Fei Chang Dao

On January 18, 2013, the state-sponsored Beijing News published an article entitled "Planning For Hundreds of Cultural Renovation Projects to Be Completed This Year" ( 百项文物修缮今年完成计划 ). Some excerpts:. At the opening of the Beijing Municipal Propaganda Director's Meeting there was a call for propaganda workers to all "use Weibo," and actively give rein to positive forces. This year Beijing will formulate and implement an Internet Development Action Plan for Beijing, and make strategic use of the media and strive to create world-class portal web sites. . . . . Yesterday, during the Beijing Municipal Propaganda Director's Meeting Lu Wei, Beijing's Standing Committee member, Propaganda Director, and Deputy Mayor, said that the city's propaganda ranks comprised over 60,000 people working within the system, and over 2,000,000 working outside the system. It is necessary to strengthen positive guidance of hot-point issues, and every propaganda worker mus

Li Jianguo is vice chairman and secretary general of China's National People's Congress. On January 26, 2013, Hong Kong's Ming Pao published an article entitled "Capital Whispers: Li Jianguo Investigated as Part of 'Beat the Tigers' Anti-Corruption Drive" (京城密語﹕反腐「打老虎」 李建國傳受查). The phrase "Beat the Tigers" is explained this way in a January 21 China Daily article : Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), vowed to unswervingly fight against corruption and keep power reined within the cage of regulations. During a CPC disciplinary watchdog meeting on Tuesday, as Xi ordered enhanced restraint and supervision on the use of power, he said, "Power should be restricted by the cage of regulations." . . . . Xi said the Party should crack down on "tigers" and "flies" at the same time by dealing with illegal activities of officials on the one hand and tackling malprac

On January 28, 2013, the state-sponsored Chongqing News web site published an article entitled "Journalist Interviews Investigator Responsible for Xiao Ye Extortion Case" ( 肖烨敲诈勒索犯罪团伙专案组负责人答记者问 ). Some excerpts: On the evening of January 27, Zhu Ruifeng published a Weibo saying that the police had come to his house to find him, "I'm certain its the Chongqing police," garnering the attention of Internet users. This reporter interviewed the investigator responsible for the Xiao Ye extortion ring case. . . . . Question: Why were you looking for Zhu Ruifeng? Answer: In the course of investigating the case of Xiao Ye extortion ring's use of salacious inducements, secretly making vulgar video recordings, and committing extortion, investigators discovered that the vulgar video of Lei Zhengfu that Zhu Ruifeng had exposed had been provided by the criminal ring's member Xu Sheqing (already arrested). Based on information provide by Xu Sheqing, because of inte

On January 1, 2013, the state-sponsored political journal Yanhuang Chunqiu (炎黄春秋 or "Annals of the Yellow Emperor") published a “New Year's Greeting” entitled “The Constitution is a Consensus for Political Reform" (宪法是政治体制改革的共识). The January edition with the essay was posted on the journal's web site on January 3 here - http://www.yhcqw.com/html/wqhg/2013/13/131395267CH1F902416EH0B26C6DBIC8.html . David Bandurski has posted the full text and an English translation on the China Media Project's web site here -  http://cmp.hku.hk/2013/01/02/30203/ . An excerpt: Political reform is about building a system in place than can check power, and that means conscientiously protecting the rights of citizens. There is much language within our Constitution that preserves human rights, and that limits the power of the state. If we compare and contrast our Constitution and our reality, we discover that the system, policies and laws currently in force create a massive gap

On December 30, 2012, Tencent News, a Chinese news website owned by China’s largest Internet service company Tencent, published an article entitle "New Years' Resolution: Pay Tribute to Ten Great Dissenters" (年终策划：致敬十大反对者). Global Voices Online has published a full translation here: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/01/01/chinas-top-10-protesters-listed-by-tencent-news/ These screenshots show that the article, originally available here - http://view.inews.qq.com/a/NEW2012122900106520 - was quickly deleted. These screenshots, taken on January 3, 2013, show that both Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo were censoring searches for the article's title. Here is Tencent's list of dissenters, along with some example of censorship relating to those dissenters from this blog: Wukan Village Residents: Against Fraud Election (乌坎村民：不公选举的反对者) Screenshot taken in January 2012 showing Sina Weibo censoring "Wukan" For more, see  https://plus.google.com/u/

On January 17, 2013, China's official news agency Xinhua reported that Yi Junqing (衣俊卿), director of the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, had been removed from his post for "living an improper lifestyle." (生活作风问题) On January 18, the Zhejiang Daily published an editorial entitled "Mouth Full of Marxism, Belly Full of Deceit" (满嘴马列，满腹盗娼) here -  http://zjdaily.zjol.com.cn/qjwb/html/2013-01/18/content_1966004.htm?div=-1 . Below, the left-hand screenshot shows the article as it appeared on January 18. The right-hand screenshot shows that same page as it appeared on January 20. Some excerpts: Yesterday evening after six a breaking news bulletin (so short it could not have been any shorter) was posted at the top of major web sites -- according to information confirmed by relevant agencies, Yi Junqing had been deemed unsuited to remain at his post as director of the Central Compilation and Translatio

In December 2012, this blog noted that Sina Weibo had begun censoring searches for "Xinhua PS," apparently as a result of Internet users in China speculating that Xinhua had published a photo that had photoshopped Li Keqiang and several others into a photo. See http://blog.feichangdao.com/2012/12/web-sites-censor-speculation-that.html These screenshots show that, some time after this allegation began to circulate, Xinhua removed the photo in question.

On December 30, 2012, the New York Times published an article entitled " Family of Chinese Regulator Profits in Insurance Firm’s Rise " ( 戴相龙亲属借平安获利 ). Some excerpts: Relatives of a top Chinese regulator profited enormously from the purchase of shares in a once-struggling insurance company that is now one of China’s biggest financial powerhouses, according to interviews and a review of regulatory filings. The regulator, Dai Xianglong, was the head of China’s central bank and also had oversight of the insurance industry in 2002, when a company his relatives helped control bought a big stake in Ping An Insurance that years later came to be worth billions of dollars. The insurer was drawing new investors ahead of a public stock offering after averting insolvency a few years earlier. . . . . The company that bought the Ping An stake was controlled by a group of investment firms, including two set up by Mr. Dai’s son-in-law, Che Feng, as well as other firms associated with M

This screenshot, taken on January 10, shows that Sina Weibo was censoring "Repost Global" (转载环球). These screenshots show that three of China's main web portals - Sina, Sohu, and Netease - each reposted an editorial from the Global Times entitled  "Southern Weekend's 'Letter to Readers' Truly Makes One Ponder" (南方周末“致读者”实在令人深思 - read about that here - http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/global-times-netease-and-sina-weibo.html ). The screenshots also show that in each case, the portal also posted these disclaimers (highlighted in red). Sina : "Notice: Sina reposted this text with the goal of providing more information, and this should not be taken to mean that we approve of its viewpoint or support its depictions."  (声明：新浪网登载此文出于传递更多信息之目的，并不意味着赞同其观点或证实其描述。) Sohu : "Notice: Any information that indicates it is from other media are reposts, and this does not represent that this web site approves of their viewpoint." (声明：凡注明

Beijing News waxes philosophical Late in the evening on January 8, 2013, the state-sponsored Beijing News (新京报) posted the following on its Tencent Weibo: "Walk too fast and lose your soul. We should stop and pause, wait until our souls can keep up with our pace. - 'Beyond the Clouds' Good night." (走得太快，会把灵魂丢掉。应该停下来等一等，等灵魂追赶上我们的步伐。——《云上的日子》 晚安。) Early in the morning on January 9, the Beijing News posted the following on its Tencent Weibo: "If you want something that you have never had before, then you need to do something you have never done before. Good morning." (如果你想要你从未拥有过的东西，那么你必须去做你从未做过的事。 早安。) These screenshots show that between nine and eleven in the morning of January 9 Sina Weibo began censoring "Beijing News." This screenshot was taken later in the day on January 9, and shows the message that greeted Internet users throughout that day who tried to access the online version of the January 9 edition of the Beijing News at this

On the evening of January 9, 2013, Kai-fu Lee posted the following on his Sina Weibo: "This tea is hard to swallow!" (好难喝的茶！ - alternatively, "This tea tastes awful!"). Several minutes later, Lee posted the following: "From now on, only discuss East, West, and North, only discuss Monday through Friday" (从现在开始，只谈东西北方，只谈周一到周五。) On January 10, Lee posted the following in response to a post from Ren Zhiqiang (任志强) saying "The first time." (第一次吧): There's always a first time for everything, you approach them wholeheartedly, but do not let them vex you. You needn't ask me what is false and what is true, as I would that your doubts would be alliviated. For everything you do there was always the first time. I would that you would comprehend what is true and what is false. 一生总有第一次，何妨平淡试，何妨全力试。不要问我非与是，愿你疑虑尽释。奉献出第一次。愿你明白是非。 The English translation really doesn't do justice to the post, which was quite nuanced and poetic. Two of Lee&

On January 8, 2013, an editorial was published on China Youth Net (sponsored by by the Communist Party Youth League) entitled "The Southern Weekend is a Part of the Communist Party Newspaper Enterprise" (南方周末是党报事业的一部分). These screenshots show that the editorial, originally available here -   http://pinglun.youth.cn/zqsp/201301/t20130108_2786487.htm - has since been deleted. It remains available, however, on several other large portal websites, including: http://news.163.com/13/0108/11/8KMOPG520001124J.html http://star.news.sohu.com/20130108/n362791872.shtml http://news.qq.com/a/20130108/001187.htm Screenshot shows Sina Weibo censors searches for "Freedom of the Press" Some excerpts: Some commentators believe that there can be no middle ground, its either you or me. Some go so far as to proclaim from on high that this is a struggle for the very life of freedom of the press. But these people have it all wrong - - China has always enjoyed freedom of

These screenshots show that between January 3 and January 8 2013, Baidu began censoring search results for "Tuo Zhen" (庹震) and shut down its Tuo Zhen Tieba forum. Tuo is currently the director of the Guangdong province Communist Party Propaganda Department, which oversees publication of the Southern Weekend (南方周末), which has been in the news recently: January 5: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/websites-delete-articles-block.html January 6: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/baidu-and-other-search-engines-join.html January 7: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/global-times-netease-and-sina-weibo.html Other search engines were also censoring searches for "Tuo Zhen" on January 8, including Sogou and Qihoo.

These screenshots were taken on January 7, 2013, and show that searches on Sina Weibo for the Chinese characters "South" (南) and "End" (末) returned no results, just a censorship notice.  This censorship coincided with a controversy regarding Southern Weekend's (南方周末) New Year's Greeting, which this blog has covered here: January 5: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/websites-delete-articles-block.html January 6: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/baidu-and-other-search-engines-join.html January 7: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/global-times-netease-and-sina-weibo.html The screenshots show that, as is standard practice at Sina Weibo, they have include several posts underneath the censorship notice. Generally, such posts have nothing to with the censored terms. Here, however, that appears not to be the case for two of the posts (highlighted in red). In these examples one of the posts is from June 6 from the Southern Weekend, and it reads: Dea

January 5 Coverage:  http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/websites-delete-articles-block.html January 6 Coverage:  http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/baidu-and-other-search-engines-join.html On the morning of January 7, 2013, the state-sponsored Global Times published an editorial entitled "Southern Weekend's 'Letter to Readers' Truly Makes One Ponder" (南方周末“致读者”实在令人深思) here -  http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-01/3454091.html . Some excerpts: The matter of Southern Weekend's New Year's Greeting having "been modified" has been spreading over the Internet the last few days, with a Southern Weekend editor saying that the version that appeared in print had come from the Guangdong Party Committee Propaganda Department. Last night the Southern Weekend's official Weibo clarified the cause of this matter, and the truth is completely different from the version that has been circulating on the Internet. Also, based on what the Global Tim

The censorship of information and discussion on the Southern Weekend New Year's Greeting controversy discussed yesterday here - http://blog.feichangdao.com/2013/01/websites-delete-articles-block.html - continued today. Here are some screenshots showing the most recent examples. Screenshots showing that Baidu began restricting search results for the original title of the Southern Weekend New Year's Greeting - "Chinese Dream, The Dream of Constitutionalism" (中国梦 宪政梦) - to its broad white list. Screenshots showing that Baidu began restricting search results for "Southern Weekend Open Letter" (南方周末 公开信) to its broad white list. Screenshots taken on January 6 showing Qihoo and Sogou were restricting search results for "Southern Weekend" (南方周末) to their broad white lists. Screenshots showing that Sina Weibo began censoring "The Chinese Dream" (中国梦) Screenshot taken on January 6 showing that Sina Weibo is censoring "1034