Tag: Censorship

Wang Gang’s Egg Fried Rice Video and Free Speech in China

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The United States is entangled in an emotional debate about antisemitism and free speech on college campuses. The latest speech debate in China is about a chef’s video on how to make egg fried rice. Egg fried rice is a staple of Chinese home cooking and one of the first dishes many Chinese learn to cook. Think of mac and cheese in America. That was probably why Wang Gang, one of China’s most popular food bloggers, has made multiple recipe videos about the dish in the past five years. His…

Jimmy Lai trial: heavy security presence as landmark national security case begins in Hong Kong

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The media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has gone on trial at a heavily guarded Hong Kong court on national security charges that could lead to life imprisonment. Lai’s trial, expected to last months, is one of the most high-profile prosecutions in the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on opposition, and has been widely condemned by rights groups and other governments. The 76-year-old pro-democracy activist and founder of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper has been accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security under sweeping legislation…

‘I Have No Future’: China’s Rebel Influencer Is Still Paying a Price

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In November 2022, Li Ying was a painter and art school graduate in Milan, living in a state of sadness, fear and despair. China’s strict pandemic policies had kept him from seeing his parents for three years, and he was unsure where his country was heading. In China, after enduring endless Covid tests, quarantines and lockdowns, people staged the most widespread protests the country had seen in decades, many holding roughly letter-size paper to demonstrate defiance against censorship and tyranny, in what has been called the White Paper movement. Then…

China influencing leading British universities, documentary claims

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Leading British universities have been influenced by Chinese agents, with diplomatic and unofficial pressure resulting in censorship on campus, according to a Channel 4 documentary. The Dispatches documentary, Secrets and Power: China in the UK, alleges that the University of Nottingham closed its School of Contemporary Chinese Studies in 2016 in response to pressure from Beijing. The former head of the institute, Prof Steve Tsang, has openly criticised the Chinese Communist party (CCP) on several occasions, but said that university management asked him not to speak to the media during…

Xi critic who fled on jetski to South Korea will die if sent back to China, says father

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The father of a Chinese dissident detained in South Korea said his son will die if he is sent back to China, a country he escaped from on a jetski in a life-threatening journey in August. A court in South Korea will decide on Thursday the fate of Kwon Pyong, who is charged with violating the immigration control act. Kwon, 35, pleaded guilty and appealed for leniency as prosecutors requested a sentence of two and a half years, which experts say is unusually harsh. In the first public comments by…

China seeks to stifle public grief for former premier Li Keqiang

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Public tributes to China’s former premier Li Keqiang, who died on Friday, are being strictly controlled as the government seeks to prevent a mass outpouring of grief that could lead to social unrest. Li suffered a sudden heart attack in Shanghai and died in the early hours of Friday, according to Xinhua news agency. There have been public displays of grief, particularly in his home city of Hefei, in Anhui province, where hundreds of mourners laid flowers for one of their most significant sons. Social media is awash with tributes…

Chinese programmer ordered to pay 1m yuan for using virtual private network

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A programmer in northern China has been ordered to pay more than 1m yuan to the authorities for using a virtual private network (VPN), in what is thought to be the most severe individual financial penalty ever issued for circumventing China’s “great firewall”. The programmer, surnamed Ma, was issued with a penalty notice by the public security bureau of Chengde, a city in Hebei province, on 18 August. The notice said Ma had used “unauthorised channels” to connect to international networks to work for a Turkish company. The police confiscated…

China Uses ‘Deceptive’ Methods to Sow Disinformation, U.S. Says

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The State Department accused China on Thursday of using “deceptive and coercive methods” to shape the global information environment, by acquiring stakes in foreign newspapers and television networks, using major social media platforms to promote its views and exerting pressure on international organizations and media outlets to silence critics of Beijing. The accusations, detailed in a report by the department’s Global Engagement Center, reflect worry in Washington that China’s information operations pose a growing security challenge to the United States and to democratic principles around the world by promoting “digital…

China’s manipulation of media threatens global freedoms, says US report

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China is manipulating global media through censorship, data harvesting and covert purchases of foreign news outlets, according to a new report from the US state department, which warned the trend could lead to a “sharp contraction” of global freedom of expression. The report released on Thursday found that Beijing had spent billions of dollars annually on information manipulation efforts, including by acquiring stakes in foreign media through “public and non-public means”, sponsoring online influencers and securing distribution agreements that promote unlabelled Chinese government content. The Chinese embassy in Washington did…

Chinese state media censors itself after highlighting poem about corrupt leaders

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Chinese state media appears to have censored one of its own videos after viewers notice it featured a classic Chinese poem about corrupt and indulgent leaders ignoring national crises. The video, produced by official state media outlet, the People’s Daily, aimed to promote the city of Hangzhou, which is hosting the Asian Games this month, by showcasing literary links to the city. However one featured poem by Lin Sheng raised some eyebrows. Written in the 12th century, it is interpreted as a criticism of the Song Dynasty rulers, accusing corrupt…