Censorship In The People's Republic Of China
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Censorship in the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(PRC) is mandated by the country's ruling party, the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP). It is one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world. The government censors content for mainly political reasons, such as curtailing political opposition, and censoring events unfavorable to the CCP, such as the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...
, pro- democracy movements in China, the
persecution of Uyghurs in China Since 2014, the government of the People's Republic of China has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as persecution or as ...
, human rights in Tibet, Falun Gong, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and aspects of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Since
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
became the
general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Part ...
(''de facto''
paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important Supreme leader, political figure in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberatio ...
) in 2012, censorship has been "significantly stepped up". The government has censorship over all media capable of reaching a wide audience. This includes television, print media, radio, film, theater, text messaging,
instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of synchronous computer-mediated communication involving the immediate ( real-time) transmission of messages between two or more parties over the Internet or another computer network. Originally involv ...
,
video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
,
literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
, and
the Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, publ ...
. The Chinese government asserts that it has the legal right to control the Internet's content within their territory and that their censorship rules do not infringe on their citizens' right to free speech. Government officials have access to uncensored information via an internal document system. , the
World Press Freedom Index The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002 based upon the non-governmental organization's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in ...
ranks China 172nd out of 180 countries in regards to press freedom and terms it the "world's largest prison for journalists".
Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...
ranks the Chinese press as "not free", the worst possible ranking, saying that "state control over the news media in China is achieved through a complex combination of party monitoring of news content, legal restrictions on journalists, and financial incentives for self-censorship". Other views suggest that Chinese businesses such as
Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and artificial intelligence. It holds a dominant position in China's search engine market (via Baidu Search), and provides a wide variety of o ...
,
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
and Alibaba, some of the world's largest internet enterprises, have benefited from the way China blocked international rivals from the domestic market.


Background

According to
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...
, diversity of views and privately owned media were eliminated in 1949 when the CCP took control of China, bringing editorial freedom to a complete end. The official Chinese news media serves as the CCP's "mouth and tongue" as well as its "eyes and ears." The People's Republic of China adopted the " Economic Reform" policy in 1978, which transformed China's economic structure from a
planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...
to a
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...
. To stimulate the economy, the Chinese government relaxed its control on media, which promoted media commercialization, profits, and growth. The
1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led Demonstration (people), demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsucces ...
were a turning point for Chinese censorship, especially after they were forcibly suppressed on 4 June 1989 following a declaration of
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
and
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
troops being deployed, and the Chinese government was condemned internationally. Following the protests and subsequent massacre, news censorship was strengthened because government officials considered that free media had promoted the "turmoil" and represented a potential threat to the regime. After 1995, the Chinese government expanded internet access because it thought that a developed internet would have a positive effect on economic growth; it simultaneously adopted strategic censorship to control information. The CCP Propaganda Department (中共中央宣传部; CCPPD) is the main official institution responsible for censorship work. Other departments, for example the
State Council Information Office The State Council Information Office (SCIO) is the chief information office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China and an external name of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Historically, SCIO w ...
and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (formerly known as the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...
until 2018), assist with censorship work. In 2013, CCP General Secretary
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
upgraded the Internet censorship department and established the
Cyberspace Administration of China The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC; ) is the national internet regulator and censor of the People's Republic of China. The agency was initially established in 2011 by the State Council as the State Internet Information Office (SIIO) ...
(中央网络安全和信息化委员会办公室; CAC), an independent network regulation agency. The Chinese government censors the domestic internet community and foreign websites differently. For the domestic internet community, the propaganda department governs what type of content should be banned or deleted on the internet, and the system of social media or website conduct
self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...
which automatically filters all sensitive content. Censors review the posts on social media, and the users must register by their real name. For foreign websites, the " Great Firewall" prevents Chinese citizens from accessing particular websites with sensitive content by blocking the
IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two main functions: network interface i ...
of these websites. Meanwhile, some foreign websites are not blocked, but the government extends the loading time for these websites. By 2020, an estimated 12 million to 20 million Chinese internet users were using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to bypass the internet blockade. In accordance with "Implementation Rules for Provisional Regulations of the Administration of International Networking of Computer Information in the People's Republic of China" (), the Chinese government does not support Internet users who use VPN to bypass Internet censorship and visit blocked websites within the Chinese mainland. In principle, it is forbidden for Internet users to use a VPN, but if they only do so without selling VPNs or making profits, the government will not investigate.


Goals

Most broadly, the purpose of the censorship apparatus is to maintain the stability of the
status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
system of governance under the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP). This includes political censorship as well as censorship of content deemed obscene and harmful to public morality, although the latter justification can be used as a means to censor political topics as well. The more specific reasoning and logic of censorship is not publicized by the state, however; scholars outside of China generally tend to take two overarching views of its purpose: first, censorship primarily targets unauthorized criticisms of the party-state; and/or second, censorship primarily targets expression of sentiment that is conducive to organization of collective action (whether or not it is critical of the party-state). In 2013, Gary King, Jennifer Pan, and Margaret E. Roberts published research based on large-scale sampling of posts on a variety of Chinese social media, arguing that the primary motive for censorship is to quash potential for collective action, and not prevent criticism of the government ''per se''. Through regular, automated sampling of extant posts, the authors were able to analyze which were deleted over time. While drawing only from Internet-based sources, King et al. argued their data demonstrated that "despite widespread censorship of social media, we find that when the Chinese people write scathing criticisms of their government and its leaders, the probability that their post will be censored does not increase. Instead, we find that the purpose of the censorship program is to reduce the probability of collective action by clipping social ties whenever any collective movements are in evidence or expected." Further experiments conducted by King et al. (2014) demonstrated and recreated mechanisms of censorship of social media. The authors created social media accounts to publish text online, tracking what was and was not deleted, and additionally obtained social media censorship software used by private corporations to comply with government regulations. King et el. again argued their work offered "rigorous support for the recent hypothesis that criticisms of the state, its leaders, and their policies are published, whereas posts about real-world events with collective action potential are censored." In 2019, however, Dimitar Gueorguiev and Edmund Malesky published an analysis of the data gathered in King, Pan & Roberts (2013), arguing that the sample included critical posts garnered through state-led consultation campaigns, wherein the Chinese government specifically solicited public comment on certain proposals, laws and regulations. Gueorguiev and Malesky subsequently concluded that controlling for such condoned criticism, the "strong" thesis of King, Pan & Roberts (2013)—that collective action potential is the primary trigger of censorship, and not a criticism of the government—failed to stand. Rather, while collective action may be a strong, or the strongest, condition for censorship, general criticism is also a major target as well. In 2017, Bei Qin, David Strömberg, and Yanhui Wu published an article titled "Why Does China Allow Freer Social Media? Protests versus Surveillance and Propaganda." This article argues that censorship of Chinese social media allows coverage of sensitive events, such as protests and strikes, since this content is useful for surveillance. On the other hand, this content may also spread unrest, and censorship considers these two competing goals. To investigate the social media's effectiveness for surveillance, the authors collect over two million blog posts discussing protests and strikes from the Chinese social media site
Sina Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ...
. Qin et al. show that these posts can be used to predict real-world protests and strikes one day in advance. Qin et al. state that "Governments can use these methods to track and analyze online activities, to gauge public opinion, and to contain threats before they spread." Also, this article discusses some posts on Weibo that have accused local officials of corruption, which means some corruption cases can be predicted on social media, and the central government can supervise the local officials on the internet. In 2024, Qin et al. published a paper titled “Social Media and Collective Action in China” where they document how information about protests and strikes spread across Chinese cities, based on retweets of the protests and strike tweets. They find that, despite strict government censorship, Chinese social media has a sizeable effect on the geographical spread of protests and strikes. Chinese scholars Liu Liming and Sheng Qiwen state that censorship helps to protect national
information security Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data ...
as well as prevent in the disclosure and infringement of any important national or personal information. Song Minlei points out that censorship is conducive to the maintenance of China's "ideological security." Internet censorship, Song writes, can protect the mainstream ideology, such as the core socialist value system, prevent the spread of harmful information abroad, and maintain national political stability.


Mechanisms


Party and state bodies

Multiple organs of both the CCP and the Chinese state exercise various degrees of responsibility for censorship. The Publicity Department of the CCP plays a major role in censorship. It issues editorial guidelines for media nationwide, delineating topics that cannot be covered or must be covered in a certain way. In 2013, '' The Beijing News'', a CCP-run newspaper, noted that the Publicity Department employed over 2 million 'public sentiment analysts' ( zh, s=舆情分析师, p=yúqíng fēnxī shī) across the country, who monitor comments on particular topics on the Chinese Internet and compile reports for relevant government or Party bodies if discussion crosses certain thresholds, which in turn decide if and how to respond. Additionally, the Cyberspace Administration of China, another Party body, monitors and censors Internet-based media and speech, and issues guidelines to online platforms outlining priorities for controlling discourse. In 2018, a number of agencies underwent a reorganization designed to strengthen CCP control of media. Most of the duties of the
General Administration of Press and Publication A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online ...
(previously the State Administration for Press Publishing Radio Film & Television), which licensed and censored all content publishers within China, including in print, audio, and online formats, were taken over by the new
National Radio and Television Administration The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) is a ministry-level executive agency controlled by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its main task is the administration and supervision of state-own ...
under the authority of the State Council. Film and press work was transferred directly to the Publicity Department in the form of the State Film Administration and State Administration of Press and Publication.


Private enterprises

Media outlets usually employ their own monitors to ensure political content does not cross Party lines. For example,
WeChat WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...
, a popular messaging and social media platform run by
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...
, uses semi-automated methods to monitor content sent between accounts, including images, checking for politically sensitive material, and will block said material from reaching the intended recipient, even if the sending account is non-Chinese. Other companies may contract censorship out to independent firms. Sina Weibo, the dominant microblogging platform in China, has an internal censorship department that issues its own directives in line with government authority requirements and employs its own censors to monitor content. The
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
has published documents it said are from the Weibo censorship department between 2011 and 2014 that detailed the methodology: "... Sina's computer system scans each post using an algorithm designed to identify politically unacceptable content... sts are flagged by the algorithm and forwarded to the department's employees, who decide their fate based on the instructions listed in the censorship logs." This method is consistent with those documented by King, Pan & Roberts (2014) for other websites. Weibo has been reprimanded and forced to limit certain website functions by Chinese authorities as a consequence for failure to adequately censor content. Operators of some fact-checking websites in China admit to
self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...
to avoid debunking propaganda claims.


Subject matter and agenda

Censorship in the PRC encompasses a wide range of subject matter. The motivations behind such censorship are varied; while some are stated outright by the
Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...
itself, others are surmised by observers both inside and outside of the country.


Historical

The Chinese government regulates the creation and distribution of materials regarding Chinese history. Particular emphasis is placed on opposing historical nihilism. The CCP's historical research body, the Central Committee Party History Research Office, has defined historical nihilism as that which "seek to distort the history of modern China's revolution, the CCP and the armed forces under the guise of reevaluating existing narratives", and thus countering such nihilism is "a form of political combat, crucial to the CCP leadership and the security of socialism". In practice, the term is often applied to any narratives that challenge official views of historical events. Under Xi Jinping, the government began to censor digitized archival documents that contradict official depictions of history. One example of this is the censorship of historical writings about the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
. Although the Chinese government now officially denounces the Cultural Revolution, it does not allow Chinese citizens to present detailed histories of the suffering and brutality that ordinary people sustained. Questioning folk-historical stories, such as those of the Five Heroes of Mount Langya, can be a criminal offense. In 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a
hotline A hotline is a Point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point information transfer, communications Data link, link in which a telephone call, call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by t ...
for the reporting of "historical nihilists" and "illegal" comments about Chinese history. Netizens face jail time and other punishments if they are found to have posted content critical of China's leadership, policies and history.


Political

Censorship in China is seen as a tool to maintain the rule of the CCP. The
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
says that unwelcome views may be censored by authorities who exploit the vagueness in laws concerning publication of state secrets. Major media outlets receive guidance from the Chinese Department of Propaganda on what content is politically acceptable. The PRC bans certain content regarding independence movements in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, the religious movement Falun Gong, democracy, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre,
Maoism Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...
,
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
,
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
,
anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
, gossip, disparity of wealth, and
food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...
scandals. In the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the local media for reporting during the Games: political issues not directly related to the games were to be downplayed and topics such as the Pro-Tibetan independence and
East Turkestan independence movement The East Turkestan independence movement is a political movement that seeks the independence of East Turkestan, a large and sparsely populated region in northwest China, as a nation state for the Uyghur people. The region is currently admini ...
as well as food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water" were not to be reported on. However, the government claims that such a list does not exist.China accused over contaminated baby milk
, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' (15 September 2008)
As the 2008 Chinese milk scandal broke out in September, the Chinese government also denied speculation from media outlets that their desire for perfect (Olympic) games contributed towards the allegedly delayed recall of contaminated
infant formula Infant formula, also called baby formula, simply formula (American English), formula milk, baby milk, or infant milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, ...
. This caused deaths and kidney damage in infants.China Milk Scandal Spreads; Hong Kong Girl Sickened"
,
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...
(21 September 2008)
Al Guo, "First arrests made in tainted milk scandal", Page A4, ''
South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...
'' (16 September 2008)
On 13 February 2009, Li Dongdong, a deputy chief of the General Administration of Press and Publication, announced the introduction of a series of rules and regulations to strengthen oversight and administration of news professionals and reporting activities. The regulations would include a "full database of people who engage in unhealthy professional conduct" who would be excluded from engaging in news reporting and editing work. Although the controls were ostensibly to "resolutely halt fake news", it was criticized by Li Datong, editor at the ''
China Youth Daily The ''China Youth Daily'' ( zh, s=中国青年报, t=, p=) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. It has been the newspaper of the Communist Youth League of China since 1951. It has occasional ...
'' who was dismissed for criticizing state censorship. Li Datong said, "There really is a problem with fake reporting and reporters, but there are already plenty of ways to deal with that."
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
said that although CCP's Propaganda Department micro-manages what newspapers and other media do and do not report, the government remains concerned about unrest amid the economic slowdown and the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. In January 2011, the news website Boxun revealed that the Politburo member responsible for the Propaganda Department,
Li Changchun Li Changchun (born February 1, 1944) is a retired Chinese politician and a former senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party. He served on the Politburo Standing Committee, the party's top leadership council, and as the top official in charge ...
, issued instructions for the Chinese media to downplay social tensions on issues such as land prices, political reform and major disasters or incidents, and to ensure reporting does not show the CCP negatively. The CCP warned that the media must "ensure that the party and government do not become the targets or focus of criticism", and any mention of political reforms must reflect the government in a favorable light.Agence France-Presse (21 January 2011). "Propaganda arm orders pro-party reporting, say rights groups", ''South China Morning Post'' In April 2007, in the Jishan Article Case, three officials in Jishan County (Nan Huirong, Xue Zhijing and Yang Qinyu) in Shanxi Province criticized County CCP Committee Secretary Li Runshan in a writing circulated to local government departments. They were arrested ten days later and subsequently appeared in handcuffs at a "public warning meeting" attended by more than five hundred local officials.


Foreign relations goals

Academic Frances Yaping Wang argues that the Chinese government has strategically censored issues and events when it wishes to de-escalate in its foreign policy dealings yet faces a potentially hostile domestic public reaction. In the aftermath of the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...
, the Chinese government ordered media outlets not to criticize the American president further and the CCP directed to the media to report on the United States in a less hostile manner. Generally, these limitations frustrated Chinese journalists. Following the 1990 incident in which the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency intended to recognize as official a lighthouse built on the disputed Senkaku Islands by a right-wing Japanese group, the Chinese government censored news reports of protests by
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...
(although
British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...
and
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...
reports meant that the Chinese public continued to be aware of media reports on the issue). In 2006, the government censored what it viewed as excessive anti-Japanese sentiment online related to the disputed Senkaku Islands (termed in China as the Diaoyu islands). As part of China's efforts to reduce tensions with Japan immediately following the 2010 boat collision in the disputed islands, the Chinese government censored related keywords online and shut down internet chatrooms addressing the issues. In 2019, large numbers of young online activists nicknamed the "fan girls" used VPNs to access Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to propagate nationalist sentiment in opposition to the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests and China's foreign critics. Authorities ultimately sought to restrict their online presence.


Moral

The Chinese government censors content it considers contrary to Chinese moral and cultural norms, or anything that the state finds to be contrary to the official state beliefs. Content censored on moral grounds has included pornography in China, particularly extreme pornography; violence in films; "low-culture" and morally "problematic" performances, such as hip-hop or those featuring visibly tattooed artists and LGBTQ content on television. Pornography has been illegal since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and is a major target of censorship, but it is still commonly accessible within the country. The National Office for the Fight Against Pornography and Illegal Publications is responsible for the censorship of pornography. Chinese media have reported on censors specifically hired by provincial authorities to screen movies confiscated from unlicensed dealers for pornographic content. Censorship bodies generally treat
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
content as immoral, and regularly censor non-pornographic depictions of such content in mass media. Positive depictions of same-sex relationships in movies and television have been taken off the air by censors, and according to
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
, negative depictions of LGBTQ people are "common and pervasive" as of 2015. Global controversy erupted in 2018 when
Mango TV Mango TV (芒果TV, ''Mángguǒ TV''; MGTV) is a Chinese video streaming platform under Mango Excellent Media, which is controlled by Hunan Broadcasting System. Mango TV was established on May 26, 2006, in Changsha, Hunan and later decided to use ...
edited out Ireland's Eurovision song because it depicted two men holding hands and dancing together. An LGBT flag waved during an earlier performance by Switzerland that year was also blurred out. The
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
subsequently terminated its relationship with Mango TV's parent company,
Hunan Broadcasting System Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) () formerly known as Golden Eagle Broadcasting System (GBS), is China's second biggest State media, state-owned television network after China Central Television (CCTV). The television network is owned by the Huna ...
, preventing any further airing of the Eurovision Song Contest in China. Censors had also cut Albania's 2018 performance because of the lead singer's tattoos. In 2021 the
National Radio and Television Administration The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) is a ministry-level executive agency controlled by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its main task is the administration and supervision of state-own ...
added a ban on " sissy men and other abnormal esthetics" to its rules using the slur '' niang pao''.


Cultural

China has historically sought to use censorship to protect the country's culture. During the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
of the 1970s, foreign literature and art forms, religious works and symbols, and even artifacts of ancient Chinese culture were deemed "reactionary" elements of the
Four Olds The Four Olds () refer to categories used by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution to characterize elements of Chinese culture prior to the Chinese Communist Revolution that they were attempting to destroy. The Four Olds were 'old ideas ...
, which became targets for destruction by
Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...
. The foreign TV shows and films on internet also become the target of censorship. In July 2017,
Bilibili Bilibili (stylized in all lowercase), nicknamed B Site, is a Chinese online video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view, and add overlaid commentary on videos. Bilibili hosts videos on various themes, including ...
, one of the most popular video sites in China, removed most of American & British TV shows, and all foreign categories like "American drama" to comply with regulations. In order to limit outside influence on Chinese society, authorities began to restrict the publishing of children's books written by foreign authors in China from early 2017, reducing the number of these kind of books from thousands to hundreds a year. Male actor's earrings and ponytails have been blurred due to the perception that they are rebellious and countercultural. Doping scandals involving Chinese athletes in international sports are widely censored.


Religious

The
Constitution of China The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the supreme law of the People's Republic of China (PRC). In September 1949, the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference adopted the Common Progr ...
guarantees freedom of religion for citizens, as it does the freedom of speech. In practice, however, there are strict regulations on religious practice and speech. Five state religions are officially recognized:
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
,
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
,
Daoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...
,
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, and
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
; faiths outside of these are illegal, although some are tolerated to varying degrees. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded durin ...
, for instance, is permitted to maintain a small number of places of worship for expatriates, but is forbidden from preaching or proselytizing to Chinese citizens, as are all foreigners. Foreigners caught proselytizing have been arrested and expelled from the country. The Falun Gong is subject to suppression in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, and virtually all religious texts, publications, and websites relating to the group have been banned, along with information on the imprisonment or torture of followers. Christian
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
s are allowed to be printed in China but only in limited numbers and through a single press. Their sale is also restricted to officially sanctioned churches, with online sales restricted since at least April 2018. The Chinese government has fined churches for possession of unauthorized editions of the Bible. Other Christian literature is also restricted; in January 2016, five people were arrested for simply "buying and selling officially forbidden Christian devotionals". They were sentenced to 3–7 years in jail. Distribution of Christian Bibles and other Christian materials through Cantonese language social media has been also prohibited. In 1989, China banned a book titled《性风俗》''Xing Fengsu'' ("Sexual Customs") which insulted Islam and placed its authors under arrest after protests in
Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...
and Beijing by Chinese Hui Muslims, during which the Chinese police provided protection to the Hui Muslim protesters, and the Chinese government organized public burnings of the book. The Chinese government assisted them and gave into their demands because Hui do not have a separatist movement, unlike the
Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...
. A collection of brain teasers published in Sichuan in 1993 caused similar effects, and the three editors of the book were sentenced to 2–5 years. Hui Muslim protesters who violently rioted by vandalizing property during the protests against the book were let off by the Chinese government and went unpunished while Uyghur protesters were imprisoned. In 2007, anticipating the coming "Year of the Pig" in the
Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...
, depictions of pigs were banned from
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
"to avoid conflicts with ethnic minorities". This is believed to refer to China's population of 20 million
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s (to whom pigs are considered " unclean"). In response to the 2015 ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting, Chinese state-run media attacked ''Charlie Hebdo'' for publishing cartoons insulting
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, with the state-run
Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: ),J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. It is a ...
advocating limiting freedom of speech, while CCP-owned tabloid ''
Global Times The ''Global Times'' is a daily Chinese Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the ''People's Daily'', commenting on international issues from a Chinese nationalistic pers ...
'' said the attack was "payback" for what it characterized as Western colonialism, accusing ''Charlie Hebdo'' of trying to incite a clash of civilizations.


Economic

In recent years, censorship in China has been accused of being used not only for political protectionism but also for economic protectionism. Similarly, China has been accused of using a double standard in attacking Google for "obscene" content that is also present on Chinese competitor
Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and artificial intelligence. It holds a dominant position in China's search engine market (via Baidu Search), and provides a wide variety of o ...
. The 2D version of the blockbuster film ''
Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
'' was also pulled from screens in the country; reportedly for taking in too much money and seizing market share from domestic films. Furthermore, the official ban on most foreign films hardly affects Chinese citizens; such films can easily be acquired in copyright-infringing formats, allowing Chinese to view such films to be financially accessible while keeping their money within the domestic economy. In February 2007, the website of the French organization Observatoire International des Crises was banned in the PRC after it posted an article on the risks of trading with China. "How do you assess an investment opportunity if no reliable information about social tension, corruption or local trade unions is available? This case of censorship, affecting a very specialized site with solely French-language content, shows the hinesegovernment attaches as much importance to the censorship of economic data as political content," the organization was quoted as saying. In 2016, after a series of policy mishaps in the backdrop of severe economic downturn in the country, regulators, censors and government officials have increased censorship. Officials, regulators and censors acting to stem the flow of money abroad by creating an environment of "zhengnengliang" (positive energy), have warned to commentators whose remarks or projections on the economy contradict optimistic official statements. Discussions of poverty in the country have been increasingly censored. Official statistics such as land sales, foreign investment data, and unemployment figures are no longer published and certain previously published statistics have been removed online.


Geographic

Private surveying and publication of geographic data (such as a map) without a permit is illegal in China.


Health

At the end of December 2019, Hong Kong media began to report several cases of unidentified pneumonia in Wuhan, China. At the same time, Chinese mainland media had no reports related to new unidentified pneumonia. In late December, social media networks were under official pressure to censor contents that related to the early warning of the virus. At the end of December, the Chinese livestreaming platform YY (YY 直播) started to censor content that contained specific keywords, for example, "Unknown Wuhan Pneumonia (不明武汉肺炎)" and "SARS outbreak in Wuhan (爆发SARS疫情)." On 30 December,
Li Wenliang Li Wenliang (; 12 October 19857 February 2020) was a Chinese ophthalmologist who warned his colleagues about early COVID-19 infections in Wuhan. On 30 December 2019, Wuhan Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (Wuhan CDC) issued emerg ...
released a message in a WeChat group, saying that "seven cases of SARS were diagnosed in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market and isolated in the emergency department of our hospital." An hour later, Li Wenliang announced in the WeChat group that "the latest news is that coronavirus infection has been confirmed and virus typing is in progress." On 3 January 2020, he was warned and admonished by Zhongnan Road Street police station of Wuchang District."关于群众反应的涉及李文亮医生有光情况调查的通报," [Circular on the investigation of Dr. Li Wenliang's situation reflected by the masses] ''National Supervisory Commission'', March 19, 2020
Li Wenliang died of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
on 7 February, which caused a sensation in Chinese society. China's government began to restrict information about the epidemic beginning in early January, before the existence of a novel coronavirus had been confirmed. On WeChat, the mention of Li Wenliang was blocked starting on 9 February. At the same time, topics related to criticism of the government's policies on dealing with the pandemic were being censored. Scholars Lotus Ruan, Jeffrey Knockel, and Masashi Crete-Nishihata point out that since the outbreak, government officials have restricted the dissemination of information about the virus in order to reduce public fear. They also state that "on the other hand, censoring keywords critical of central leadership and government actors may be an effort to avoid embarrassment and maintain a positive image of the government." Historian Jeremy Brown said, "the initial cover-up of the virus in December and January in Wuhan allowed it to spread and fueled a global pandemic instead of containing it locally."


Media, communication and education controls


Newspapers

Language is a sensitive matter in the PRC. But in the same way, false or unreal praise and devotion must be subjected to careful scrutiny in China. Since the 1960s, there are several articles in newspapers that have been criticized and censored consequently. The Chinese government has maintained strict control over both traditional and contemporary media to prevent any potential undermining of its authority. On the twentieth anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Chinese media came under tremendous pressure from authorities. ''
Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and coll ...
'' reported on the CCP Propaganda Department's "hitherto unimaginable extent" of pressure to screen out any related content. The journal reported two incidents in 2008 which caused official concern, but which could not be proven to be deliberate challenges: ''Beijing News'' published an image of an injured person being taken to the hospital on 4 June and ''
Southern Metropolis Daily ''Southern Metropolis Daily'' (SMD) is a for-profit tabloid newspaper located in Guangzhou city, China,Wang, Xiaotong. 2012. "The Comparison Between Newspapers In Hong Kong And Mainland And Its Enlightenment – A Case Study On Apple Daily And ...
'' reported on unusual weather in Guangdong province with the headline of "4 storms in June," which both journals insisted were due to carelessness. Some newspapers have therefore instructed their editors to refrain from using the numbers '6' and '4' in their reports during this sensitive period. Furthermore, the numbers cannot be used in the headlines lest the Publicity Department disapprove. 30 journalists and 74
netizen The term ''netizen'' is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.
s were reportedly imprisoned in China as of September 2014; China had "44 journalists in prison, more than any other country." The CCP also often employs teams of writers ( zh, s=写作组, p=xiězuò zǔ, l=writing group) to write articles under pseudonyms for the ''
People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...
'', the official newspaper of the CCP, as well as other journals. These writing teams are most often employed by the Central Propaganda Department, the Central Organization Department, and the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee. The main purpose of these writing groups is to spread the opinions and political thoughts of the CCP without these ideas being perceived as
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
. Writing teams consistently use the same pseudonyms to write about specific topics that they specialize in. For example, Ke Jiaoping is the pseudonym for a writing group that publishes articles about technological education and He Zhenhua is the pseudonym for a writing group that publishes articles opposing separatism. The CCP punished foreign journalists by failing to renew their credentials when foreign journalists criticized its policies. On 19 February 2020, China announced the revoking of the press credentials of three ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' reporters based in Beijing. The government of China accused ''The'' ''Wall Street Journal'' of failing to apologize for publishing articles criticizing China's handling of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and failing to "investigate and deal with those responsible".


Internal media

Since CCP general secretary Xi Jinping has consolidated power, '' neican'' have been subject to censorship previously applied only to media for the general public.


Television

Foreign and Hong Kong news broadcasts in mainland China from
ViuTV ViuTV is a Cantonese language Generalist channel, general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company PCCW also operates the IPTV platform Now TV (Hong Kong), Now TV and the ...
.
CNN International Cable News Network International or CNN International (CNNi, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel and website, owned by CNN Worldwide. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates ...
,
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
, and
Bloomberg Television Bloomberg Television (on-air as Bloomberg) is an American-based pay television network focusing on business and capital market programming, owned by diversified information and media private company Bloomberg L.P. It is distributed globally, re ...
are occasionally censored by being "blacked out" during controversial segments. It is reported that CNN has made an arrangement that allowed their signal to pass through a Chinese-controlled satellite. Chinese authorities have been able to censor CNN segments at any time in this way. CNN's broadcasts are not widely available throughout China, but rather only in certain diplomatic compounds, hotels, and apartment blocks. Numerous content which have been blacked out has included references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the
Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...
, the death of Zhao Ziyang, the
2008 Tibetan unrest The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also referred to as the 2008 Tibetan uprising in Tibetan media, was a series of protests and demonstrations over the Government of China, Chinese government's treatment and persecution of Tibetan people, Tibetans. Protes ...
, the 2008 Chinese milk scandal and negative developments about the Beijing Olympics. Due to the anti-censorship stance taken in the
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
episode " Band in China," as well as the appearance of the Dalai Lama and
Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...
, South Park was entirely banned in the PRC following the episode's broadcast. During the Summer Olympics in Beijing, all Chinese TV stations were ordered to delay live broadcasts by 10 seconds, a policy that was designed to give censors time to react in case free-Tibet demonstrators or others staged political protests. In January 2009, during a television report of the
inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
of U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, the state-run China Central Television abruptly cut away from its coverage of Obama's address when he spoke of how "earlier generations faced down fascism and communism." Foreign animation is also banned from prime-time viewing hours (5 pm to 8 pm) to protect domestic animation production. In September 2020, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced it was "strengthening the content review and onsite supervision" of television media, such as talk shows and period dramas, that explore cultural, historical, and political themes. In 2019, it had already begun censoring popular historical Chinese dramas for not promoting socialist values, such as
Story of Yanxi Palace ''Story of Yanxi Palace'' () is a 2018 Chinese television series recounting the struggles of a palace maid in the court of the Qianlong Emperor. It was created by Yu Zheng, with original screenplay written by Zhou Mo, and later developed into a ...
.


Film

China has a large diversity of different foreign films broadcast through the media and sold in markets. China has no
motion picture rating system A motion picture content rating system classifies films based on their suitability for audiences due to their treatment of issues such as sex, violence, or substance abuse, their use of profanity, or other matters typically deemed unsuitable for ...
, and films must therefore be deemed suitable by Chinese censors for all audiences to be allowed to screen. For foreign-made films, this sometimes means controversial footage must be cut before such films can play in Chinese cinemas. Examples include the removal of a reference to the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
in '' Casino Royale'', and the omission of footage containing Chow Yun-fat that "vilifies and humiliates the Chinese" in '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End''. Prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, the PRC administration announced that "wronged spirits and violent ghosts, monsters, demons, and other inhuman portrayals" were banned from audio visual content. Access to the 12,000 movie screens in China is a powerful incentive for film makers, especially those producing material such as '' Kung Fu Panda 3'' to consult and cooperate with Chinese censors. Taking a Chinese partner, as was done in the case of ''Kung Fu Panda 3'', can bypass the quota. Despite this, almost all internationally released foreign films are freely available in Chinese- and English-language versions through the counterfeit trade in DVDs. All audio visual works dealing with "serious topics" such as the Cultural Revolution must be registered before distribution on the mainland. For example, ''
The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 crime film, crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both an English-language remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-lif ...
'' was not given permission to screen because it suggested that the government intends to use nuclear weapons on Taiwan. Films with sexually explicit themes have also been banned, including '' Farewell My Concubine'', ''
Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from Brokeback Mountain (short story), the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the screenplay ...
'' and '' Memoirs of a Geisha''. Warner Brothers never submitted ''
The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...
'' for censors, citing "cultural sensitivities in some elements of the film" due to the appearance by a Hong Kong singer whose sexually explicit photographs leaked onto the internet. Films by PRC nationals cannot be submitted to foreign film festivals without government approval. On 16 December 2012, the film ''
V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (comics), David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing Serial (li ...
'' was aired unedited on CCTV-6, which raised hopes that China is loosening censorship. However, in August 2014 government officials caused the shutdown of the
Beijing Independent Film Festival The Beijing Independent Film Festival () is an annual independent film festival that took place in Songzhuang, China from 2004 to 2014. It has a history of being challenged by the Chinese authorities. The organizer of the event is the Li Xianting ...
, an annual event for independent Chinese filmmakers to showcases their latest works. It was understood by the organizers the government was concerned the festival would be used as a forum to criticize the government. Hollywood producers generally seek to comply with the Chinese government's censorship requirements in a bid to access the country's restricted and lucrative cinema market, with the second-largest box office in the world as of 2016. This includes prioritizing sympathetic portrayals of Chinese characters in movies, such as changing the villains in '' Red Dawn'' from Chinese to North Koreans.


Literature

China's state-run General Administration of Press and Publication (新闻出版总署) screens all
Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202  ...
that is intended to be sold on the open market. The GAPP has the legal authority to screen, censor, and ban any print, electronic, or Internet publication in China. Because all publishers in China are required to be licensed by the GAPP, that agency also has the power to deny people the right to publish, and completely shut down any publisher who fails to follow its dictates. Resultingly, the ratio of official-to-unlicensed books is said to be 40:60. According to a report in CBS Europa, ZonaEuropa, there are more than 4,000 underground publishing factories around China. In 2008 there was one instance of burning of religious and politically incorrect books by local library officials. The banning of unapproved literature or books that have since fallen out of favor with the CCP continues, though critics claim this spotlight on individual titles only helps fuel book sales. Publishing in Hong Kong was uncensored prior to the passage of the 2020 Hong Kong national security law, Hong Kong national security law. Publishers such as New Century Press had freely published books about Chinese officials and forbidden episodes of Chinese history. Banned material including imported material such as that published by Mirror Books of New York City were sold in bookshops such as "People's Commune bookstore" patronized by shoppers from the mainland.


Music

The album ''Chinese Democracy'' by American rock band Guns N' Roses is banned in China, reportedly due to supposed criticism in its Chinese Democracy (song), title track of the government and a reference to the currently persecuted Falun Gong spiritual movement. The government said through a state controlled newspaper that it "turns its spear point on China". Also banned is the track "Communist China" by British rock group Japan (band), Japan. The album ''X (Kylie Minogue album), X'' by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue was released as a 10-track edition of the album by EMI Records. The album got three tracks banned due to strict censorship in the People's Republic of China. The tracks that were omitted were "Nu-di-ty", "Speakerphone" and "Like a Drug". China has historically issued bans to music acts who proclaim support of Tibetan independence movement, Tibetan independence or otherwise interact with the 14th Dalai Lama, Dalai Lama, such as Oasis (band), Oasis—which had concerts cancelled after lead singer Noel Gallagher had performed in a concert to benefit the movement, Maroon 5—which had concerts cancelled after a band member made a Twitter post celebrating his 80th birthday, and Lady Gaga—who became the subject of a ban issued by the CCP Central Propaganda Department after having posted an online video of her meeting with him.


Internet

China's internet censorship is regarded by many as the most pervasive and sophisticated in the world. The system for blocking sites and articles is referred to as "The Great Firewall of China". According to a Harvard study conducted in 2002, at least 18,000 websites were blocked from within the country, and the number is believed to have been growing constantly. A more recent large-scale study published in 2021 revealed more than 311,000 domain names blocked, of which 41,000 were blocked by accident. Banned sites include YouTube (from March 2009), Facebook (from July 2009), Google services (including Google Search, Search, Google+, Google Maps, Maps, Google Docs, Docs, Google Drive, Drive, Google Sites, Sites, and Picasa), Twitter, Instagram, Dropbox (service), Dropbox, Foursquare City Guide, Foursquare, and Flickr. Google was planning to launch a censored version of its search engine in China, blocking information about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest, but it was terminated. Certain search engine terms are blocked as well. Reporters have also suggested that China's internet censorship of foreign websites may also be a means of forcing mainland Chinese users to rely on China's own e-commerce industry, thus self-insulating their economy. In 2011, although China-based users of many Google services such as Google+ did not always find the services entirely blocked, they were nonetheless throttled so that users could be expected to become frustrated with the frequent timeouts and switch to the faster, more reliable services of Chinese competitors. According to BBC, local Chinese businesses such as Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba, some of the world's largest internet enterprises, benefited from the way China has blocked international rivals from the market, assisting domestic companies. More recently, under current CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, there has been a big push to improve information technology and use the improved technology as a means to further promote propaganda and the CCP agenda. This initiative has been successful, and by the end of 2015, almost 700 million Chinese citizens had internet access. However, with this improvement in technological access, there is now much more efficient communication regarding current events and government issues through social media, resulting in broader discussions amongst Chinese netizens on government policies and affairs. Subsequently, the government has implemented rules and preventative measures to counter the spread of negative public opinion regarding the CCP and governmental policies or actions. For example, Article 246. Section 1 in Criminal Law states that unlawful posts that are shared over 500 times or seen over 5000 times will result in the poster being charged with up to 3 years in prison. A study by American researchers of 13.2 billion Sina Weibo, Weibo blog posts over the period 2009-2013 found that many sensitive topics were discussed, including on ethnic conflict, political scandals, and protests. The regulation of public opinion, officially termed "public opinion guidance," was tightened after the National Propaganda and Ideology Work Conference in August 2013. At the conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping underscored the importance of "ideological work" in strengthening and uniting China; more specifically, he strongly emphasized the need to suppress controversies, "mistaken viewpoints", and rumors on every public platform. Shortly after this conference, a nationwide Internet Cleaning-up Campaign (净网行动) was implemented, during which there was a widespread deletion of blogs containing views deviating from those of the Party. That same month in 2013, the government also made a concerted attack against "Big V's" (verified social media celebrities with large public influence) who had a history of online activism and rumor-mongering. Yang Qiuyu, Zhou Lubao, and Qin Huohuo, Qin Huo Huo are three "Big V's" that were arrested between 21 and 23 August 2013 on charges of rumormongering and slander. In that same month, Chinese-American investor Charles Xue (Xue Manzi), one of the most popular liberal social commentators on Chinese social media, was also arrested. Three weeks after his arrest, he appeared on CCTV-1 (a Chinese TV channel), confessing that he "irresponsibly posted rumors about political and social issues online," and commending the new internet regulations passed under General Secretary Xi Jinping's Xi-Li Administration, administration. These arrests served as an example to the rest of the "Big V's" as well as other Chinese internet users to be careful of what they expressed online; in fact, even five months after these arrests in August, there was a noticeable decrease in the number of posts and discussions from prominent online figures. On popular microblogging site Weibo, opinion leaders decreased their posts by around 40% from the previous year. By 2015, instances of censored posts from popular Weibo accounts included messages that were only mildly critical of the government – for example, the blocking of sarcastic comments in the wake of a widely viewed documentary about urban air pollution in China entitled, ''Under the Dome (film), Under the Dome'' ( zh, s=穹顶之下, p= qióng dǐng zhī xià). From 2017 onwards, Chinese censors began removing all images of the character Winnie the Pooh (Disney character), Winnie the Pooh in response to the spread of memes comparing General Secretary Xi Jinping to the plump bear, as well as other characters from the works of A.A. Milne, later leading to the film ''Christopher Robin'' being denied release in China. The Chinese government also employs people as "black PRs" to remove information from the Internet and criticize those who speak negatively about the government. Network operators are obligated by the Cyberspace Administration to assist the government in monitoring and removing "illegal information" online. Moreover, the Cybersecurity Law that went into effect on 1 June 2017 forces internet providers to identify internet users, facilitating control and monitoring of public expression online. The State Council has the right to cut off network access or shut down internet access in response to incidents it deems a risk to national security. For example, in response to the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, the Chinese government restricted internet access in the region and shut down the social media platforms Twitter and Fanfou. In May 2022, outspoken market strategist Hong Hao's social media accounts in China (Weibo & WeChat) were suspended due to series of negative commentaries regarding the country's two-year slump on COVID-19 lockdowns and political tensions. Political scientist Margaret Roberts contends that most Chinese government internet censorship methods do not ban information outright but instead function "as a tax on information, forcing users to pay money or spend more time if they want to access the censored material."


Artificial intelligence

In October 2023, the Chinese government mandated that generative artificial intelligence-produced content may not "incite subversion of state power or the overthrowing of the socialist system." Before releasing a large language model to the public, companies must seek approval from the CAC to certify that the model refuses to answer certain questions relating to political ideology and criticism of the CCP. Questions related to politically sensitive topics such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre or Censorship of Winnie-the-Pooh in China, comparisons between Xi Jinping and Winnie the Pooh must be declined.


Text messaging

According to Reporters without Borders, China has over 2,800 surveillance centers devoted to text messaging. As of early 2010, cell phone users in Shanghai and Beijing risk having their text messaging service cut off if they are found to have sent "illegal or unhealthy" content. In 2003, Progress of the SARS outbreak, during the severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome (SARS) outbreak, a dozen Chinese people were reportedly arrested for sending text messages about SARS. Skype reported that it was required to filter messages passing through its service for words like "Falun Gong" and "Dalai Lama" before being allowed to operate in China. During protests over a proposed chemical plant in Xiamen during the summer of 2007, text messaging was blocked to prevent the rallying of more protesters.


Video games

In 2004, the Ministry of Culture set up a committee to screen imported online video games before they entered the Chinese market. It was stated that games with any of the following violations would be banned from importation: *Violating basic principles of the Constitution *Threatening national unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity *Divulging state secrets *Threatening state security *Damaging the nation's glory *Disturbing social order *Infringing on others' legitimate rights The State General Administration of Press and Publication and anti-porn and illegal publication offices have also played a role in screening games. Examples of banned games have included: *''Hearts of Iron'' (for "distorting history and damaging China's sovereignty and territorial integrity") *''I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike'' (for "intentionally blackening China and the Chinese army's image") *''Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour'' (for "smearing the image of China and the Chinese army") *''Battlefield 4'' (for "smearing the image of China and endangering national security") The historic ban of major video game consoles in the country was lifted in 2014 as part of the establishment of the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Consoles had been banned under a rule enacted in 2000 to combat the perceived corrupting influence of video games on young people. In addition, chat in Chinese video games is subject to similar or even wider restrictions as elsewhere on the Chinese Internet. For example, the chat in the English-language version of ''Genshin Impact'' censors not only swear words but also words such as Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, Falun Gong, Stalin, Hitler and Putin. A study of about 200 Chinese games found out that over 180,000 words have been subject to blacklisting. Extending outside of purely political wordage, innocuous terms such as "enemies" and "words" were also being censored.


Education and science

Censorship is part of knowledge production and education since 1949 and organized and sustained within universities, academies, and schools. In authoritarian countries, censorship is not "from afar", but censorship gains power precisely when members of these organizations respect the political red lines and politically sensitive topics. Censorship and self-censorship are closely related in politically controlled organizations like universities and schools in China. Educational institutions within China have been accused of Whitewash (censorship), whitewashing PRC history by downplaying or avoiding mention of controversial historical events such as the Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. In 2005, customs officials in China seized a shipment of textbooks intended for a Japanese school because maps in the books depicted mainland China and Taiwan using different colors, implying Taiwan was an independent state. In a January 2006 issue of ''Freezing Point'', a weekly supplement to the ''China Youth Daily'', Sun Yat-sen University, Zhongshan University professor Yuan Weishi published an article entitled "Modernization and History Textbooks" in which he criticized several middle school textbooks used in mainland China. In particular, he felt that depictions in the books of the Second Opium War avoided mention of Chinese diplomatic failures leading up to the war and that depictions of the Boxer Rebellion glossed over atrocities committed by the Boxer rebels. As a result of Yuan's article, ''Freezing Point'' was temporarily shut down and its editors were fired. New Threads, a website for reporting academic misconduct in China such as plagiarism or fabrication of data, is banned in China. A new standard world history textbook introduced in Shanghai high schools in 2006 supposedly omits several wars; it mentions Mao Zedong, founder of the PRC, only once. In a ''Frontline (U.S. TV series), FRONTLINE'' segment, four students from Peking University are seemingly unable to identify the context of the infamous Tank Man photo from the 1989 unrest sparked by Peking University students, though possibly, the students were feigning ignorance so as not to upset the party official who was monitoring the interview with clipboard in hand. The segment implied that the subject is not addressed in Chinese schools. On 4 June 2007, a person was able to place a small ad in a newspaper in southwest China to commemorate the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests reading "Paying tribute to the strong(-willed) mothers of 4 June victims". The accepting clerk claimed that she was ignorant of the event and believed that 4 June was the date of a mining disaster. Censorship makes researching certain topics more difficult, risky, or outright illegal. A confidential internal directive widely circulated within the CCP, ''Concerning the Situation in the Ideological Sphere'' (關於當前意識形態領域情況的通報), prohibiting discussion of seven topics, was issued in May 2013. Included on the list of prohibited topics were: constitutional democracy, universal values of human rights, conceptions of media independence and civil society, pro-market neo-liberalism, and "nihilist" criticisms of past errors of the party."China Warns Officials Against 'Dangerous' Western Values"
, Chris Buckley ''The New York Times'', 13 May 2013.

, Chris Buckley, ''The New York Times'', 19 August 2013.
In the late 2010s, a number of incidents in which Chinese authorities requested that Western publishers of academic journals, such as Cambridge University Press, carry out censorship of their articles or risk them being not disseminated in China, became public. Themes that were common elements of this censorship included: Cultural Revolution, Falun Gong, Mao Zedong, Tibet, Tiananmen, and Taiwan. During the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, Investigations into the origin of COVID-19, investigations into the origins of the virus were censored.


Historical trends

In 1955, the Chinese state issued ''State Council Instructions on How to Deal with Anti-revolutionary, Obscene, and Preposterous Books, Magazines, and Pictures'', which sought to regulate the media market through a combination of both mass political mobilization and state administrative action. The ''Instructions'' resulted from multi-sided negotiations involving the state and New Culture Movement, new culture intellectuals.The document provided a range of approaches for various types of media, including banning, "clearing" (which referred to ceasing further publication), or preserving. Pursuant to the ''Instructions'', books and journals that were "extremely anti-revolutionary," as well as pictures of sex acts were banned. With regard to action stories, martial arts stories dealing with "outlandish" themes were to cease publication but materials of "good knights-errant" should be preserved.


Cultural Revolution

The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to get rid of the
Four Olds The Four Olds () refer to categories used by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution to characterize elements of Chinese culture prior to the Chinese Communist Revolution that they were attempting to destroy. The Four Olds were 'old ideas ...
("old customs", "old culture", "old habits", and "old ideas"). If newspapers touched on sensitive topics like these, the journalists were subject to arrests and sometimes violence. Libraries in which there were books containing "offensive literature" would often be burned down. Television was regulated by the government and its goal was to encourage the efforts of chairman Mao Zedong and the CCP. Radio was the same way, and played songs such as, "The Great Cultural Revolution is Indeed, Good".


Under Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping has personally consolidated power and control within the state and party to an extent far greater than his predecessors Hu and Jiang. Accordingly, the intensity and range of censorship in China has increased under his rule. Xi has overseen the increased coordination and consolidation and of censorship authorities, raising their efficiency, and under his leadership censorship practices have tightened. In April 2021 Chinese authorities censored a tribute that former Premier Wen Jiabao had written for his mother in the small paper ''Macau Herald''. Under Xi dissent has been stifled and censorship has been expanded. Later in August, all mentions of Zhao Wei, a billionaire film director and actress, were scrubbed from Chinese platforms without explanation. According to James Palmer, writing for ''Foreign Policy'' in 2023, "[i]n the 2010s, China placed a lot of data online as it attempted to hold local governments more accountable, but it is now being pulled because the data has turned out to be inadvertently revelatory. The use of procurement notices and population data by Western analysts to identify the scale of the atrocities in Xinjiang helped spur the online cleanup." In September 2023, a law was proposed before the National People's Congress that would criminalize comments, clothing, or symbols that Hurting the feelings of the Chinese people, hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.


Responses from society


Self-censorship

Various individuals and organizations both in and outside of China sometimes voluntarily self-censor information that they share publicly by avoiding topics that are believed to be politically sensitive or controversial. These individuals and organizations often self-censor to avoid inviting unwanted attention or repercussions from the Chinese government. For example, in 2017 journalism professor Lüqiu Luwei, Luwei Rose Luqiu conducted several anonymous interviews with well-known political satirists residing in China to demonstrate how censorship has increased since the creation of the State Internet Information Office in 2011. Interviewees described how, since 2011, they became increasingly cautious of the content they posted online and on social media in fear of repercussions from authorities. Most of the interviewees personally experienced being contacted by the Ministry of State Security (China), National Security Police to "drink tea" (unofficial and casual conversation in plain clothes and in public), or be summoned, detained, and possibly disappeared. Luqiu argues that the changing policies of the Chinese government about what is considered unacceptable to share and discuss on the internet has made the practice of self-censorship more necessary for individuals such as political satirists who want to avoid such consequences as being banned from online platforms or being contacted by the police. These perspectives on self-censorship by the interviewees are a part of internet censorship in China, which the Chinese government describes as regulations meant to prevent "subverting state power," "undermining national unity", and infringing upon national honor and interests.


Hong Kong

The introduction of the national-security law in Hong Kong on 30 June 2020, which was implemented during 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, a wave of protests that escalated in 2019, led many, especially activists, journalists, and others already subject to police scrutiny to practice self-censorship. A newspaper article by ''The'' ''Wall Street Journal'' reported on a restaurant that had been warned by the police that it had violated the national-security law by displaying posters and messages supporting the protesters. As a result, the restaurant closed for in-person dining and only allowed staff inside to operate takeout services while some other restaurants and businesses preemptively removed supportive posters and notes to protect themselves. A newspaper article by Reuters also reported that a book publisher hastily made revisions to remove words and passages that were may have been problematic in light of the new law. The article also mentioned that other publishing houses and writers within the city halted sensitive projects while printers, distributors, and bookstores rejected controversial books. Although independent from the mainland's legal system and hence censorship laws, some media of Hong Kong, Hong Kong media have been accused of practicing self-censorship in order to exchange for permission to expand their media business into the mainland market and for greater journalistic access in the mainland too. At the launch of a joint report published by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and "ARTICLE 19" in July 2001, the Chairman of the HKJA said: "More and more newspapers self-censor themselves because they are controlled by either a businessman with close ties to Beijing, or part of a large enterprise, which has financial interests over the border."Freedoms eroded to please Beijing: report
, The Standard (Hong Kong), The Standard, 2 July 2001
For example, Robert Kuok, who has business interests all over Asia, has been criticized over the departures of several China desk staff in rapid succession since he acquired the ''
South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...
'', namely the editorial pages editor Danny Gittings, Beijing correspondent Jasper Becker, and China pages editor Willy Lam. Lam, in particular departed after his reporting had been publicly criticized by Robert Kuok. After the implementation of the Hong Kong national security law in July 2020, media, publishers, and libraries began censoring content perceived as promoting Hong Kong independence, as well as works by prominent democratic activists. International media outlets like ''The New York Times'' also withdrew some of its staff from the city in anticipation of greater censorship in Hong Kong.


International businesses and education

International companies and organizations have also self-censored sensitive topics to maintain and avoid negatively affecting business and professional relationships within China. For example, in 2020, various American politicians accused the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry of self-censoring movies to appease the Chinese government and its audiences and gain access to its market. An article in the magazine The Hollywood Reporter commented on an extensive 94-page report by PEN America showing how major Hollywood studios and directors increasingly made decisions on elements like cast, plot, dialogue, and more to avoid antagonizing Chinese officials. The article criticizes these decisions as being made in the interest of profit making, as "American movies earned $2.6 billion [USD] in China in 2019, with Disney's ''Avengers: Endgame'' pulling in $614 million [USD] there alone." International corporations such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Apple, Myspace, Shutterstock, and Yahoo! have voluntarily censored content for Chinese markets in order to be allowed to do business in the country. In October 2008, Canadian research group Citizen Lab released a new report saying TOM Online, TOM's Chinese-language Skype software filtered sensitive words and then logged these, with users' information to a file on computer servers which were insecure.China 'spying on Skype messages'
, BBC News (3 October 2008)
In September 2007, activists in China had already warned about the possibility that TOM's versions have or will have more trojan horse (computing), trojan horse capability. Skype president Josh Silverman said it was "common knowledge" that Tom Online had "established procedures to meet local laws and regulations ... to monitor and block instant messages containing certain words deemed offensive by the Chinese authorities." Ivy League schools such as Harvard University and Princeton University have also been accused of this behavior, as the national-security law in Hong Kong reportedly prompted the schools to use code words and warning labels for sensitive courses related to China to protect the schools and their students. An article in Forbes described these decisions as being sparked by schools like Harvard and Princeton getting funding from current and former students from China.


Xinjiang cotton controversy

In March 2021, apparel brands H&M, Nike, Inc., Nike, Adidas, and other large companies were criticized and boycotted in China by celebrities, social media platforms, and government media for expressing concern about the use of persecution of Uyghurs in China#Human rights abuses, Uyghur forced labor in producing cotton. As a result, these companies reportedly had contracts terminated and ties cut by Chinese celebrities while Chinese e-commerce companies like Alibaba and JD.com removed products from sale on its platforms. A Xinjiang government spokesman, Xu Guixiang, directly criticized H&M over its statement on Xinjiang cotton for allegedly politicizing the company's economic behavior. In response to the backlash from Chinese consumers, media, and government officials, H&M published a statement on its website that stated it was "working together with our colleagues in China to do everything we can to manage the current challenges and find a way forward." Journalists noted that H&M's messaging reverted to careful self-censorship following these events. An article by Elizabeth Paton in ''The New York Times'' commented on this statement saying that it did not explicitly reference cotton, Xinjiang, or forced labour and that company executives during an earnings conference call similarly avoided such references and "did not comment on the impact of the controversy on sales, except to state that around 20 stores in China were currently closed." Xu Guixiang, the Xinjiang spokesman, along with other Chinese media outlets, celebrities, and businesses have rejected the allegations from the companies and spoken in defense of their cotton industry in Xinjiang while simultaneously accusing Western companies of aiming to destabilize China through accusations of Persecution of Uyghurs in China, genocide.


Marketing

Publishers and other media in the Western world have sometimes used the "Banned in China" label to market cultural works, with the hope that censored products are seen as more valuable or attractive. The label was also used by Penguin Books to sell Mo Yan's novel ''The Garlic Ballads'', which had been pulled from bookshelves because of its themes (anti-government riots) being published so close to a period of actual riots. However, the book was allowed to be sold in China in a few years. Political scientist Richard Curt Kraus criticized Penguin for falsely portraying Mo Yan as a dissident in order to increase his marketability, as well as the underlying assumption that if the United States bans some work, that it must be genuinely obscene, but that if the Chinese government does the same, it is acting on purely political grounds. On the Internet, people use proxy websites that allow anonymous access to otherwise restricted websites, services, and information. Falun Gong and others have been working in the field of anti-censorship software development.


Circumventing censorship

Chinese citizens frequently use many techniques to Internet censorship circumvention, circumvent Internet censorship in order to discuss social and political current events on online platforms and gain access to web pages blocked by the Great Firewall of China. Public relay servers such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and Tor (anonymity network), The Onion Router nodes (Tor nodes) are widely used by Chinese netizens in order to visit blocked web pages. Typically, Internet Service Providers can view an internet user's traffic and data; however, virtual private networks connect internet users to a server through an encrypted connection. This prevents Internet Service Providers from being able to access the internet users' IP addresses, data, activity, and physical location. As a result, the internet user can access blocked websites through this external server. VPNs are so widely used by Chinese netizens that many journalists, both within Party-sanctioned media outlets and private media outlets, are instructed by their editors and supervisors to use VPNs in order to access international news. Chinese netizens also use the method of "Tunneling protocol, tunneling" to access blocked webpages. To avoid censorship by the Great Firewall of China a web page can also be mirrored simply by recreating that page under a different URL. Both methods provide effective way to bypass censorship because of the large scope of the Internet. Netizens also have methods to express their opinions online without being censored by the government. The primary method is in the form of code words, metaphors, or plays on words. For example, the phrase "Grass Mud Horse" (Cao Ni Ma) is commonly used by netizens as a pun on a homophonous profanity; this phrase has been broadly used to signify a subversive means of broaching topics not permitted by the government, and it has been used by netizens advocating for greater freedom of speech. The rise of online satire and code words used to mock or criticize the government or sociopolitical issues has formed a subculture on the Chinese Internet called "egao" (" zh, s=恶搞, labels=no"), which translates literally into "evil doings" in Chinese. These code words and phrases allow netizens to discuss topics ranging from government corruption to health and environment scandals to everyday society and culture. Through this subculture, Chinese netizens can broach sensitive issues on social media with less risk of government censorship. Besides Internet censorship, Chinese citizens have devised methods to circumvent censorship of print media as well. As news organizations in China try to move away from the reputation of simply being mouthpieces for CCP propaganda, they face a difficult challenge of having to report the news objectively while remaining on good terms with the government. Journalists do their best to resist government censorship by maintaining a relatively neutral balance of positive and negative tones in articles, reporting on officials who have already been officially removed from their positions, disparaging the CCP as an entity instead of targeting individual officials, and focusing blame on lower-ranking officials. News organizations encourage their journalists to report on more sensitive yet risky articles by promising journalists compensation even if their articles get cut by government officials before publication. Editors also try to ensure job security by continuing to employ a journalist under another position even when told by the CCP to fire that journalist for disobeying Party protocol.


See also

*Li Haoshi controversy *2013 Southern Weekly incident *Human rights in China *Mass media in China *Chinese censorship abroad *Propaganda in China *Radio jamming in China *Yumin zhengce


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Censorship in the People's Republic of China Censorship in China,