With Olympics Over, China Re-Censors Internet 242
eldavojohn writes "We last left the story of Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China when the IOC had reached a deal with the Chinese government whereby some of the press restrictions were lifted. With the 2008 Olympics now but a memory, China has began censoring foreign news sources again. Maybe the West is making too big of a deal over this, as many Chinese citizens seem to like it that way."
Human Rights (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe the West is making too big of a deal over this, as many Chinese citizens seem to like it that way.
Many US citizens liked slavery, once. And not letting women vote. The fact that only a minority is being oppressed doesn't make it not oppression, and it doesn't make it right.
I'm sorry if it makes you feel awkward to take a stand on basic human rights, but when it comes to issues of rights and ethics, not all viewpoints are equally valid.
Then again, I rather suspect you knew all that. I suppose I've been trolled.
What *does* the survey imply? (Score:3, Interesting)
What do the people seem to want (according to the quoted survey)? A more reliable source of information, and who should ensure the internet is "more reliable" other than the state?
"Since the only legitimate source of authority in many aspects of Chinese life is the state, when Chinese citizens are of the opinion that some aspects of the internet should be controlled, it is natural for them to assume that the state should take the lead in doing the controlling."
The censorship we're seeing is (IMO) wrong. The survey seems to be being misrepresented in this context. Or rather, the people's wishes are not being reflected in the way the censorship is being condected...
Re:Why wouldn't they? (Score:5, Interesting)
It won't last though. There's a generation of children being born who will take economic prosperity for granted. It's the nature of humanity, and by that same token they'll want more than just that. With economic power in their hands they'll want political power, and that's when the government will be in trouble.
Maybe, maybe not.
Taiwan went from single-party (and single-family) rule to a full-fledged democracy in the course of about 15 years. The old farts who had been running (and robbing) the country were quietly retired and a generation which was willing to allow more political pluralism were seated in their place. This happened with a lot of protests, legislative fistfights, and more than a few cracked heads on the street, but it did not involve putting the heads of the Old Guard up on a post in the process.
On the other side, Singapore has become wildly prosperous, with no sign of democracy or pluralism anywhere in sight. The People's Action Party (read: Senior Minister Harry Lee and his son Lee Hsien Loong) still run everything. It's a weird place. It's clean, it's modern. People go in, people go out. If living in the Lees's Disneyland [wired.com] pisses you off, you're free to go to Australia, or the US, or wherever you like. Everyone knows the rules, and nobody rocks the boat.
The Chinese are ignorant. (Score:2, Interesting)
And that's not meant to be an insult. It's a sad, unfortunate truth that has been manufactured by their government. I've had Chinese friends throughout my university years, and I can't count the number of times I got little other than blank stares when talking about Tiannamen Square. Then they see the pictures and the footage, and _that's_ when it really gets scary -- I would say the reactions were half and half.
Half were disgusted that their government would commit such atrocities, and it really hit them personally -- most Chinese people are tremendously patriotic, and to see what happened there really shakes their foundations. Some of them were brought to tears.
The other half? Well, their reaction was more like, "tough shit. They were out of control and they shouldn't have been protesting there, the army did the right thing."
The right thing. By running over an unarmed guy with a fucking tank, among other horrors, they did the right thing?
It's no surprise that they enjoy being censored by their government because they're almost unwilling to accept that their government can do any wrong -- and why should they? Their government, as horrible as it is, has managed to turn China into what is perhaps the most economically sound of the Asian nation. Hell, half of what runs the Western world (e.g. computers) are _made_ in China. They feel superior, and they feel their government is superior as well. It might be hard to understand, but just as much as they believe Tiannamen Square, Tibet and the Falun Gong are all better off having had government "intervention," they also believe that the government is "right" in censoring them.
Re:...as many Chinese citizens seem to like it tha (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:people who prefer censorship (Score:3, Interesting)
Prohibition got passed. Don't misunderestimate the power of mass delusions. With a 2/3 majority, it's possible to completely butcher our form of government.
If George W. Bush had asked for broad eavesdropping powers with no oversight or certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act to be written into the Constitution shortly after 9/11, I suspect he'd have gotten it with little opposition.
China Schmina (Score:5, Interesting)
Comrade Gordon "the Butcher of Woolies" Brown-shirt, and Leader Jacqui "Winston" Smith will show you the way.
Re:"many Chinese citizens seem to like it that way (Score:5, Interesting)
As hard as it may be to believe for jaded Americans, the majority of the Chinese actually approve of and trust their government. I say this because it seems in America, people whine and bitch about being forced to choose the lesser of two evils, whereas in China people generally tend to be content with whoever Congress deems suitable to elect.
Re:...as many Chinese citizens seem to like it tha (Score:3, Interesting)
You don't state facts, you're cherry-picking them. The claim that Mohammed had sex with Aisha at age 9 is disputed. Others have put her at 14 to 15. While this seems weird today, applying 21st-century standards to the 7th century is disingenuous at best.
You also conveniently ignore what Aisha did after Mohammed's death to advance the power of women in Beduin society at that time and that she is revered as a role model by millions of women around the world today. They probably all hate themselves in your view, right?
Not to mention that if you go by the evil things done by men in the name of religion, all religions are equally guilty. Fortunately, humans are good at compartmentalizing, religious people probably more so.
Your zealous focus on Islam betrays your hate.
Re:...as many Chinese citizens seem to like it tha (Score:1, Interesting)
"Never allow the People to decide right and wrong, for the walls between are high and wide, and few can stand to risk knowing on which side they sit."
- Anon
(sorry to quote myself)
Re:...as many Chinese citizens seem to like it tha (Score:5, Interesting)
Muslims are the filthiest animals on earth (literally from the quran, 8:55, with "infidels" replaced by "muslims")
Thanks for an easy one. Anyone following along should take this as an example of "your game" - the one I referred to originally where you and other extremists deliberately misinterpret scripture in order to rationalize your mental disease.
You claim the quran says literally "Infidels are the filthiest animals on earth" - a phrase which exists in no english translation of the quran [google.com] at all, not even the most extremist. A prefect example of the way extremists like you take scripture out of context.
[8:54] Such was the case with the people of Pharaoh and others before them. They first rejected the signs of their Lord. Consequently, we annihilated them for their sins. We drowned Pharaoh's people; the wicked were consistently punished.
[8:55] The worst creatures in the sight of GOD are those who disbelieved; they cannot believe.
[8:56] You reach agreements with them, but they violate their agreements every time; they are not righteous.
Surah 8 Al-Anfaal [submission.org]
So, here we have first an example of how the God of Moses punished the people of Pharaoh - because he broke his promise to the Israelites - and how those rules still apply, furthermore the line you tried to misquote refers to a specific battle with the Banu Qurayza in which the Qurayza were reported to have twice broken agreements of peace with mohammed's group. It clearly isn't racist, nor is it any justification for hatred the way you would have it.
And that is a typical example of why you are just a broken record of extremist hate. Go and bugger off now little hater boy.
Re:...as many Chinese citizens seem to like it tha (Score:3, Interesting)
Not the same thing. This is the fallacy of moral relativism at work again on two grounds
1. Bush never committed active genocide. Muslims have, several times, in the 20th century (Armenia, Pontic Greeks, Bangladesh)
Moral relativism my ass. You think America hasn't committed genocide? Furthermore, that is completely irrelevant to my point which was that nit-picking specific characteristics of a small minority and using them to define an entire group is typical innumerate racist idiocy.
No such demographic exists in the Muslim world that actively undermines Islamic terror. All we hear are hollow condemnations of Wahabbism and Deobandi militancy. Nobody (and I mean nobody) in the entire Muslim world actively undermines their proliferation. Witness the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, and the active collusion of the Pakistani government in as well as the widespread approval of the Pakistani people (second-most Muslim population) of the attacks. Clearly, most of the Muslim world is on board with the terrorists.
Get a grip. You confuse territorial conflict with an idealogical conflict. Mumbai and almost all "terrorism" in India is about Kashmir separatism. You might as well complain that muslims aren't doing enough to stop the LTTE. While at the same time ignoring that Indonesia - the largest population of muslims in the world - has been very successful at stopping the proliferation of terrorism.
capable of critical thinking.
Critical thinking can only get you so far when you are innumerate.