar (Tieba 贴吧) forums on the topics of “Th

On August 27, 2015, the state sponsored Global Times published an editorial entitled "When All is Said and Done, Which is the Largest Democratic Country" (究竟谁是最大的民主国家), by Han Zhen (韩震), Communist Party Secretary of the Beijing Foreign Languages University and Director of the Chinese Culture Export Coordination Center (中国文化走出去协同创新中心). Some excerpts: We must cast off Western linguistic manipulations and steer clear of the linguistic traps that they set. We must not only criticize the artificiality of Western democracy, we must also clarify the democratic characteristics of our own country. We must steadfastly seize the power to name what are democratic values, and fight for the power to control the discourse on democratic values. . . . . In the end, we must recognize that all kinds of democracy exist in the world, and that China's democracy is a true and effective form of democracy. From this we must state with firm conviction that it is China which is the largest dem