

Chinese censorship: The real stake in "free flow of information" - bensummers
http://opinion.globaltimes.cn/editorial/2010-01/500324.html

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norswap
Wikipedia : The Global Times is a daily Chinese newspaper produced under the
auspices of the official Chinese Communist Party newspaper, the People's
Daily, focusing on international issues.

Yikes ! Communist-endorsed BS !

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J3L2404
Yikes!

'Countries disadvantaged by the unequal and undemocratic information flow have
to protect their national interest.'

Translation: We (the government) cannot stand on our merits.

-

'As many as 81 percent of those polled are opposed to Chinese government
accepting Google's demands.'

Translation: At least 19% of those polled were brave enough to publicly
disagree (at their peril).

-

'Unlike advanced Western countries, Chinese society is still vulnerable to the
effect of multifarious information flowing in'

Translation: Wait, multifarious? Untranslatable multispeak!

~~~
itistoday
Indeed, this entire article is BS.

The value of freedom of self-expression and openness is universal. These are
not "western ideals" that are being "imposed" upon a different society, they
are universal rights. The basic notion of simply existing is in fact a form of
self-expression, i.e. to be who you are. To not be afraid to say, "I am gay."

Whoever the author of this propaganda piece is, if they were actually genuine
in their call for "intellectuals in developing countries" to resist the very
notion of _truth itself_ , they could have at least provided the reader with
some rational arguments to that effect. To do so would be an impressive feat,
so it's not surprising that no such justifications were given.

~~~
bensummers
I am curious to know whether it's a genuine opinion held in China (which may
have been formed by propaganda) or a post-fact justification.

~~~
Frazzydee
"As many as 81 percent of those polled are opposed to Chinese government
accepting Google's demands."

Having been to China myself, this result does not seem doctored. One argument
often made is that censorship as necessary to keep people in order, and
particularly necessary in China due to the population. The Western doctrine of
freedom of speech, as the argument goes, has little applicability in a country
with over 4 times the population.

Revolts and rebellions are also often seen in a much more negative light in
China. Here in the west, they have resulted in many very positive changes, and
are widely-regarded as being sometimes necessary to growth, and a way to keep
the government in check.

Many of the Chinese I've met are also fiercely patriotic. "Why should our
country cave into demands of a foreign company?"

Obviously, I'm generalizing here, and from a small sample size too. This is
just my personal experience from the people I met and spent time with there,
and opinions held by more highly-educated people often did not follow this
trend and tended to be more critical of the government.

Note that this is a regurgitation of some common arguments I heard- absolutely
not my personal view.

But they do have one point: Why do we care so much about Chinese censorship,
as long as it is only affecting people within China?

~~~
itistoday
> _But they do have one point: Why do we care so much about Chinese
> censorship, as long as it is only affecting people within China?_

Because as shown quite colorfully in the recent attacks on Google and others,
it _doesn't_ only affect people within China. I believe Martin Luther King
said it best when he said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere" in his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail:

 _Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and
states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what
happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment
of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly._

[http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.h...](http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html)

~~~
Frazzydee
How are the attacks on google a result of censorship?

