Global Times: "Real Tibet Can’t Be Concealed," Baidu and Sina Censor "Self Immolation," "Dalai Lama," and "Tibet Independence"

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 screenshots were taken on September 13, and show that Baidu and Sina have censored discussion of “Tibet Independence,” (藏独) “the Dalailama,” (达赖喇嘛) and “Self-Immolate” (自焚) on their PostBar (贴吧 Tieba) and Weibo social media forums, respectively.

These screenshots, also taken on September 13, show that Baidu is censoring image search results for "Tibetans Self-Immolate," (藏人自焚) and a comparison with search results for the same term on Bing.

Xi Jinping Says China "Open to Foreign Media," China's Government and Search Engines Block Access to Foreign Media

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 popular search engines - Baidu, Qihoo, and Sogou - when they try to find information about Xi Jinping on the New York Time’s website.

This screenshot shows what users saw when performing the same search on the Bing search engine.

Baidu Begins Censoring "Liu Lefei" - Vice Chairman of CITIC

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 Gang, Liu Wei, Fang Qingli and Chen Rongjie. They have been placed under "criminal compulsory measures" for suspected insider trading, reported Xinhua.

According to Baidu’s Encyclopedia (百科 Baike), since March 2014 Liu Lefei (刘乐飞)  has been a vice-chairman of CITIC (中信证券 -formerly the China International Trust and Investment Corporation).

Baidu’s Encyclopedia article does not mention who Liu Lefei’s father is.

These screenshots were taken on September 18, 2015, and show that Baidu was not censoring search results for “Liu Lefei,” but was censoring search results for “Liu Lefei Father” (刘乐飞 父亲) and “Liu Lefei Dad” (刘乐飞 爸爸).

These screenshots show that at some time between September 18 and September 21, Baidu began censoring search results for “Liu Lefei.”

This screenshot was taken on September 21, and shows search results on Baidu for “Liu Yunshan Liu Lefei” (刘云山 刘乐飞). There is only one result, from Xinhua, which makes no mention of any relationship between Liu Yunshan and Liu Lefei.

Guangzhou Police Place Police Stations at 83 Websites and Internet Companies

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 Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced Tuesday.

The offices would be responsible for collecting and reporting to police information on suspected illegal activities, and to help companies improve security management, reported the Xinhua News Agency.
. . . .
Authorities had already removed 758,000 pieces of "illegal and criminal information," and have investigated over 70,000 cyber crime cases since January, the MPS added.

On September 10, 2015, the state sponsored Guangzhou Daily published an article entitled "Is There a Zombie Biting People on Nantian Road? Don't Believe These Kind of Rumors!" (南田路丧尸咬人？这种谣言你都信！- see here for context). An excerpt:

Lv Tao, deputy commander of the Guangzhou Internet Police Force explained, the Internet Police Force had established "Internet Police Stations" at 83 major websites and Internet enterprises in Guangzhou. From June until today, the Guangzhou Internet Police Force had, as part of a campaign against online rumors, investigate and sanctioned eight websites, dealt with over 2,300 items of illegal information, warned and educated 33 Internet users, investigated 12 cases of online rumormongering, and subjected 11 people to administrative detention. 

广州网警副支队长吕韬介绍，网警在广州市83个重点网站和互联网企业设立了“网安警务室”。自6月份至今，广州网警以打击网络谣言为抓手，共查处违法网站8家，处置违法信息2300多条，警示教育网民33人，查办网络谣言案件12宗，行政拘留11人。

Man Jailed for Spreading Rumors of a Zombie Attack in Guangzhou

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 following statement on its official Sina Weibo:

On September 6, 2015, Guangzhou police detained a Mr. Zhang for creating a rumor (male, Guangzhou resident, 21 years old). An investigation has determined that Mr. Zhang, hoping to show off and get attention from friends, used Weixin to spread a rumor that a video showing a so-called "female zombie" was factual. The police have now sentenced him to 10 days of administrative detention.

9月6日，广州警方抓获了谣言信息的制造者张某（男，广州人，21岁）。经审查，张某供述其为了炫耀和吸引朋友眼球，通过微信传播了一段所谓“女丧尸”的视频的事实（该视频实则为某电影的拍摄现场）。目前警方已依法对其做出行政拘留10天的处罚决定。

Below are screenshots posted by the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau showing the illegal content with the Chinese word for "False" (假) pasted on them.

Global Times Says Japan Must Face Up to History, Baidu Censors China's History

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 “The Cultural Revolution,” (文革) “The Great Leap Forward,” (大跃进) and “Tiananmen” (天安门).

This screenshot, also taken on September 1, shows that Baidu was censoring search results for "19890604."

The screenshot below, also taken on September 1, shows that the article on “1989” in Baidu’s Baike (百科, a Wikipedia-like product) only makes two references to events in China in and around June 4, 1989:

May 31 -- While speaking with two other equal-level central government comrades, Deng Xiaoping points out that two thing need to be explained to the people. First, and most importantly, is the need to have a change in leadership. Second, it is necessary to remain firm on several matters in order to show that our fight against corruption is real, not fake.
June 7 -- The Central Discipline Commission issues the "Notice Regarding Strictly Enforce Party Discipline to Safeguard the Unity of the Party.

5月31日——邓小平在同两位中央负责同志谈话时指出，有两条事情需要向人民作出交代。第一，要更换领导层，这是最重要的一条。第二，要扎扎实实做几件事情，体现出我们是真正反对腐败，不是假的。
6月7日——中纪委发出《关于严明党的纪律维护党的团结统一的通知》

According to Baidu’s Baike, the only significant event that occurred on June 4, 1989, was this:

June 4 -- Poland holds its first democratic elections, Lech Walesa of the Solidarity Party is elected Premier.
June 4 -- Iranian President Ayatollah Khomeini is chosen as Iran's supreme leader.

6月4日——波兰举行首次议会民主选举，团结工会候选人瓦文萨当选总理。
6月4日——伊朗总统哈梅内伊获推选为伊朗最高领袖。