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New MySpace China Tells Users to Spy on Each Other
Posted by
Zonk
on Sat Apr 28, 2007 05:26 AM
from the everyone-wants-to-be-friends dept.
from the everyone-wants-to-be-friends dept.
Anonymous Chinese Coward writes "MySpace has launched in China, the world's most populous nation, but this definitely is NOT the MySpace you're used to. Members are told to click a button to report any 'misconduct' by other users. MySpace's definition of 'misconduct' includes actions such as 'endangering national security, leaking state secrets, subverting the government, undermining national unity, spreading rumors or disturbing the social order' — according to the site's terms and conditions. In China these are all crimes which carry a hefty prison sentence. Any attempt to post content containing phrases that the Chinese government doesn't like, such as 'Taiwanese independence', the banned 'FaLun' religious movement or the Dalai Lama, produces the following message. 'Sorry, the article you want to publish may contain inappropriate content. Please delete the unsuitable content, and then try reposting it. Thank you.'"
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Free Speech (Score:4, Insightful)
I... (Score:2, Interesting)
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Re:I... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Tit for tat (Score:2)
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Don't get me wrong, he's incompetant and his entire administration is crooked, but if the US was really like the Chinese, you would be in jail right about......
*knock knock*
Oh shi....
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I won't pretend that what's going on in China is "ok," but let's not pretend that we have a totally open society here. Well in the USA anyways. Canada still has some rights left
Tom
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Genius (Score:5, Funny)
"I don't want to live any more, I'm going to end it all! *clicks on own Myspace button*
As opposed to what ? (Score:2, Interesting)
And how is this different from writing up an essay and getting busted for misdeamnor ? SLashdot article from a few hours/day ago. [slashdot.org]
Time to be constructive (Score:5, Insightful)
Run Tor?
Join Amnesty International and buy some of their nifty hoodies [amnestyusa.org]?
Hold a public protest?
Boycott Chinese goods (yeah, right)?
Organize a fuck-off massive online attack and hammer on the Great Firewall? [wikipedia.org] ("one of the most important projects for ensuring its political power..." indeed.)
Help me out here.
Brilliant (Score:2)
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Jerry Wang would be proud (Score:2)
> undermining national unity, spreading rumors or disturbing the social order'
I'm speechless. No, literally!
Unstable (Score:2)
You can't detect/censor encrypted traffic, unless you ban all of the encrypted traffic.
China will open up, but by the looks of it, it'll be a slow and painful process (pun not intended).
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Number 1 National Chinese secret (Score:2, Funny)
So... (Score:2)
Ah, right - same as Craig's List and....and...and...on & on. How is this a problem?
In someone's weak mind, maybe - in reality, no.
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Well, let's just say that,"Members are told to click a button to report any 'misconduct' by other users." does not quite have the same connotation in China as it does the United States. The primary difference is that by reporting misconduct in China, you are essentially placing that person's freedom and very existence in jeopardy by inviting a visit by the National Police
All patriots happily report... (Score:2)
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You said you can't say "all niggers are fags, so we have twice as many reasons to kill them".. but... Did the liberal decency police come to your door yet.
Yes, I'm being pedantic. In most of the civilized world ungood words are judged by people, since they are a breach of a social more or norm, or such. Your going to get nasty glances, and perhaps private punishment (trouble at school, fired from work etc...), the government has no role in this. It is not legalistic.
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In some other countries (Brazil among them), any public and offensive racist statements can lead to civil action/prosecution, or even jail time.
Example: If I own a shop, and I say to someone "Get out of here nigger" and force that person to exit my shop, I can be arrested.
Re:On which country... (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
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There's no such a country which would let people to do some action to broke nations unity.
This is complete rubbish. In fact, in european societies, it's considered healthy to allow people *try* to break "unity" (so long as it doesn't endanger people's lives) - if unity remains in the face of such challenges, then it's strong. If it doesn't, then there was no unity worthy of protection in the first
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Re:On which country... (Score:5, Insightful)
Whilst I agree with you partly, I think the reason people are aghast at these kinds of news reports is because suppressing debate, perpetuating fear and generating an 'us and them' culture prevents China from advancing to become a liberal society (liberal as in beer.. or something).
Oppression doesn't have to be the price of surviving with limited resources. Part of the reason China remains poor and in many respects a 3rd world nation is precisely because it has a stupid system of government. It is an oligarchy, it remains a totalitarian state. I'm not saying China has to be a 'Democracy' like, for example, Canada, but anywhere in the world you find the absence of a meritocracy, you have this problem. The US is no shining example anymore of promotion on the basis of merit, either.
On the other hand, anyone who wants to point the finger at China had better sweep in front of their own door first. Everyone's liberties are being eroded at this time, and we all must fight the fight on our own turf.
Parent
Re:On which country... (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:On which country... (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:On which country... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd like to think every single one except China. But since I can't say that with 100% confidence, let's just say: The vast majority.
Bullshit! Nobody in US has ever been jailed for being a racist. Why do you think Ku Klux Klan still exists?`And whatever you mean by "ethnical discrimation of genocide", I can't even start to guess, as it makes no sense at all.
Such as being an oppressive communist state, with only a farcical political facade that tries to imitate representative democracy.
Make up your mind. Are they wealthy, or are they surviving on limited resources?
I fail to see what you are getting at here
Now, I really fail to see any meaning at all. Please consider therapy.
Parent
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Don't forget that there's more to the world than the west and I'd wager by numbers the unfree (military dictatorship, monarchy, theocracy, one party "democracy", etc) outnumber the free.
Re:On which country... (Score:5, Insightful)
No, contrary to your belief, many countries do have banned religions. Many countries do watch seperatist movements sufficiently carefully that speech about them is (whether because of censorship or self-censorship) far from free. Many countries do have charismatic figues whose presence they do not tolerate and whose influence they seek to diminish. Even if you see Europe and America through rose-tinted glasses, surely you aware of the more politically intense parts of Africa, Asia, South America? Or perhaps you are unaware that there are even reasons for concern about Zimbabwe, Myanmar, and parts of the Arab world? (Where do you get your news?)
I admit I am not an American, and I may not have all the details of American history right, but I have the distinct impression that being, for example, a black supremicist has not, over the years, been condicive to one's personal freedom. And today, even white racists keep quiet about it. No, I agree, it does not normally get one jailed; but it certainly get one fired. And in (otherwise very calm and pleasant) parts of Europe, yes, public holocaust denial will get you locked up.
You may argue that there is a difference of degree, or a difference in emphasis; and I will agree with you. I am not apologising for China. But the person you are replying to is entirely right: China is not, as you would like to believe, unique merely in controlling speech.
Now as to Chinese history. Perhaps you are unaware that China has a history. Rather more of it than the USA. Go look it up. The person you are responding to is again right: China does indeed have a history of thousands of years of attempting to maintain coherence of a huge and disparate empire through rigid control. This has at times been startlingly successful; at other times undeniably catastrophic. The current no-longer-communist regime is just the last of many. Chinese history and chinese attitudes are indeed different from American ones.
Finally, you seem to have an objection to the juxtaposition of the phrases, 'living wealthy' and 'with limited resources.' How quaintly American. Wealth is caused by waste, is it? That attitude is not one that will see you among the leaders of the world for very long, and thankfully it is not one that the entire rest of the world shares. Wealth can arise from managing what you do have, wisely; or from waste and theft. Civilisation lies in choosing the former path. 'Living wealthy' with limited resources is not merely consistent, it is a laudable goal towards whch we should all strive.
None of this is to defend the original post; but your attack on it is impressively off-target. Certainly not everyone's English is as good as yours. Thankfully, however, many people are better informed and more charitable.
Parent
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Perhaps this is some strange new meaning of the word, of which I was previously unaware.
It's like doubleplusgood, but in another way
No, contrary to your belief, many countries do have banned religions.
Yes, we call them totalitarian states, and an unhealthy number of them have been communist. Ditto for discussion of banned groups. In the Free World(TM) people can discuss what they want as long as it doesn't contain libel or slander, and even then the party concerned is the one expected to take legal action against you, not Big Brother.
The current no-longer-communist regime
Err, what? But I thought we were always at war with Eastasia?
Finally, you seem to have an objection to the juxtaposition of the phrases, 'living wealthy' and 'with limited resources.'
Yes, and he's right. Wealth implies excess; abundance; luxury. S
Re:On which country... (Score:4, Interesting)
Yes, we call them totalitarian states, and an unhealthy number of them have been communist.
It seems to me that you may be painting an ideology with a broad brush. I think you should really delve deeper into the specific reasons for this. The abject failure of traditional communism was due to the governmental side of things. The ideology itself seeks to maintain a classless and stateless social organization, which is based upon common ownership of the means of production. All of the past incarnations which claimed to be communism have certainly not placed economic power in the hands of the people. By far, the ruling regimes used the idea of communism as a means to keep the populace in line; a way to make the people believe that they had some control. However, because the people had absolutely no say in their government, which was the true possessor of the means of production, it was all in actuality one great lie. Of course, correlation does not imply causation, and even moreso in the case of communism. The only forms of communism to ever really be practiced have been Stalinist "Marxism" (in Soviet Russia, ideology defines YOU! Sorry, I know that was lame.) and Maoism (in the PRC). Maoism is, for all intents and purposes, a Chinese variation of Stalinist "Marxism." Neither of these can be considered socialist by any stretch of the word.
Contrast this with Trotskyism, which is, in a nutshell, a form of democratic socialism. The February Revolution in Russia established a liberal and socialist provisional government which could be safely called Trotskyist. Lenin then led the October Revolution, establishing, in effect, a dictatorship (although he proclaimed it to be a temporary one). Stalin began his rise to power around this time and, after Lenin's death, established the totalitarian USSR. I highly recommend Trotsky's "The Revolution Betrayed," which explains this all in much detail.
As for the PRC, it is a form of totalitarian Stalinism which has in recent years started to adopt more and more capitalist tendencies.
I know that this is coming off like a fucking boring history lesson, but basically, I'm just trying to show that communism isn't inherently wrong. Instead, the ways in which it is redefined and practiced out of true context is the real problem. Of course, the majority in the United States, thanks to both Stalin's grotesque interpretation and McCarthy's snipe hunt, atomatically equate the word 'communism' with 'totalitarianism,' and condemn it without even a cursory examination. Quite a few people, though, are finally beginning to see the exploitation and extreme class disparity that come with capitalism as a bad thing, and seek out alternatives. Of the viable alternatives, I personally believe that democratic socialism is the fairest and most realistic (as did George Orwell, ironically), but to each his own.
Parent
Re:On which country... (Score:4, Insightful)
Why are you blaming Stalin? What happened was only natural. The genius behind Orwell's 1984 was that he showed how all the claims of common ownership of resources cannot be realized without a pyramidal scheme of control, freedom is achieved through slavery, and absolute peace is in fact, war. The wonderful "Trotskyist" universe you are defending does not exist, because human nature mandates that it cannot exist. What exists instead are websites with little red buttons on them that you can use to report your friends to the benevolent State.
Parent
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On which country on the earth these are totally free actions? That's not specific to China, they just want to control it, which is fine.
A hell of a lot more then you know. No it is not fine; it is oppression.
Every country have their own regulations to protect their own sensitivity to a matter.
Please enlighten us.
In US it's racism, in Europe it's mostly ethnical discrimation of genocide.
Well, you failed to enlighten. There are no laws in the US that prevent you from saying racist things. Racism is taboo, but it sure as hell isn't illegal. Racist speech (and other "hate speech") is actually illegal throughout large portions of Europe. I would talk about your Europe example but that sentence doesn't even make sense.
In China their worries are different due to their history. There's no such a country which would let people to do some action to broke nations unity.
Again, bullshit. Many countries have suffered political revolutions and civil
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The vast majority of the elections, for the vast majority of the people, for the vast majority of the time. Sure there's occasional irregularies here and there in every election, but in the end they're incredibly minor local affairs.
That's not specific to China, they just want to control it, which is fine. Every country have their own regulations to protect their own sensitivity to a matter. In US it's racism, in Europe it's mostly ethnical disc
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If I can be allowed to speak for the Chinese people I know...
If you talk to many (most?) Chinese people, they do not consider themselves oppressed or otherwise 'non-free'. However, they do consider the USA as an undesirable place to live - mostly because of the whole 'American spirit' which is sickly to them (and much of the world, act
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This looks more like typical totalitarian despotism being exercised freely in Red China. They want that button to be there always, in front of everyone. The constant temptation to become a hero by turning someone in for anything that resembles discontent. You see, in commie states (and other totalitarian ones) the government disallows the concept of changing power. Therefore even peac
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Like OMG I was on the phone with Tiffanee and I told Tiffanee that I liked Brad Hoefler and then Tiffanee was all like LOL and went and said that I liked Brad on her Myspace page even though she TOTALLY knew that like I didn't want ANYBODY to know, especially not Brad, and now Brad won't talk to me and Amber and Mandy are all like making fun of me and it's just like totally embarrass
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No, you don't understand. (Score:3, Interesting)
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Well not much
Mind you i never expected that myspace contained state secrets (a leak this secret button), so i do hope his journalists and editors refuse to use mysapce as a source of stories just in case.
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