China
2009
China: Some surprises, some old news in Xinjiang
Security forces were protecting, rather than harassing, international journalists covering riots in northwestern Xinjiang this week–a welcome change. A few have reported official interference since Sunday. But during previous outbursts of ethnic unrest in China’s Tibetan and Uighur autonomous regions, security forces have repeatedly antagonized and expelled the foreign press corps. Foreign reporters this week…
China postpones installation of filtering software…for now
China’s Internet censors have blinked. In the face of opposition ranging from PC makers abroad to bloggers at home, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has backed away, at least for now, from a hastily conceived directive that all new PCs sold from July 1 should carry filtering software.
Stoking, not suppressing, dissent in China
A self-styled army of Internet users, Anonymous Netizens, has announced its intention to wage war on government censors, starting July 1. Global Voices Online has the text in English; it’s also here in Chinese. Whether their scheduled attack (its nature is not specified) will be felt or not, the irritation of the document’s drafters is…
Looking at Tiananmen as a ‘development opportunity’
The English-language version of the state newspaper Global Times raised eyebrows on Tuesday with an article headlined, “Evolution of Chinese intellectuals’ thought over two decades.” The opinion piece included a quote from an academic referencing the “June 4 incident”–a departure for domestic, state-run media, which never refer explicitly to the peaceful demonstrations that were crushed…
Tiananmen: It’s raining censorship
It’s hot in Beijing this time of year. An umbrella can serve as a convenient protection from the sun. Back in the spring of 1989, hundreds of umbrellas filled Tiananmen Square like makeshift shelters–until the army deployed tanks and guns against the anti-government protesters holding them.
Foreign journalists harassed in Tiananmen Square
The Foreign Correspondent’s Club of China (FCCC) has posted a statement on its Web site about Chinese security officials–uniformed and otherwise–harassing foreign journalists in and around Tiananmen Square. The group’s incident list includes five cases of obstruction reported in the past week. As usual in situations the government finds sensitive, police are not following regulations…
China blocks Twitter before Tiananmen
“Twitter is a new thing in China. The censors need time to figure out what it is. So enjoy the last happy days of twittering before the fate of YouTube descends on it one day,” veteran Chinese blogger Michael Anti told the media blog Danwei in a May 27 interview.
Tiananmen briefing: Gate to press freedom closed in 1989
The events of 1989, which culminated on June 3 and 4 when the army opened fire on civilians trying to block its approach to the main site of protests at Tiananmen, the “gate of heavenly peace,” are dismissed as riots in official state media accounts. Propaganda officials interpret references to the events as a sign…
No news on Zhao is good news for Communist Party
News of the coming posthumous publication of Zhаο Ziyаng’s memoirs hit the stands this week–outside China, anyway. Local media did not cover the story on Friday, and officials have yet to comment. Neither the Chinese nor the English version of the book, Prisoner of the State, reportedly transcribed while the former Communist Party general secretary was under house…