Chinese activist Qin Yongmin in an undated photo. Photo courtesy of Qin Yongmin
Authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan are believed to have tried veteran democracy activist Qin Yongmin in secret, a fellow activist said, citing police sources. Continue reading
Veteran Chinese Democracy Activist May Have Been Tried in Secret已关闭评论
Posted in Headlines, Subversion, Subversion
Tagged Inciting Subversion, QIN YONGMIN, trial, Wuhan
The entrance to Guangdong Shantou the country’s first museum of the Cultural Revolution is shown in this undated file photo. Network Graphics
Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have apparently clamped down on the only museum dedicated to the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, 60 years after it was launched by late supreme leader Mao Zedong. Continue reading
Eating a banana “seductively” has been deemed inappropriate content for the internet in China. Credit: YouTube
Eating a banana in an “erotic” manner while being broadcast on live-streams has been banned in China as part of the government’s attempts to crack down on “inappropriate” content on the internet.
Hosts of the live-streaming sites are now required to monitor all their output every minute of the day, but it is not clear how they will be able to enforce the ban.
Wearing stockings and suspenders during a live-stream is also now prohibited.
The move comes a month after the Ministry of Culture announced it was investigating several live-streaming sites, including Douyu, Panda.tv, YY, Zhanqi TV, and Huya, for allegedly hosting pornographic or violent content that “harms social morality”.
A recent survey revealed 30-40 percent of the subjects in live-streams are students, and 77 percent of the viewers were male users, CCTV News reported. According to the New Express Daily, 26 percent of the viewers are under 18, while 60 percent of those being broadcast are younger than 22.
The move has bemused many social media users, with some wondering how authorities decide what is “seductive”.
“How do they decide what’s provocative when eating a banana?” one person asked, according to the BBC. Another wondered: “Can male live-streamers still eat them?”
Others suggested the people in live-streams would simply choose another fruit or vegetable. “They will all start eating cucumbers, and if that’s no good, yams,” one user said.
China has been clamping down on internet freedoms under Xi Jinping, closing down social media accounts of government critics and targeting opponents who it claims peddle in “on-line rumours”.
Internet censors have also shut down the website of foreign media organisations, including the New York Times.
Last year, China’s government threatened to shut down Sina, one of the country’s most popular news websites unless it “improves censorship”, state media reported.
An armored personnel carrier is shown in flames near Tiananmen Square during unprecedented democracy protests that were met with a government crackdown that killed an unknown number of demonstrators, June 4, 1989. AFP
China’s Internet giant Baidu.com is blocking keyword searches linked to the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square protests as Beijing attempts to throttle discussion ahead the 27th anniversary of the bloody military crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstrations. Continue reading
As Tiananmen Anniversary Nears, June 4 Disappears from the China’s Web已关闭评论
Posted in Internet Freedom
Tagged Baidu, censorship, June 4
A woman leaves the military-run hospital where Chinese student Wei Zexi received treatment for cancer after consulting online results from Chinese search engine Baidu in Bejing, May 2, 2016.
China on Thursday banned the outsourcing of medical procedures by its hospitals following the death of a young man from cancer after he found a discredited treatment using the homegrown search engine Baidu, as the country’s powerful propaganda ministry banned any further media reports on the scandal. Continue reading
China Bans Further Reporting on Chain of Medical Businesses Amid Anger Over Man’s Death已关闭评论
Posted in Headlines, Internet Freedom, Press Freedom
Tagged Baidu, censorship, Wei Zexi
Yu Shiwen is shown with his wife Chen Wei in an undated photo. Photo courtesy of Chen Wei
A Chinese rights activist detained during an event marking the 25th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre two years ago has begun refusing food in protest against his prolonged pretrial detention, sparking fears for his health, his wife and lawyer said. Continue reading
Tiananmen Protest Veteran on Hunger Strike in Zhengzhou Detention Center已关闭评论
Posted in Headlines, honorary Members
Tagged hunger strike, June 4th, massacre, Yu Shiwen, Zhengzhou
People sit in front of the company logo of Baidu at its headquarters in Beijing, China, Dec. 17, 2014.
Chinese authorities are investigating internet search giant Baidu after the death of a college student who accused the search engine of ranking search results by the amount advertisers paid, resulting in the receipt of misleading medical information. Continue reading
Chinese property tycoon and celebrity tweeter Ren Zhiqiang, a critic of President Xi Jinping’s campaign to tighten control over state-run media, delivers a speech to university students in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province, Dec. 17, 2015.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party on Monday announced disciplinary action against freewheeling “big V” tweeter and property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang, for his attacks on online party propaganda. Continue reading
China Takes a Shot at ‘Cannon Ren’ Over Anti-Propaganda Tweets已关闭评论
Posted in Culture, Headlines, Internet Freedom
Tagged censorship, probation, propaganda, Ren Zhiqiang, Tweet, Weibo
