Thursday, September 3, 2015

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。

Translation: Sun Daluo's Court Judgment for Sharing Books and Articles

The PRC government sentenced Sun Zhiming (孙志明, who wrote under the alias Sun Daluo (孙大骆)) to one year imprisonment for the crime of "di...