Technology The internet must be "clean and righteous" and vulgar content must be resisted in the field of culture, Chinese President Xi Jinping told a meeting of senior propaganda officials, state media said on Wednesday. 22 Aug 2018 09:01PM (Updated: 22 Aug 2018 09:01PM) Bookmark BEIJING: The internet must be "clean and righteous" and vulgar content must be resisted in the field of culture, Chinese President Xi Jinping told a meeting of senior propaganda officials, state media said on Wednesday.The government has been tightening controls over internet content as part of what it says are efforts to maintain social stability, taking on "vulgar" and pornographic content as well as the unauthorised dissemination of news.The moves come amid a broader clamp-down targeting online content from livestreams and blogs to mobile gaming, as the country's leaders look to tighten their grip over a huge and diverse cultural scene online popular with China's youth.Speaking at a two-day … [Read more...] about China’s Xi says internet must be ‘clean and righteous’
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China is putting its weight behind North Korea by censoring all insults of Kim Jong Un
caption North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) embrace after signing the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula during the Inter-Korean Summit at the Peace House on April 27, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea. source Korea Summit Press Pool/Getty Images Chinese tech companies are censoring phrases considered to be insulting to Kim Jong Un. The term “Fatty Kim the Third” appears to be blocked on Weibo and Baidu, while “Fatty on the Train,” “Prosperous Fat,” and “Kim the Third Pig” have been censored. Blocking the terms seems to have occurred days ahead of Kim’s Tuesday summit with President Donald Trump. To get around regular censorship, Chinese internet users have gotten creative with the terms they use. China appears to be censoring searches of words and … [Read more...] about China is putting its weight behind North Korea by censoring all insults of Kim Jong Un
China cracks down on spoofs of ‘Communist heroes’
BEIJING: China's culture watchdog has slapped fines on websites that posted parodies of "Communist classics and heroes", as the authorities further restrict what people can say — or even laugh at — online. Major video sites iQiyi and Sina were handed undisclosed fines for "distorting or mocking" classic works, the culture ministry said, less than two weeks after new rules were issued to ban online spoofs. The ministry did not describe the offending videos. But another company in southwest China's Sichuan province, Sichuan Shengshi Tianfu Media, was given "the highest fine according to law" for creating a popular parody of a revolutionary ballad, the ministry said in a Monday statement. "Yellow River Cantata", a patriotic song written in 1939 encouraging youth to fight during the Sino-Japanese war, has inspired several humorous remakes that have chafed the authorities. One viral video this year featured employees from the Sichuan company in panda hats, lamenting delays in … [Read more...] about China cracks down on spoofs of ‘Communist heroes’
China’s ‘Great Firewall’ is taller than ever under ‘president-for-life’ Xi Jinping
caption The Great Wall of China on February 20, 2018 in Huairou, China. source Vincent Isore/IP3/Getty Images Censorship in China has soared under President Xi Jinping, targeting local and international dissidents. Thousands of censorship directives are issued every year, and there has been a significant increase in the number of restrictive laws and regulations that target everything from false information to content that endangers the “honor of the State.” Group chats are a big focus of the Chinese government and group initiators can be held criminally liable for anything members say, indicating Beijing is more less concerned with dissent existing than it is spreading. All of China’s online rules are incredibly vague, allowing police broad discretion and encouraging netizens to self-censor before they ever post anything. It was 10.07 p.m. on a cool Vancouver … [Read more...] about China’s ‘Great Firewall’ is taller than ever under ‘president-for-life’ Xi Jinping
China Internet users hit 564 million in 2012
China's population of Internet users grew by 50.9 million people in 2012 to 564 million, official data showed Tuesday, with mobile devices the main means of online access. A woman views the Chinese social media website Weibo at a cafe in Beijing on April 2, 2012. The China Internet Network Information Center announced the figures on its website. The total population numbers 1.3 billion people.The centre last year reported that the number of Internet users surged past the 500 million mark in 2011 for the first time.Tuesday's figures showed that the number of people accessing the Internet via mobile devices in 2012 increased 18.1 percent to 420 million.The use of micro-blogging services -- similar to Twitter -- also surged, the report said, with the total number of users increasing by 58.73 million to 309 million.Internet use has steadily increased despite strict censorship via what is known as The Great Firewall -- the country's system of online limits and restrictions.Online shoppers … [Read more...] about China Internet users hit 564 million in 2012