Censorship on the 33rd Anniversary of June 4, 1989

After 33 years PRC websites continue to censor information about what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989. Let's start with some obvious examples – censorship of the date. In English Baidu web search returns 2 results, in Chinese 6 results, all from PRC state-sponsored media.

Baidu's main social media product - "PostBar" (贴吧) has forums dedicated to "1988" and "1990," but searching for "1989" just yields a censorship notice "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, relevant results have not been displayed."

Baidu's Q&A product (知道) finds tens of thousands of results for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but zero results for "Tiananmen 1989."

Tencent-owned Sogou web search also censors information relating to what happened in Beijing in June, 1989. A search for "Tiananmen 1989" returns no results, but the same search for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990" returns thousands of results.

The same thing happens with Sogou's image search - Sogou has no trouble finding images for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but is unable to locate a single image for "Tiananmen 1989."

And again, the same thing happens with Sogou's WeChat search engine - plenty of results for "Tiananmen 1988" and "Tiananmen 1990," but a search for "Tiananmen 1989" yields no results.

The same kind of censorship occurs on PRC social media sites. For example, these screenshots show that Sina Weibo has no problem finding results for "32nd Anniversary" and "34th Anniversary," but finds none for "33rd Anniversary."

Now for a look at PRC censorship of the iconic "Tank Man" images. This screenshot shows a Baidu search for "Tank Man" in English returns no results.

While a search for "Tiananmen 1989 Block Tanks" in Chinese returns no results, Baidu says its has found 22,070 "relevant images"! Not surprisingly, however, clicking that Baidu Image link lands users on a page telling them that, in fact, Baidu cannot find any relevant images.

Other PRC-based image search engines, such those of Qihoo and Tencent-owned Sogou, are unable to find any image results for searches for "Block Tanks."

Even terms with no obvious connection to what occurred in Beijing in June 1989-like "Tiananmen Mothers"-are censored. In addition to a screenshot showing Baidu finds no results for that query, I've included a screenshot of a Yahoo SERP for the same query to show what Baidu is censoring.

The Wikis operated by PRC Internet companies take different approaches to censoring the history of what happened in Beijing in June 1989. Today, the "This Day In History" sections show:

• Baidu: Khamenei elected supreme leader
• Qihoo: Nothing for 1989
• Sogou: Nothing for 1989

The top search results for "1988 year" and "1990 year" on Tencent-owned Sogou are Sogou's own Wiki articles about those years. The top result for "1989 year" is an article on Taylor Swift's album by that name. It appears Sogou simply has no article about the year 1989.

Sogou does have a Wiki article about "Tiananmen Square," but according to their article, nothing worth mentioning happened in Tiananmen Square between 1976 and 1997.

Qihoo does have a Wiki article about 1989, but unlike its Wiki articles about 1988 and 1990, Qihoo's article on 1989 has no section on "Major Events." So there's nothing to indicate anything noteworthy happened in/around Tiananmen Square (or anywhere else) that year.

Baidu has articles on 1989 and Tiananmen Square. But according to Baidu nothing happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and the only noteworthy events on June 4 were:

• Walesa elected prime minister of Poland
• Khamenei elected supreme leader of Iran

Here's another stark example of how PRC Internet companies treat modern Chinese history - this screenshot shows a search for "64 Remembrance" (六四 纪念) on Baidu returns ZERO results. Someone in the PRC would be better off using a Korean search engine like Naver. . .

Finally, it should be noted that people in the PRC haven't forgotten, and still get punished for peaceful attempts to commemorate, what happened in Beijing in June 1989. For example,  Jie Ruixue was jailed for wearing a t-shirt  in Tiananmen Square in 2019. According to the court judgment, the t-shirt Jie was jailed for wearing in Tiananmen Square in 2019 read "Freedom of Speech, Vindicate June Fourth, Oppose Repeating the Tragedy." The court judgment claimed this "caused severe chaos," but cited no evidence to support that claim.

There's an entire section of my casebook "State Prosecutions of Speech in the PRC" devoted to PRC government documents showing people getting punished for commemorating and discussing what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989.

You can download the casebook free at my website: https://feichangdao.com/publications/.

Translation: The Notes That Led to Journalist Shi Tao's Imprisonment

 On April 27, 2005, the Intermediate People's Court of Changsha, Hunan sentenced Shi Tao (师涛), director of the editorial department at the Hunan Contemporary Business News Publishing House, to ten years imprisonment for disclosing a state secret. Specifically, the court said:

[F]ollowing a routine article review and pre-editorial meeting, deputy editors-in-chief surnamed Wang and Yang of the Hunan Contemporary Business News Publishing House again assembled the persons responsible for the headline news, mobile hot-line, editorial, and other departments, to participate in a specialized meeting. In this specialized meeting Wang verbally passed on a summary of the important contents of the top secret state secret, "Notice Regarding Current Stability Work" (Party General Office Document (2004) No. 11) of the Communist Party of China Central Committee General Office and the State Council General Office, and stressed that this document was top secret, and it was not permitted to take notes on or spread it. Defendant Shi Tao, however, secretly took notes on this summary of important contents. Between 7:00 p.m. in the evening of that same day and 2:00 a.m. the following morning, defendant Shi Tao in his office used his personal electronic mailbox [INTENTIONALLY DELETED]@yahoo.com.cn to transmit the notes he had secretly taken of the summary of the main contents of the aforementioned Party General Office Document (2004) No. 11 to the electronic mailbox [INTENTIONALLY DELETED]@aol.com of Hong Zhesheng, one of the organizers of the "Asia Democracy Foundation" located in New York, USA, and editor-in-chief of the foreign website "Democracy Forum" and the electronic periodical "Democracy Newsletter," and provided "198964," as the provider's alias. At the same time, he asked Hong Zhesheng to think of a way to disseminate it as quickly as possible, but not to use Shi Tao's name. On that day the summary of the important contents of the aforementioned Party General Office Document (2004) No. 11 provided by the signatory "198964" was distributed on "Democracy Forum," and afterwards it was also redistributed by foreign websites such as "Boxun" and the "Chinese Democracy and Justice Party."

A full translation of the court judgment (师涛刑事判决书, (2005)长中刑一初字第 29 号) can be found in "State Prosecutions of Speech in the People's Republic of China: Cases Illustrating the Application of National Security and Public Order Laws to Political and Religious Expression" (中華人民共和國政府對言論的訴追：有關國家安全及公共秩序相關法律適用於政治及宗教言論的案例彙編), available for free download at www.feichangdao.com.

Below is a translation of the version of Shi's notes published on the Boxun website on April 22, 2004 at https://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2004/04/200404220629.shtml.

Summary of Document No. 11 of the Central Office of the Communist Party of China (VI) State Office ("Notice Regarding Current Stability Work")

Provided by 198964

On April 20, China's Propaganda Department urgently conveyed to all news agencies the document No. 11 from the Central Office and the State Office, the content of which is the "Notice Regarding Current Stability Work.” The summary is as follows:

1. Analysis of the current situation:

(1) This year marks the 15th anniversary of "6.4", and some overseas pro-democracy activists are more active, and they plan to take action to break through the blockades during the "6.4" anniversary, and prepare to forcibly break through the blockades;
(2) On the issue of liberalization, it is mainly about denying the leadership of the Communist Party, denying the socialist system, engaging in so-called "civil learning," and some hostile forces politicizing criminal cases;
(3) "Falun Gong" cult members are engaging in sabotage activities;
(4) The dissemination of various harmful information on the Internet;
(5) Mass incidents are relatively prominent, mainly manifesting around issues such as demolition and petitioning;
(6) Overseas hostile forces are using religious and other channels (printed materials, the Internet) to win over young people, or conduct academic activities in schools, help students, etc., to engage in illegal activities;
(7) The Hong Kong issue.

The focus is on "6.4", about "Falun Gong," and about “mass incidents."

2. All departments at all levels should take preventive measures:

(1) Resolutely prevent pro-democracy elements from breaking through obstacles and getting inside the borders;
(2) Strictly prevent various activities;
(3) Strictly prevent hostile elements from using the Internet to engage in activities;
(4) Strictly prevent the occurrence of mass incidents;
(5) Strictly prevent the "Falun Gong" cult organization from engaging in sabotage;
(6) Strictly guard the safety of key departments and personnel;
(7) Strictly guard against various factors that affect stability and unity.

3. Five tasks to be paid close attention to at present:

(1) Adhere to the correct theory and sense of responsibility;
(2) Effectively strengthen intelligence work and grasp the situation of various activities;
(3) Adhere to the correct orientation of public opinion, effectively prevent sabotage by foreign hostile elements, and resolutely refrain from making any remarks that are inconsistent with the policies of the central authorities;
(4) Highlight key points and do a good job of prevention and control in a targeted manner;
(5) Reduce mass petitions.

(At the same time, you should pay attention to contacts between overseas pro-democracy activists and individual editors and reporters of domestic media. Once discovered, report it immediately.)

中共中办(六)国办11号文件摘要(《关于当前稳定工作的通知》)

198964提供

4月20日,中国的宣传部们紧急向各新闻单位传达中办和国办的11号文件,内容是《关于当前稳定工作的通知》,摘要如下:

一、关于当前形势的分析:

(一)今年是“6.4”15周年,境外一些民运分子比较活跃,他们准备在“6.4”纪念日期间采取闯关行动,准备强行闯关;
(二)关于自由化的问题,主要是否定共产党领导,否定社会主义制度,搞所谓的“民间学习”,还有一些敌对势力把刑事案件政治化;
(三)“法轮功”邪教分子搞破坏活动;
(四)互联网上各种有害信息的传播;
(五)群体事件比较突出,主要表现在拆迁、上访等方面;
(六)境外敌对势力利用宗教等渠道(印刷品、互联网),拉拢青少年,或在学校里开展学术活动、助学等等,搞非法活动;
(七)香港问题。

重点是关于“6.4”、关于“法轮功”、关于群体事件”。

二、各级各部门要做好防范措施:

(一)坚决制止民运分子闯关入境;
(二)严密防范各种活动;
(三)严密防范敌对分子利用互联网搞活动;
(四)严密防范群体事件的发生;
(五)严密防范“法轮功”邪教组织搞破坏;
(六)严密防范重点部门和人员的安全;
(七)严密防范一些影响安定团结的因素。

三、当前要狠抓的五项工作:

(一)坚持正确的理论和责任意识;
(二)切实加强情报工作,掌握各种活动情况;
(三)坚持正确的舆论导向,有效地防范境外敌对分子的破坏,坚决不发任何和中央政策不一致的任何言论;
(四)突出重点,有针对性地做好防范控制工作;
(五)减少群体性上访。

(同时要注意境外民运分子与境内媒体个别编辑、记者的联系,一旦发现,立即报告。)
 

Translation: Judgment in Case of Man Jailed Seven Months for T-Shirt Commemorating Tiananmen

Details of this case, including photographs of Dong Zehua's activities in Tiananmen Square, can be found in this article from the Los Angles Times:  "He Tried to Commemorate Erased History. China Detained Him, Then Erased That Too" - https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-24/china-world-history-erasure-youth-censorship. 

See also: "Judgment in Case of Woman Jailed Six Months for T-Shirt Commemorating Tiananmen" - http://blog.feichangdao.com/2021/06/woman-jailed-commemorating-tiananmen-judgment.html.

People's Court of Dongcheng District, Beijing
Criminal Judgment
(2019) Jing 0101 Criminal First Instance No. 789

The public prosecution agency was the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng.

Defendant Dong Zehua, male, born May 7, 1991 in Xi'an, Shaanxi, Citizen ID No. XXX, Han ethnicity, undergraduate degree, unemployed, household registration location: Weiyang District, Xi'an, Shaanxi. On June 4, 2019, he was detained on suspicion of committing the crime of disturbing the peace. He was taken into custody on June 4, 2019, and was arrested on July 12 of the same year. He is currently being held in custody at the Beijing Dongcheng District Detention Center.

Defense counsel Qi Jie is a lawyer at the Beijing Weiheng Law Firm.

Defendant Yuan Shuai, male, born July 27, 1995 in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Citizen ID No. XXX, Han ethnicity, undergraduate degree, an employee of the Zhongshi Jinxin Advertising Co., Ltd. before the incident, household registration location: Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, now residing in Haidian District, Beijing. On June 4, 2019, he was detained on suspicion of committing the crime of disturbing the peace. He was taken into custody on June 4, 2019, and was arrested on July 12 of the same year. He is currently being held in custody at the Beijing Dongcheng District Detention Center.

Defense counsels Zhu Kefei and Rong Fangqing (trainee lawyer) are lawyers at the Beijing Contemporary Law Firm.

In the Jing Dong Procuratorate Public Criminal Prosecution (2019) No. 1698 indictment the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng charged defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai with committing the crime of disturbing the peace, and on October 11, 2019 filed a public prosecution with this Court. In accordance with the law this Court utilized simplified procedures, held a single trial, and tried the case in open court. The People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng assigned Procurator Tong Jie to appear in court in support of the public prosecution, and defendant Dong Zehua and his defense counsel Qi Jie and defendant Yuan Shuai and his defense counsels Zhu Kefei and Rong Fangqing appeared in court to participate in the litigation. The trial has now concluded.

The public prosecution agency charged:

At 9:00 am on June 4, 2019, defendant Dong Zehua was wearing a T-shirt with sensitive markings on it and took photos in Tiananmen Square and posted the photos online. Defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai interviewed foreigners in Tiananmen Square and made inquiries into sensitive topics. After being taken into police custody, he voluntarily and truthfully made a statement about his crimes.

The public prosecution agency applied the procedure of pleading guilty and accepting punishment in referring the case to this Court, and proposed in writing that defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai should be punished with a sentence of a fixed term imprisonment of six months to one year.

Defendant Dong Zehua and his defense counsel raised no objections to the aforementioned facts during hearings at trial. In addition, these facts were substantiated by the process of how the defendant came into police custody, stolen goods recovery reports, job descriptions, witness Gao Doe's testimony, identification transcripts, Seizure Decisions, seizure transcripts, seized items lists, search transcripts; forensic opinions, on-site inspection reports, drug test processing forms, audiovisual materials, and defendants Dong Zehua's and Yuan Shuai's statements and household registration materials, which are sufficient to reach a determination.

Dong Zehua's defense counsel's defense opinion: After being taken into police custody defendant Dong Zehua was able to make a truthful statement of the criminal facts and confess his crime in court. He is a penitent first-time offender, and it is recommended he be shown leniency.

Yuan Shuai's defense counsels' defense opinion; After being taken into police custody defendant Yuan Shuai was able to make a truthful statement of the criminal facts and confess his crime in court. He has adopted a good attitude and is a first-time offender and in the joint crime he played a subordinate role, and it is recommended he be shown leniency.

This Court finds defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai disregarded national law, caused a disturbing incident in a public venue, and created serious chaos in a public venue. Their actions disrupted normal social management order, and constitute the commission of the crime of disturbing the peace, and in accordance with the law shall be punished.

The facts charged by the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng are clear, the evidence it produced is reliable and copious, the offense charged is established, and the recommended sentence is appropriate.

With regards to defense counsel's defense opinion that defendant Yuan Shuai played a subordinate role in a joint crime, this Court finds that after the two defendants met they formed a joint criminal intent, the only distinction was a mere division of labor into different tasks, and they were both active participants in the commission of the joint crime. It would be inappropriate to distinguish between who was the leader and who was the subordinate, and that defense opinion is not accepted by this Court.

In view of the fact that after being taken into police custody the two defendants made truthful statements and voluntarily plead guilty in court, and that they are both first-time offenders, this Court will show leniency to the two defendants.

This Court accepts the public prosecution agency's leniency recommendation and the defense counsels' relevant defense opinions. Accordingly, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 293(1), 25(1), 67(3), and 64 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" and Article 5 of the "Supreme People's Court's Interpretation Regarding Certain Questions About the Specific Laws to be Used in Adjudicating Criminal Cases of Illegal Publications," this Court's judgment regarding defendants Dong Zehua and Yuan Shuai is as follows:

1. Defendant Dong Zehua committed the crime of disturbing the peace, and is sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment of seven months.

(The prison term is to be calculated starting on the day the judgment is executed, and each day in custody prior to the execution of the judgment shall count as one day of the prison term, that is from June 4, 2019 to January 3, 2020.)

2. Defendant Yuan Shuai committed the crime of disturbing the peace, and is sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment of six months.

(The prison term is to be calculated starting on the day the judgment is executed, and each day in custody prior to the execution of the judgment shall count as one day of the prison term, that is from June 4, 2019 to December 3, 2019.)

3. The tools used in the commission of the offense that were seized shall be confiscated by the agency responsible for seizing them in accordance with the law.

If any party does not accept this judgment, they may within 10 days after the second day after receiving this written judgment bring an appeal through this Court or directly to the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing. A written appeal should be submitted with one original and two copies of the appeal brief.

Adjudicator        Bai Chongwei

October 30, 2019

Clerk            Luo Yejun

北京市东城区人民法院
刑事判决书
(2019)京0101刑初789号

公诉机关北京市东城区人民检察院。

被告人董泽华,男,1991年5月7日出生于陕西省西安市,公民身份号码:XXX,汉族,大学本科文化,无业,户籍所在地:陕西省西安市未央区。因涉嫌犯寻衅滋事罪,于2019年6月4日被羁押,同年7月12日被逮捕,
现羁押在北京市东城区看守所。

辩护人齐捷,北京市炜衡律师事务所律师。

被告人原帅,男,1995年7月27日出生于内蒙古自治区满洲里市,公民身份号码:XXX,汉族,大学本科文化,案发前系中视金鑫广告有限公司员工,户籍所在地:内蒙古自治区满洲里市,现住北京市海淀区。因涉嫌犯寻衅滋事罪,于2019年6月4日被羁押,同年7月12日被逮捕,现羁押在北京市东城区看守所。辩护人朱克非、荣方情(实习律师),北京市当代律师事务所律师。

北京市东城区人民检察院以京东检公诉刑诉[2019]698号起诉书指控被告人董泽华、原帅犯寻衅滋事罪,于2019年10月11日向本院提起公诉。本院依法适用简易程序,实行独任审判,公开开庭审理了本案。北京市东城区人民检察院指派检察员佟捷出庭支持公诉,被告人董泽华及其辩护人齐捷、被告人原帅及其辩护人朱克非、荣方情到庭参加了诉讼。现已审理终结。

公诉机关指控:

2019年6月4日9时许,被告人董泽华身穿带有敏感标志的T恤衫,在天安门广场拍摄照片,并将照片发到网上。被告人董泽华、原帅在天安门广场,采访外国人询问敏感话题,并拍摄视频,后被民警抓获。二被告人到案后自愿如实供述自己的罪行。

公诉机关适用认罪认罚程序将本案诉至本院,并书面建议对被告人董泽华、原帅在有期徒刑六个月至一年幅度内判处刑罚。

上述事实,被告人董泽华及其辩护人在开庭审理过程中无异议,并有到案经过,起赃报告;工作说明;证人高某的证言;辨认笔录;扣押决定书、扣押笔录、扣押物品清单、搜查笔录;鉴定意见;现场检测报告书、毒检流程表;视听资料;被告人董泽华、原帅的供述及户籍材料予以证实,足以认定。

董泽华辩护人的辩护意见:被告人董泽华到案后能够如实供述犯罪事实,当庭认罪、悔罪且系初犯;建议法庭对其从轻处罚。

原帅辩护人的辩护意见;被告人原帅到案后能够如实供述犯罪事实认罪态度良好且系初犯,在共同犯罪中起辅助作用;建议法庭对其从轻处罚。

本院认为,被告人董泽华、原帅无视国法,在公共场所制造事端起哄闹事,造成公共场所秩序严重混乱,其行为妨害了正常的社会管理秩序,均已构成寻衅滋事罪,依法应予惩处。北京市东城区人民检察院指控的事实清楚,举证确实、充分,指控的罪名成立,量刑建议适当。辩护人关于被告人原帅在共同犯罪中起辅助作用的辩护意见,本院认为二被告人见面后产生共同犯意,只是分工不同,在共同犯罪中均积极主动,不宜区分主从,此点辩护意见本院不予采纳。鉴于二被告人到案后均能如实供述,当庭自愿认罪,均系初犯,本院对二被告人从轻处罚。公诉机关的量刑建议及辩护人相关辩护意见,本院予以采纳。据此,本院对被告人董泽华、原帅依照《中华人民共和国刑法》第二百九十三条第一款第(四)项,第二十五条第一款,第六十七条第三款,第六十四条及最高人民法院、最高人民检察院《关于办理寻衅滋事刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释》第五条之规定,判决如下:

一、被告人董泽华犯寻衅滋事罪,判处有期徒刑七个月。
(刑期从判决执行之日起计算。判决执行以前先行羁押的,羁押一日折抵刑期一日。即自2019年6月4日起至2020年1月3日止。)

二、被告人原帅犯寻衅滋事罪,判处有期徒刑六个月。
(刑期从判决执行之日起计算。判决执行以前先行羁押的,羁押一日折抵刑期一日。即自2019年6月4日起至2019年12月3日止。)

三、在案扣押的作案工具,由扣押机关依法没收。

如不服本判决,可在接到判决书的第二日起十日内,通过本院或者直接向北京市第二中级人民法院提出上诉。书面上诉的,应当提交上诉状正本一份,副本二份。

审判员        白崇伟

二0一九年十月三十日

书记员        罗也君

 

Hu Xijin Says "Chinese Won't Forget About Tiananmen" - Even Though China's Internet Services Have

On June 3, 2021, Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state sponsored "Global Times" posted the following on Twitter:

Chinese won't forget about Tiananmen incident.On the contrary, we'll constantly reflect on it in light of China’s development path since then as well as situation in many countries after color revolutions. It's futile for West to provoke Chinese society by commemorating the event

Source: https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1400336409324523520. This appears to becoming an annual tradition, as Hu posted something similar last year.

It is true that an Internet user in China can immediately find the PRC government's official version of the events by searching Baidu for "Tiananmen Incident" ("天安门事件") - the first result is from the Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, which provides this summary:

• May 20th, China Central Television broadcasts Li Peng and Yang Shangkun’s statements at the meeting of Party, government, and military cadres in the capital. Li Peng signed the State Council’s
  Order to implement martial law in different regions.
• June 4th, the "Liberation Army Daily" published an editorial with the title "Resolutely Support the Party Central Committee's Policy Decisions, Resolutely Suppress the Counter-revolutionary Riots." 
• 5月20日　中央电视台播放了李鹏、杨尚昆在首都党政军干部大会上的讲话。李鹏签署国务院关于在北京市部分地区实行戒严的命令。
• 6月4日　《解放军报》发表题为“坚决拥护党中央决策，坚决镇压反革命暴乱”的社论。
  

Source: http://www.people.com.cn/item/20years/newfiles/c1120.html.

But most search results are about another "Tiananmen Incident," which occurred in 1976. So an Internet user wanting more information so that they could "constantly reflect on" the 1989 Tiananmen Incident would need to specifically include search terms relating to "1989." Below are some examples of what users of PRC Internet services see when searching for information about what happened in and around Tiananmen Square in early June 1989.

A user of visiting Baidu's and Sogou's wikipedia articles for "1989" would find that nothing noteworthy happened in or around Tiananmen Square in June of that year. Sogou has no entry for "June 4th," and  Baidu's entry for "June 4th" reads:

• June 4th-Poland held its first democratic elections, and the collective election for Walesa was held.
• June 4th-Iranian President Khamenei was elected as the supreme leader of Iran.
  

 A user submitting the query "'1989 year' 'Tiananmen Incident''" ("1989年" "天安门事件") to Baidu's web search product would get no results (a query without the quotes will retrieve results, but only from websites under the direct control of the PRC government and the Communist Party of China - for example, People's Daily, Xinhua, and China Youth Daily).

 A user submitting the query "1989 year 'Tiananmen Incident''" (1989年 "天安门事件") to Baidu's image search product would get no results.

A user submitting the query "1989 year" (1989年) to Baidu's "Zhidao" Q&A product would get no results.

A user submitting the query "1989" to Baidu's "Tieba" PostBar forum product would get censorship notice that states: "Apologies, in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and policies, relevant results have not been displayed." ( 抱歉，根据相关法律法规和政策，相关结果不予展现。).

 

Translation: Judgment in Case of Woman Jailed Six Months for T-Shirt Commemorating Tiananmen

Summary: A court found Jie guilty on the grounds that she "stood in an area crowded with tourists in the vicinity of the national flag pole in Tiananmen Square wearing a white t-shirt upon which was written 'Freedom of Speech, Vindicate June Fourth, Oppose Repeating the Tragedy.'" The court said that it showed leniency in sentencing Jie to six months imprisonment on the grounds that Jie "made a truthful confession of her crime."

People's Court of Dongcheng, Beijing

Criminal Judgment

(2019) Jing 0101 Criminal First Instance No. 9461

The public prosecution agency was the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng, Beijing.

Defendant Jie Ruixue, female, born [INTENTIONALLY OMITTED], 1987 in Linkou County, Heilongjiang, Citizen ID No. XXX, Han ethnicity, college education, unemployed, household registration address: Linkou County, Heilongjiang. On August 22, 2019, she was taken into custody on suspicion of committing the crime of disturbing the peace, and was arrested on September 26 of the same year. She is currently being held in custody at the Dongcheng Detention Center in Beijing.

Defense counsel Lin Shan is a lawyer at the Heilongjiang Guo Sheng Law Firm.

In the Jing Dong Procuratorate First Criminal Indictment (2019) No. 975 indictment the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng, Beijing charged defendant Jie Ruixue with committing the crime of disturbing the peace, and on November 21, 2019 filed a public prosecution with this Court. This Court utilized simplified procedures in accordance with the law, implemented a single judge trial, and tried this case in open court. The People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng, Beijing assigned Procurator Tong Jie to appear in court in support of the public prosecution, and defendant Jie Ruixue and her defense counsel Lin Shan appeared in court to participate in the proceedings. The trial has now concluded.

The public prosecution agency charged:

At about 10:00 am on August 22, 2019, defendant Jie Ruixue, in an expression of her personal will, stood in an area crowded with tourists in the vicinity of the national flag pole in Tiananmen Square wearing a white t-shirt upon which was written "Freedom of Speech, Vindicate June Fourth, Oppose Repeating the Tragedy." She was subsequently apprehended at the scene by civil police.

After being taken into police custody defendant Jie Ruixue made a voluntary truthful confession of her crime.

The public prosecution agency utilized plea bargaining procedures in submitting the case to this Court, and their written recommendation is that defendant Jie Ruixue be given a criminal punishment of a sentence of fixed term imprisonment of six months to one year.

The aforementioned facts were not objected to by defendant Jie Ruixue and her defense counsel during the process of holding hearings at trial, and were deemed substantiated and sufficient to reach a determination based on the process of how the defendant came into police custody, work descriptions, testimony of witnesses Zhang Doe and Song Doe, identification records, forensic opinions, seizure judgments, seizure records, lists of seized materials, photographic production explanations, photographs of materials implicated in the case, audio-visual materials, defendant Jie Ruixue's statement, hotel accommodation records, and household registration and identification materials.

The defense counsel's defense opinion believes that defendant Jie Ruixue's crime is relatively minor, there was no subjective malice, the duration of the crime was short, and it did not cause serious social harm. This was her first offense, she was able to make a truthful confession after being taken into police custody, and is in fact a person with a certain degree of mental impairment. They recommend that the court show her leniency.

This Court finds that defendant Jie Ruixue ignored the nation's laws and intentionally created an incident in sensitive places such as Tiananmen Square, causing severe disorder in a public venue. Her actions disrupted the normal administration of social order, constitutes the commission of the crime of disturbing the peace, and shall be punished in accordance with the law.

With respect to the charges of the People's Procuratorate of Dongcheng, Beijing, the facts are clear, the evidence produced is reliable and copious, the offense charged is established, and the sentencing proposal is appropriate.

Given that defendant Jie Ruixue was able to make a truthful confession of her crime after being taken into police custody and made a voluntary truthful confession of her crime in court, therefore this Court will show her lenience. The sentencing proposal of the public prosecution agency and defense counsel's related defense opinion is accepted by this Court.

Accordingly, with respect to defendant Jie Ruixue and in accordance with the provisions of Articles 293(1)(iv), 67(3), and 64 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" and Article 5 of the "Supreme People’s Court Supreme and People’s Procuratorate Interpretation on Issues Concerning the Application of Law for Criminal Cases of Disturbing the Peace," the judgment of this Court is as follows:

1. Defendant Jie Ruixue committed the crime of disturbing the peace and is sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment six months.

(The prison term is to be calculated starting on the day the judgment is executed, and each day in custody prior to the execution of the judgment shall count as one day of the prison term, that is, from August 22, 2019 to February 21, 2020.)

2. The tools seized in the process of this case are confiscated by the seizing agency in accordance with the law.

If any party does not accept this judgment, they may within 10 days after the second day after receiving this written judgment bring an appeal through this Court or directly to the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing. A written appeal should be submitted with one original and two copies of the appeal brief

Adjudicator        Bai Chongwei

December 10, 2019

Clerk            Luo Yejun

北京市东城区人民法院

刑事判决书

（2019）京0101刑初946号

公诉机关北京市东城区人民检察院。

被告人解瑞雪，女，1987年4月5日出生于黑龙江省林口县，公民身份号码：×××，汉族，大学本科文化，无业，户籍所在地：黑龙江省林口县。因涉嫌犯寻衅滋事罪，于2019年8月22日被羁押，同年9月26日被逮捕，现羁押在北京市东城区看守所。

辩护人林山，黑龙江国盛律师事务所律师。

北京市东城区人民检察院以京东检一部刑诉[2019]975号起诉书指控被告人解瑞雪犯寻衅滋事罪，于2019年11月21日向本院提起公诉。本院依法适用简易程序，实行独任审判，公开开庭审理了本案。北京市东城区人民检察院指派检察员佟捷出庭支持公诉，被告人解瑞雪及其辩护人林山到庭参加了诉讼。现已审理终结。

公诉机关指控：

2019年8月22日10时许，被告人解瑞雪在天安门广场国旗杆附近，为表达个人意愿，身穿写有“言论自由、平反六四、反对悲剧再次发生”等内容的白色T恤在游客密集地区站立，后被民警当场抓获。

被告人解瑞雪到案后自愿如实供述自己的罪行。

公诉机关适用认罪认罚程序将本案诉至本院，并书面建议对被告人解瑞雪在有期徒刑六个月至一年幅度内判处刑罚。

上述事实，被告人解瑞雪及其辩护人在开庭审理过程中无异议，并有到案经过；工作说明；证人张某、宋某的证言；辨认笔录；鉴定意见；扣押决定书、扣押笔录、扣押物品清单；照片制作说明、涉案物品照片；视听资料；被告人解瑞雪的供述、住宿记录及户籍身份材料予以证实，足以认定。

辩护人的辩护意见认为，被告人解瑞雪此次犯罪情节较轻、主观恶性不大，犯罪持续时间短、未造成严重的社会危害，其此次犯罪系初犯、到案后能够如实供述，且其确系具有一定精神缺陷的人。建议法庭对其从轻处罚。

本院认为，被告人解瑞雪无视国法，故意在天安门广场等敏感地带制造事端，造成公共场所秩序严重混乱，其行为妨害了正常的社会管理秩序，已构成寻衅滋事罪，依法应予以惩处。北京市东城区人民检察院指控的事实清楚，举证确实、充分，指控的罪名成立，量刑建议适当。鉴于被告人解瑞雪到案后能够如实供述所犯罪行，当庭自愿认罪，故本院对其从轻处罚。公诉机关的量刑建议及辩护人相关辩护意见，本院予以采纳。据此，本院对被告人解瑞雪依照《中华人民共和国刑法》第二百九十三条第一款第（四）项，第六十七条第三款，第六十四条及最高人民法院、最高人民检察院《关于办理寻衅滋事刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释》第五条之规定，判决如下：

一、被告人解瑞雪犯寻衅滋事罪，判处有期徒刑六个月。
（刑期从判决执行之日起计算。判决执行以前先行羁押的，羁押一日折抵刑期一日。即自2019年8月22日起至2020年2月21日止。）

二、在案扣押的作案工具，由扣押机关依法没收。
如不服本判决，可在接到判决书的第二日起十日内，通过本院或者直接向北京市第二中级人民法院提出上诉。书面上诉的，应当提交上诉状正本一份，副本二份。

审判员　　白崇伟

二〇一九年十二月十日

书记员　　罗也君

China's Search Engines (Except One) Stop Notifying Users of Political Censorship

The following screenshots show that, at some time between mid-March and the end of May, 2016, China's three major search engines - Baidu, Sogou, and Qihoo - stopped displaying a censorship notice for the phrase "China's Last Leader" (中国最后领导人). Instead, Baidu and Qihoo tell users they are unable to find any search results, and Sogou returns a blank page.

It is unclear exactly when these search engines stopped displaying their censorship notices, but these screenshots show that, in the case of Baidu, it happened in mid-May.

This screenshot was taken in July 2009, and shows that Baidu had been placing a censorship notice at the top of certain search results for at least 7 years.

These screenshots show that, while Baidu has not always censored terms like "Tiananmen Massacre," it continued to do so in June 2016, and the only thing that has changed is that it is no longer informing users when it does.

This screenshot was taken on June 9, 2016, and shows that the PRC-based version of Microsoft's Bing search engine was still notifying users when it censored search results pursuant to a government order.

Baidu Censors Information About June 4, 1989 In its Forum, Knowledge, and Encyclopedia Services

This screenshot was taken on June 4, 2016, and shows Baidu banned users from establishing a forum about “Tiananmen” (天安门) on its PostBar (贴吧) product.

These screenshots show that on June 4, 2016, Baidu deleted two questions about “What Day is June 4?” from its “Knowledge” (Zhidao 知道) product.

 Here are the deleted questions and answers:

What day is June 4?

Its a day that’s commemorates a movement many years ago. Nowadays there’s not many people who still remember the people or events of that year.

六月四日是什么日子

是多年前一个运动的纪念日。现在已经没有多少人还记得当年的那些人、那些事了。

What day is June 4?

Ah, a most ordinary day.
There’s no holiday or anything.
Perhaps its a day that certain people commemorate.

六月四日是什么日子

很平常的日子啊
又没什么节日
可能是某某人的纪念日吧

Original URLs:

• http://zhidao.baidu.com/link?url=UJ99OGPtrDBHcqG4wZ7C6FeZvF0W8fLOpDeGBJC72eM4PowJDPy6gKuM71T8q07xXiKHvq--ai1n86sEzOcUYGWWzS0w5X-Dl8NEWY63BbO
• http://zhidao.baidu.com/link?url=G5CxSLll3JTXlKfGrNF9PBj43z9arxPfxTp-01BJo-SZB6sXXSL-swswJtfz4a1_0pWR6qkCtnMVGyuTCv7CnOyPtpEniJ_uSPJKF5-dGt_

Here are what Baidu’s Encyclopedia (Baike 百科) article for "1989" says were the only major events on June 4:

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。

Here's What Sina Weibo Was Censoring on June 4, 2016

Here are a few of the terms that Sina Weibo was censoring on June 4, 2016:

• Tiananmen
• June 4
• Tiananmen 1989 (天安门 1989)
• Victoria Park (维园)

Comparing Baidu and Bing on June 4, 2016

The following screenshots were taken on June 4, 2017. The Bing screenshots of from Bing's global search engine, not its PRC based cn.bing.com version.

A web search for "Tiananmen Square Massacre" in English.

An image search for "Tiananmen Square Massacre" in English.

An image search for "Wang Weilin Tank" (王维林 坦克).

A web search for "Tiananmen Mothers" (天安门 母亲).

Searching for Information about June 4, 1989 on Sogou's New English Search Engine

On May 19, 2016, the state sponsored Global Times published an article entitled “Sogou, Microsoft Service.” Some excerpts:

Sogou Inc, a search engine arm under Internet company Sohu.com Inc, teamed up with Microsoft on Thursday by launching an English language search service to further its presence in the country's online search market.

With the aid of the global search technology provided by Microsoft's engine Bing, Sogou said in a statement that it can offer the latest English-language news, information and academic data to users. 

The following screenshots for "Tiananmen," "Massacre," and "June 4, 1989" were taken on June 4, 2016. In each case Sogou returned no results, only a notice saying "Apologies, we cannot find the English search results you are looking for." (抱歉，没有找到你要的英文结果).

Baidu Begins Censoring "Tiananmen 27th Anniversary"

These screenshots show that on June 2, 2016, Baidu began censoring search results for “Tiananmen 27th Anniversary” (天安门 27周年).

These screenshots show that on June 2, 2016, all results from Sina's blogging service disappeared from Baidu's search results for “Tiananmen 27th Anniversary.”

Baidu has imposed similar censorship in past years:

• Baidu's Censorship of the 24th Anniversary of the Government's "Clearing" of Tiananmen Square
• Watch as Baidu Implements Censorship of "Tiananmen 25th Anniversary”
• Baidu and Sina Weibo Censor "Tiananmen 26th Anniversary"

Sogou and Microsoft's Bing Cooperate on English Language Search

On May 20, 2016, the state sponsored China Daily published an article entitled “Sogou, Bing Unite for ‘Bigger World' Searches.” Some excerpts:

Sogou Inc joined forces with a Western search engine giant in a new English-language search service, looking to take advantage of Baidu Inc's recent crisis to gain more market share.

Sogou, which operates China's third-largest online search engine, said on Thursday that to satisfy Chinese curiosity for global information, it has teamed up with Microsoft's Bing to launch an English-language search engine.

Wang Xiaochuan, CEO of Beijing-based Sogou, said the desire to closely link with the whole world prompted his company to launch the service. "We invite you, together with us, to embrace a bigger world.”

All of the following screenshots were taken on May 20, 2016.

Sogou’s English search engine found over 38,000 results for “Cai Yingwen,” but no results for “Xi Jinping.”

Baidu was able to find results for "Xi Jinping" in English.

Sogou’s English search engine found over 3,000 results for “Great Leap Forward,” but no results for “Cultural Revolution.”

Baidu was able to find results for "Cultural Revolution" in English.

Sogou’s English search engine found over 8 Million results for “Forbidden City,” but no results for “Tiananmen.”

Baidu was able to find results for "Tiananmen" in English.

Sogou’s English search engine found over 4 million results for “Dalai Lama,” but no results for “Li Hongzhi.”

Baidu was able to find results for "Li Hongzhi" in English. 

Sogou’s English search engine found almost 2 million results for “Independent Tibet,” but no results for “Tibetan Independence.”

Baidu was able to find results for "Tibetan Independence" in English.

Sogou’s English search engine found almost 2 million results for “Obscenity,” but no results for “Pornography.”

Baidu was able to find results for "Pornography" in English.

Sogou’s English search engine found over 13 million results for “Vagina,” but no results for “Penis.”

Baidu was able to find results for "Penis" in English.