While China’s “Great Firewall” of internet censorship is
often criticized as being undemocratic and grossly ubiquitous, there is
actually an online code being developed by Chinese citizens that not only bypasses
regulators, but creates new conceptions of news and community. This code has
created a subtle compromise between the Chinese public and its government –
between the people’s need for expression and the government’s need for control.
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| Xiao Qiang, editor of the China Digital Times |
NPR recently
unveiled the reality of the code through an interview with Xiao Qiang, the
editor of the China Digital Times. Qiang described the phenomenon as the
creation of a “public” code, not a “secret” code. For instance, “May 35” is code
for June 4, the day of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, yet the code is
commonly understood by both the government and the public to mean just that. It
is no secret at all. In fact, the coding is so universal that it is rather not a
code at all; it is an online language.
Consequently,
political criticism is often present on Chinese servers because it passes
through surveillance by being indirect. This indirectness is the compromising
factor between the Chinese public and government. As long as the commentary is
technically ambiguous, and balancing the fine line, the government does not
censor it. Allowing some leniency helps the regime stay in control by letting
its citizens express grievances in non-violent ways. Above all, China does not
want protests. What is targeted the most under the “Great Firewall” is any text
indicating a call to action.
This disrupts traditional methods
of community building whereby a mass message about a problem is sent out, and then
alike individuals gather together in person to solve it. However, it reversely
creates a new version of community building by which people meet on the web to
discuss their problems. They even discuss those problems through a new
language, which they add on to through the endless interactivity that web
communication offers.
The creation of the online community also establishes a news hub which is an alternative to the propaganda
inflicted news of the government. Citizens can now perceive two different
stories, one of which is given validity by the cultivation of multiple accounts
online.
Nevertheless, while NPR provides an
insider’s view on Chinese internet regulation, other reports such as an article
titled “Crackdown on Bloggers Is Mounted by China” describe a far more
restrictive situation. While user-generated opinion is growing more powerful,
bloggers still have to be careful as government officials can detain offenders
for “malicious rumor-mongering online.” So for now, balancing the fine line may
not be as common, or easy, as some testimonies might suggest.Sources:
- "Crackdown on Bloggers Is Mounted by China" - by Chris Buckley
- "How Internet Censorship Actually Works in China" - by Kentaro Toyama
- "In China, Avoiding The 'Great Firewall' Internet Censors" - interview hosted by Jacki Lyden
- "Cracking the 'Great Firewall' of China's Web censorship" - by Paul Wiseman
- "How Memes Became the Best Weapon Against Chinese Internet Censorship" - by Alexander Abad-Santos
- The Media of Mass Communication - by John Vivian
