Fei Chang Dao

On March 27, 2013, China's official news service Xinhua published an article entitled " Coordinate Social Management, End Pig Dumping ." An excerpt: In his 2006 novel "Life and Death are Wearing Me Out," China's Nobel Laureate Mo Yan tells a story of dead pigs being illegally dumped into a river at night, after authorities refuse to offer farmers subsidies to properly dispose of the carcasses. Unfortunately, life recently imitated art, and over 14,000 pig carcasses had been retrieved from a section of the Huangpu River near Shanghai as of last week. While the dead pigs didn't end up on dinner tables, they did become a point of concern for Shanghai's 20 million residents, for whom the Huangpu River is a major source of drinking water. The case had revealed a lack of coordination in China's social management strategies, in which solving one problem often creates another. This screenshot was taken on March 15, and shows that a search for &quo

Anning is a county in Yunnan province. "PX" refers to paraxylene - a hydrocarbon based on benzene. These screenshots were taken on March 29, 2013, and shows that both Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo were censoring searches for "Anning px" (安宁 px). This screenshot, also taken on March 29, shows that Baidu has banned users from establishing a PostBar (贴吧) forum under the heading "PX." For more examples of protests against PX plants and related censorship, see: http://blog.feichangdao.com/2012/11/searches-about-protests-in-luzhou.html https://plus.google.com/u/0/106378980111121757454/posts/YpC4EwyUjGS https://plus.google.com/u/0/106378980111121757454/posts/AWLjp2GRmPb https://plus.google.com/u/0/106378980111121757454/posts/WY4n7UK3Gi7

On March 25, 2013, the official news agency Xinhua published an article entitled " Veteran Oilman Moves to Tend State Assets ." An excerpt: Jiang Jiemin, former board chairman of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), has been appointed head of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), the commission announced on Monday. Jiang resigned from the country's largest oil and gas company earlier this month after former SASAC leader Wang Yong was promoted to China's cabinet. These screenshots show that a search for "Jiang Jiemin Shuanggui" (蒋洁敏 双规) on Sina Weibo on March 24 returned 18 results. The same search on March 26 returned no results, just a notice saying Sina could not find any results. This screenshot, taken on March 26, shows that a search for "Jiang Jiemin" on Tencent Weibo returned no results, just a censorship notice. "Shuangui" is sometimes translated as "dual regulation&

The SCMP's Photo of Reporters Being Assaulted On March 9, 2013, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported : Two Hong Kong journalists were beaten by unidentified men in Beijing yesterday while filming Hong Kong activist Yang Kuang's attempt to visit Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo's wife, who has been under extralegal house arrest for more than two years, the activist and journalists said.  Yang's whereabouts were unknown last night. A witness, a mainland activist who requested anonymity, said while Yang was waiting for a taxi shortly after 10pm a dozen men attacked him. He was taken away in a police car afterwards, the activist said. Another activist, Hu Jia, posted on his microblog a picture he claimed to be the moment Yang was put in the police car. . . . . Yang, Liu Shasha, Zhou Ai and another supporter of Liu Xia stood outside her building on Thursday and shouted support through a loud hailer. They were later taken away by police and detained over

On March 18, 2013, Hangzhou-based lawyer Wang Cheng (王成) sent a letter to China's Supreme People's Court alleging that Zhang Dejiang's (张德江) election to the National People’s Congress was unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated Articles 65 and 103, which read: Article 65 The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress is composed of the following:   the Chairman; the Vice-Chairmen; the Secretary-General; and the members.  Minority nationalities are entitled to appropriate representation on the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The National People’s Congress elects, and has the power to recall, members of its Standing Committee. No one on the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress shall hold office in any of the administrative, judicial or procuratorial organs of the State.  Article 103 The standing committee of a local people’s congress at or above the county level is composed of a chairman, vice-chairmen a

On January 17, 2013, the state-sponsored China Daily published an article entitled " CCTV Releases Documentary on Tibetan Self-Immolation ." The report stated: National broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) has released a documentary on self-immolation in the country's Tibetan-inhabited areas. The documentary debuted at 9:27 pm on Dec 23 on CCTV-4, an international channel mainly targeting overseas viewers in Chinese language. It also aired on CCTV's English channel, Spanish channel, French channel, Arabic channel and Russian channel on Monday. On January 22, the China Daily published an article entitled " Govt-Sponsored Documentary Website Launched ."  According to that report: Jointly set up by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and the China Network Television, the site will cover policy releases, industrial trends, expert advice for documentary makers, project financing, academic research and other functions. On F

On Thursday, March 7, 2013, the state-sponsored Global Times published a report entitled " Despite Orders Lei Feng Films Bomb ." Some excerpts: Films about the life of Lei Feng, a role model for selflessness in China, showed no box-office appeal on Tuesday, Lei Feng Day.  The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said on Monday that all film companies and cinemas need to try their best to promote three recently released  movies featuring the iconic Lei Feng. . . . . The three films about Lei Feng's life, Youthful Days, The Sweet Smile, and Lei Feng in 1959, were screened on Monday and Tuesday, as part of the learning from Lei Feng activities. Tuesday marked the 50th anniversary of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong's call for the country to learn from Lei Feng. Mao's famous slogan stirred generations of do-gooders. Lei was a young soldier known for his selfless devotion to helping others, he died at age 21 in 1962. "We planned to

Deleted Southern Metropolitan Daily Story on "Internet Red Army" On March 19, 2013, the state-sponsored Southern Metropolitan Daily published an article entitled "Baiyun Institute Establishes 'Internet Red Army' to Monitor Students' Weibos, Report Public Sentiment and Block Incorrect Public Opinion, Participants Earn 200 Yuan a Month" (白云学院组建“网络红军”监控学生微博 汇报舆情抵制错误舆论，兼职学生每人每月200多元报酬). Some excerpts: At the end of 2010, the Baiyun Institute established an "Internet Public Opinion Information Oversight Working Group" which, according to a description by a school official, was intended to address the new problems the school was having with controlling public sentiment on campus, the proliferation of all kinds of harmful information, and the new challenges to students' political ideology work and school security and safety brought about by the rise of Weibos. The Baiyun Institute therefore established 116 Weibo groups and a "Baiyun Re

Hu Xijin's Weibo Post On March 9, 2013, Hu Xijin (胡锡进), an editor at the state-sponsored Global Times, posted the following on his Sina Weibo : The United States State Department issued its "International Women of Courage Award," and one of the winners was a Chinese woman who is an ethnic minority "woman author" who encourages ethnic separatism. It seems there's not a single person in my circles who has heard of her. China has so many "courageous" women, does anyone believe that the US State Department selected this one with good intentions? With exchanges between China and the West being so close, much has been learned, but Western "intentions" are legion, and China needs to be more focused.  美国国务院颁发“国际妇女勇气奖”，其中唯一的中国妇女是一名鼓动民族分裂的少数民族“女作家”，我周围的人几乎都没听说过她。中国“有勇气”的女生这么多，美国务院偏挑了这么一个人，大家认为这是善意的吗？中国与西方的交往如此密，学了不少东西，但西方的“心眼”也很多。中国一定要多分定力。 Like Hu's post, the Global Times' March 8 editorial entitled " Foreign Infiltration Sti

According to an article entitled " Origin of the Name of Tibet " posted on the web site of the state-sponsored China Tibet Information Center: In the Tang Dynasty, the Tibetans called themselves "Bo." The earliest written record of "Tubo" in Chinese can be found in the The Chronicles of Tubo in the New History of the Tang Dynasty. Af first, Tubo referred to the area of present-day Tibet. Later, with the burgeoning of the Tubo Kingdom, the name referred to the area comprised of Tibet, Qinghai, and Xikang. Eventually, the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was called Tubo. According to an article entitled " The Truth About the 1959 Tibet Rebellion " posted on the web site of the Communist Party sponsored China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification (中国和平统一促进会): Shortly after 8:00 am on March 10, 1959, chaos broke out on the streets of Lhasa. People were running around tearfully telling each other, “Go to the Norbu Linkha and p

Phoenix News reports there was one vote against Xi Jinping On March 15, 2013, the state-sponsored China Daily published an English language article entitled " Xi Chosen as President of China ." An excerpt: Nearly 3,000 deputies to the National People's Congress elected Xi Jinping, leader of the ruling Communist Party of China, as president through a secret ballot at a plenary meeting in Beijing on March 14.  The elevation of Xi to the presidency marked the official transfer of power from Hu Jintao. Xi took over as the head of the Communist Party and its military commission from Hu at a quinquennial Party congress in November last year. The same day, the state-sponsored Global Times published an English language article entitled " President Xi Takes Reins ." An excerpt: China's top legislature Thursday elected Xi Jinping as president of the country, capping off his appointments as chief of the Party, state and military following a once-in-a-deca

On March 6, 2013, the state-sponsored Global Times published an article entitled " Car Theft Ends with Baby Strangled ." Some excerpts: A man who stole a car with a 2-month-old boy inside in Changchun, Jilin Province, confessed to police late Tuesday afternoon he had murdered the infant. Zhou Xijun, 48, stole the SUV on Monday morning, triggering a province-wide manhunt involving 3,500 police officers. The case sparked public outcry as soon as it was reported by local media, with many Web users on microblogging service Sina Weibo urging each other to help find the baby. That same day, Weibo users began posting what was claimed to be a notice issued by the Jilin Propaganda Department entitled "Changchun Municipal Media Reporting Requirements in the March 4 Case" (3.04案件省直及长春市媒体报道要求). An excerpt: Guide the masses to an awareness not only of the pity they should feel for infant in its misfortune, and the anger they should direct toward the criminal's wicked

On March 8, 2013, the state-sponsored Global Times published an English language report entitled " Foreign Infiltration Still Deserves Measure of Chinese Caution " stating: During Thursday's knife attack in Korla, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, four were killed and several were injured. . . . For generations, Xinjiang's borders have halted turbulences originating from outside. The Chinese people need to know what peace in Xinjiang means to China as a whole."  That same day, the state-sponsored Caijing Magazine published a report on its web site entitled "Four Dead and Eight Wounded In Attacks in Korla, Xinjiang, During the Two Sessions" (两会期间新疆库尔勒发生袭击事件致4死8伤). An excerpt: Today, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region spokesperson Hou Handun, who happened to be in Beijing for the opening of the National People's Congress, confirmed that the previous day attacks had occurred that left four dead and six people wounded. 正在北京出席人大会议的新疆维吾尔自治区政府发言人侯汉敏

Photos from NPR's Weibo post On March 4, 2013, the state-sponsored Global Times published an English language report entitled " Village Head Orders Attack, as Local Thugs are Hunted ." Some excerpts: The public security bureau of Jiexi county in Guangdong Province arrested eight people Friday suspected of being hired by a village leader to attack his own villagers after he claimed he was attacked by them, the Nanfang Daily reported. County authorities said that on the morning of February 22, village committee director, Li Baoyu, called police to report he was attacked in his office and injured by six masked thugs. Less than an hour later, police say, Li hired his own thugs from other villages and ordered them to attack residents of Shangpu village, said the newspaper. . . . . It is not entirely clear what caused the clash, but according to AFP it was triggered by a controversial land deal that would turn some of the village's rice fields into an industrial

A Baidu search for the title of the Nandu article returns no results, just a censorship notice. On February 20, 2013, the state-sponsored Nandu Net (南都网) published an article entitled "Former DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh's Weibo Shut Down One Day After Verification" ( 台前民进党主席谢长廷微博认证仅一天被注销 ). Some excerpts: Frank Hsieh, former Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, opened a Weibo on mainland China's Sina web site, becoming the first heavyweight figure under the Green banner to open an account from across the straight. He accumulated over 50,000 followers. One Internet user spoke frankly: "Xie Changting has come to test mainland China's bottom line on expression." Shortly thereafter, after only one day of its real name verification, Hsieh's Weibo account was quickly cancelled. The actual reason remains unclear, and its being widely discussed amongst Internet users. 民进党前主席谢长廷在中国大陆新浪网开设微博，成为首位在对岸开微博帐号的绿营重量级人物。累积粉丝数达5万多人。有网友直言“谢长廷是来测试大陆言论底线”。然