Internet Censorship in China:

Why does the Chinese government censor the internet?

By Emily Fedor
Zurich International School Grade 8 English J8 Summit 2012

The Internet plays a drastically large part in lives today. We read news online, play games on the Internet, communicate through email or Facebook, look things up on Google, and far more. Take down the Internet for a day and most people in developed countries would be utterly lost. Yet in other countries, such as the Peoples Republic of China, this privilege and valuable modern technology is heavily monitored and censored, violating human rights concerning privacy, freedom of communication, of speech, and of information. Individual access is watched, whole websites are banned, and content is filtered and altered to suit the Chinese government. And for what purpose? Something altruistic and highly beneficial to Chinese citizens, mayhap? No merely to serve the Chinese government and keep them in power. The Peoples Republic of China censors the Internet because the government wants to favorably influence political opinions nation-wide, subdue and prevent malcontent and dissent, and are confident that they wont be forced to reconsider their stance.

The Chinese government utilizes the Internet to send out government-exhorting propaganda and censors examples of bad leadership to glorify and vindicate itself respectively. A group estimated to be several hundred thousand bloggers called the 50 Cent Party are paid by the PRC government (Peoples Republic of China) to blog about and discuss recent events from a point of view beneficial to the government (approximately 50 Chinese cents per pro-government post, hence the name) (Bristow). If the discussion regards something heinous that cannot be spun in a good way, they are paid to steer the conversation away from that volatile topic. This subtle way of spreading propaganda through ordinary people who happen to blog has been happening for years. Secondly, not only does the PRC flood the internet with propaganda, but they also remove and block anything that reflects badly upon themselves notably, the infamous Tiananmen Square Massacre. The heart of this outrageous incident was this the citizens of China were protesting government corruption and calling for reform, largely in Tiananmen Square. Eventually, however, after ignoring every demand put to them, Chinese officials declared martial law and cleared protestors from the square with tanks. Searching Tiananmen Square on any uncensored search engine will reward the searcher with pages upon pages of pictures of tanks and protestors yet in China, this is most definitely not the case. The same search request will come up with tourist information, its illustrious history

and certainly not tanks. There are other examples, too. China was ranked fairly low on the UN World Happiness Report 112th out of 156 countries (Sachs) and, displeased, that website is now inaccessible to the Chinese people. Thirdly, China stringently controls what news enters the country. Saying that they only want social stability and that the people should be protected from non-healthy news, they use an iron fist when it comes to international news organizations. Many online news sites are blocked outright, and others are heavily censored. On the list are The Irish Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, The National Public Radio, Radio Canada International, United Nations daily news and current events, The Saudi Times, Yahoo! Singapore News, and many, many more (Sites Blocked in China). The Chinese government does not wish for the citizens of China to have their heads filled with stories of actual democracies that they might covet for themselves, or any criticism of China that might appear. In short, the Chinese government manipulates the online world by censoring items that would cause political unrest and also sends out propaganda to further its cause. The Peoples Republic of Chinas government heavily monitors the internet to clamp down on any disgruntlement or anti-Chinese government discussions. Consequences can be severe large fines and jail terms without trial (Wilkins, China Human rights), as an example, as well as the deletion of the offending discussion, blog, or forum (Internet Censorship in China). Rather horribly, some people and organizations cooperate with Chinas censorship regime. Yahoo was sued by the World Organization for Human Rights when it supplied the Chinese government with the personal information of a Chinese journalist and a cyber-dissident (in compliance with the Chinese censorship laws), leading to the arrest of both (Mendoza). Amnesty International notes that China has the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world (Background | Global Internet Freedom Consortium), many of whose crimes are simply things like signing online petitions or calling for reform and the end of corruption. China also blocks websites that could be and are often platforms for the spewing of dissent and malcontent and a ridiculous number of them. Ordinary websites that we take for granted Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Picasa, Blogspot, Wordpress, Blogger, Plurk, and Scribd (Sites Blocked in China) (all of which are blogging or social networking-type sites) just as a taste. Then, of course, anything with remotely anti-Chinese government or the

methods thereof the Center for Anti-Communism, Reporters without Borders, Amnesty International, really anything religion-oriented (Sites Blocked in China) even private emails! Nothing online is secret whilst in China, because if anything were, there could be contention lurking without the government knowing and they wont stand for that, will they? Summarily, the Chinese government censors and observes everything happening in the cyber-world to slam down on any dissidence and prevent disunity from spreading.

The Chinese government, sadly, can get away with their heavy censorship without any serious repercussions. Well-known organizations and other governments have criticized but they cannot force the PRC to make changes. Two such organizations are Amnesty International and the US government. Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said on behalf of Amnesty International, Anyone who stands up for human rights faces persecution in China Internet repression continues unabated in China. Search results are filtered and sites are blocked or closed down. People are still in jail for what they have written online. The Chinese authorities must release the stranglehold it has on Chinas Internet users and grant them the same rights to freedom of speech and information as web users in any other country. And it must stop the systematic persecution of people who stand up for human rights. (Google Stops its Censorship) As we can see, this strong statement has achieved nothing except the blocking and censorship of Amnesty International in China (Sites Blocked in China). Hilary Clinton too, on behalf of the US government, has chastised China as well, but there have been no changes. Excerpts from her speech at the opening of the Newseum in Washington DC are as follows Some countries have erected electronic barriers that prevent their people from accessing portions of the worlds networks. Theyve expunged words, names, and phrases from search engine results. They have violated the privacy of citizens who engage in non-violent political speech. These actions contravene the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which tells us that all people have the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, and later Now, all societies recognize that free expression has its limits but [this] must not become an excuse for governments to systematically violate the rights and privacy of those who use the internet for peaceful political purposes. (Remarks on Internet Freedom) There is resistance, but no chance of real action against China for three large and

seemingly insurmountable problems: a total boycott of China is impossible, seeing as some companies such as Yahoo! go along with the censorship laws; threatening to attack China should they not cease their censorship is an unsatisfactory solution as China is very large and a war would cost far too many lives to be discounted; and thirdly, most products are made in China. Many organizations depend on China for factories and workers, and warring with this industrial giant would inevitably cost many companies dreadfully, if not ruin them. In short, the regrettable heart of the matter is that no one has found a way to induce the PRC government to cease with their censorship, despite weak verbal reproof.

In conclusion, the Chinese government selectively removes and suppresses information in their country for the purpose of heightening their popularity within China, squelching and holding back dissidence and murmurs of revolution, and has no reason to currently change their policy. This atrocity is continuing unhindered, blindfolding Chinese citizens to world and national news and anything else the government finds might undermine their precious social stability. Nowadays many of us in the developed world take things for granted kitchen appliances, running water, a well-insulated house and free access to information is among them. However, in China, this is not the case. Their web is flooded with pro- and selectively ridded of anti-government propaganda. How has this not raised a hue and cry among our class? These outrageous happenings must cease, and censorship must go. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be heeded, and freedom of speech and information must be returned to the people of China.

Works Cited: Bristow, Michael. "China's Internet 'spin doctors'." BBC News BBC NEWS | AsiaPacific | China's Internet 'spin doctors'. 16 Dec 2008. 30 May 2012 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7783640.stm>.

Sachs, Jeffrey. First World Happiness Report Launched at the United Nations - The Earth Institute - Columbia University. 2012-04-02 The Earth Institute Columbia University. 30th May 2012 <http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2960>.

Sites Blocked in China - Highlights. November 2002 Harvard Law School. 30th May 2012 <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filtering/china/China-highlights.html>.

"Internet Censorship in China." The New York Times Internet Censorship in China Breaking World Internet Censorship News - The New York Times. 22 March 2010. 30th May 2012 <http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/international/countriesandterritories/chin a/internet_censorship/index.html>.

Wilkins, Britney. 25 Shocking Facts About Chinese Censorship | Online College Tips Online Colleges. 5th July, 2009 Online College. 30th May 2012 <http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/07/05/25-shocking-facts-about-chinesecensorship/>.

China Human Rights | Amnesty International USA. 2012 Amnesty International. 30th May 2012 <http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/asia-and-thepacific/china>.

Mendoza, Jaime. "US: Yahoo! settles in Chinese journalists' lawsuit." AsiaMedia Asia Media :: US: Yahoo! settles in Chinese journalists' lawsuit. 16 11 2007. UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). 30th May 2012 <http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-world.asp?parentid=82174>.

Google stops its censorship in China: Amnesty response. 13th January 2010 Amnesty International. 30th May 2012 <http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18572>.

Remarks on Internet Freedom. 21 January, 2010 US Department of State. 30th May 2012 <http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/01/135519.htm>.

Background | Global Internet Freedom Consortium. 2011 Global Internet Freedom, Inc.. 30th May 2012 <http://www.internetfreedom.org/Background>.