Anything used to insult Xi Jinping, banned
Jamie SeidelNZ Herald
China's new President-for-life doesn't like criticism. Since claiming the eternal throne of an Emperor earlier this week, he's clamped down — hard — on any hint of dissent. Censorship has always been a way of life under China's one party state, reports News.com.au. But things have just ramped up to a whole new level.
Authoritarian Rule is Being Established.
Earlier this week the Communist Party Council announced (a day before it actually met) that the limit of two five-year presidential terms will be abolished and Xi Jinping's guiding philosophy would be written into the constitution. Immediately, Beijing's censors set to work. They've attacked the very words people would need to use to express discontent.
"Emperor"'
"Two term limit".
"Control".
These top a long list of terms now blocked by China's state controlled social media platform, Weibo, as well as the search engine Baidu. And while you cannot burn electronic books, Beijing's done the next best thing.
Animal Farm.
1984.
Brave New World.
Simply mentioning the names of novels and authors which paint dystopian pictures of worlds under authoritarian leadership is no longer permitted.
But the blocking of just one basic word demonstrates the full extent of Xi's desire to rewrite the dictionary.
"Disagree".
This is what it prompts:
"Sorry, this content violates the laws and regulations of Weibo's terms of service."
Many within China reacted with shock at the leadership announcement earlier this week. They knew their words were being watched. Still they tried to express their fear of life subject to the whims of just one man. "Argh, we're going to become North Korea," one Weibo user wrote. He was referencing Kim Jong-un and the Kim dynasty which has ruled since the 1940s.
But Xi Jinping is doing all he can to put any negative reaction to his power grab in a bottle before it can spread. Within hours, all such posts on social media or internet services were deleted. And Xi's thought police embarked on a crusade against compromising memes.
Popular children's character Winnie the Pooh was one of the first victims.
"It would be funny if it weren't so serious," says Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) analyst Fergus Ryan. "Behind the gallows humour is growing despair." Chinese social media has long seen a similarity between the portly features of the honey-loving bear and Xi Jinping. So cartoons featuring the character have been exploited to indirectly mock their leader.
Shortly after the announcement earlier this week, Weibo users started circulating an innocent post from Disney's official account. It showed Winnie Pooh hugging a large pot of honey. Beneath was the caption "find the thing you love and stick with it."
It — along with every other Pooh reference they can find — has been exterminated by the censors. . . . .
The Power of One
Immediately after the social media clampdown, Beijing-controlled traditional media went into full-swing. Their praise of Xi has been profusive and prolific. Their top articles — along with many of those deemed to be 'trending' — are entirely supportive. They argue the military, the Communist Party and China's economy will benefit from Xi's enlightened leadership.
The formal proposal to eliminate the two-term presidential limit will go to next month's annual meeting of China's parliament. It's usually little more than a rubber stamp for the Communist Party's Central Committee.
Now that stamp will be wielded by just one man. Xi. . . .
Some word bans have already been lifted. Wives are once again allowed to 'disagree' with their husbands electronically. Many, however, remain in place.
Book publishers, internet services — even scientific journals — have been accused of censoring works out of fear of offending powerful Chinese government groups. "One by one, big Western companies like Apple, Daimler, Marriot International and Yum Brands are being cowed by hordes of nationalistic trolls for the crime of crossing patriotic red lines," Ryan states.
"To what extent are our own companies, politicians, journalists and academics already self-censoring for fear of offending Xi's China?"
No comments:
Post a Comment