Writing from 1930’s Shanghai, China’s great essayist Lu Xun once observed: “Today there are all kinds of weeklies. Although their distribution is not very wide, they are shining in the darkness like daggers, letting their comrades know who is attacking the old, strong castles.” Muckraking broadsheets in the first half of the last century played cat-and-mouse games with Chinese government censors, ultimately helping to expose the corruption and moral bankruptcy of the Nationalist (KMT) government and contributing to the Communist victory in 1949.
If that sounds familiar, its is because the Chinese Communist Party never forgets its history – and is determined to prevent history from repeating itself. Thus, China’s rulers acted in character last December, when they cracked down on news organizations that were getting a bit too assertive. The editor and deputy editors of Beijing News, a relatively new tabloid with a national reputation for exposing corruption and official abuse, were fired. In protest, more than 100 members of the newspaper’s staff walked out.
Most Chinese might not have known about the walkout if it hadn’t been for Chinese bloggers. An editorial assistant at the New York Times, Zhao Jing, writing under the pen name Michael Anti, broke the news on his widely read Chinese-language blog. He exposed details of behind-the-scenes politics and called for a public boycott of the newspaper, evoking strong public sympathy for the journalists, expressed online in chatrooms and blogs.
Zhao’s blog wasn’t under the direct control of the Party’s Propaganda Department. It was published through a Chinese-language blog-hosting service run by Microsoft’s MSN Spaces. On December 30, Zhao’s blog disappeared. Since then, Microsoft has confirmed that its staff removed the blog from an MSN Internet server, citing the need to respect Chinese law when doing business in China.
Microsoft’s contribution to Chinese political repression follows Yahoo’s role in the sentencing of a dissident reporter and Google’s decision not to display search results that are blocked by what has become known as the “Great Chinese Firewall.” Indeed, China has developed the world’s most sophisticated system of Internet blocking and censorship, thereby hiding information unfavorable to China’s rulers from all but the most technologically savvy. The system is bolstered by human surveillance and censorship carried out not only by government employees, but also by private service providers.
Some liken Microsoft’s behavior to IBM’s infamous collaboration with the Nazis in Germany. Human rights activists in the United States are calling for legislation that would prevent American companies from engaging in business practices that help repressive regimes stifle democratic movements.
Access every new PS commentary, our entire On Point suite of subscriber-exclusive content – including Longer Reads, Insider Interviews, Big Picture/Big Question, and Say More – and the full PS archive.
Subscribe Now
But the companies argue that there is absolutely no other way to compete – they must either comply with censorship or discontinue business. If MSN Spaces did not censor its Chinese blogs, Microsoft argues, the Great Chinese Firewall would simply be programmed to block Chinese Internet users from accessing its service.
In fact, most international blog-hosting services are blocked in China, which provides a competitive boon to several hundred domestic blog-hosting services. These services, with names like Bokee.com, Blogbus.com and Blogcn.com, all comply with Chinese government censorship requirements. Software prevents users from posting politically sensitive words, and provocative content that gets past the automated controls is frequently removed. These businesses would not be allowed to exist otherwise.
Despite the censorship, the Chinese blogosphere is blossoming, with probably somewhere between 5-10 million active blogs. The Chinese public has grown expert over the years at finding plenty of things to do and talk about while avoiding politically dangerous issues. Chinese bloggers are no different. New pop cultural celebrities are emerging online, and people are creating their own radio and even TV shows.
Naturally, the Chinese companies that provide most of the tools used to create and host this content have censorship built into their software, management structure, and business models. But most Chinese bloggers accept this as part of the reality of life in China. They are not willing to fight for greater freedom of speech and are even willing to censor each other in order to preserve what they have.
Which brings us back to China’s greatest modern writer, Lu Xun. In 1921, he wrote a biting piece of social criticism, “The True Story of Ah Q,” about a hapless character who adjusts his values to whatever the circumstances and people around him seem to demand.
Unfortunately, faced with a choice between protecting the long-term interests and human rights of their customers and complying with laws implemented by unelected power-holders, technology firms like Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google seem to have embraced the Ah Q spirit. They have made it clear that when it comes to free expression, their priorities lie on the side of surrender.
In the long run, this does not bode well for their global reputations, which depend on users’ trust in the openness and independence of their products and services. One day, perhaps, censorship will no longer make good business sense anywhere.
To have unlimited access to our content including in-depth commentaries, book reviews, exclusive interviews, PS OnPoint and PS The Big Picture, please subscribe
Many countries’ recent experiences show that boosting manufacturing employment is like chasing a fast-receding target. Automation and skill-biased technology have made it extremely unlikely that manufacturing can be the labor-absorbing activity it once was, which means that the future of “good jobs” must be created in services.
shows why policies to boost employment in the twenty-first century ultimately must focus on services.
Minxin Pei
doubts China’s government is willing to do what is needed to restore growth, describes the low-tech approaches taken by the country’s vast security apparatus, considers the Chinese social-credit system’s repressive potential, and more.
Log in/Register
Please log in or register to continue. Registration is free and requires only your email address.
Writing from 1930’s Shanghai, China’s great essayist Lu Xun once observed: “Today there are all kinds of weeklies. Although their distribution is not very wide, they are shining in the darkness like daggers, letting their comrades know who is attacking the old, strong castles.” Muckraking broadsheets in the first half of the last century played cat-and-mouse games with Chinese government censors, ultimately helping to expose the corruption and moral bankruptcy of the Nationalist (KMT) government and contributing to the Communist victory in 1949.
If that sounds familiar, its is because the Chinese Communist Party never forgets its history – and is determined to prevent history from repeating itself. Thus, China’s rulers acted in character last December, when they cracked down on news organizations that were getting a bit too assertive. The editor and deputy editors of Beijing News, a relatively new tabloid with a national reputation for exposing corruption and official abuse, were fired. In protest, more than 100 members of the newspaper’s staff walked out.
Most Chinese might not have known about the walkout if it hadn’t been for Chinese bloggers. An editorial assistant at the New York Times, Zhao Jing, writing under the pen name Michael Anti, broke the news on his widely read Chinese-language blog. He exposed details of behind-the-scenes politics and called for a public boycott of the newspaper, evoking strong public sympathy for the journalists, expressed online in chatrooms and blogs.
Zhao’s blog wasn’t under the direct control of the Party’s Propaganda Department. It was published through a Chinese-language blog-hosting service run by Microsoft’s MSN Spaces. On December 30, Zhao’s blog disappeared. Since then, Microsoft has confirmed that its staff removed the blog from an MSN Internet server, citing the need to respect Chinese law when doing business in China.
Microsoft’s contribution to Chinese political repression follows Yahoo’s role in the sentencing of a dissident reporter and Google’s decision not to display search results that are blocked by what has become known as the “Great Chinese Firewall.” Indeed, China has developed the world’s most sophisticated system of Internet blocking and censorship, thereby hiding information unfavorable to China’s rulers from all but the most technologically savvy. The system is bolstered by human surveillance and censorship carried out not only by government employees, but also by private service providers.
Some liken Microsoft’s behavior to IBM’s infamous collaboration with the Nazis in Germany. Human rights activists in the United States are calling for legislation that would prevent American companies from engaging in business practices that help repressive regimes stifle democratic movements.
Subscribe to PS Digital
Access every new PS commentary, our entire On Point suite of subscriber-exclusive content – including Longer Reads, Insider Interviews, Big Picture/Big Question, and Say More – and the full PS archive.
Subscribe Now
But the companies argue that there is absolutely no other way to compete – they must either comply with censorship or discontinue business. If MSN Spaces did not censor its Chinese blogs, Microsoft argues, the Great Chinese Firewall would simply be programmed to block Chinese Internet users from accessing its service.
In fact, most international blog-hosting services are blocked in China, which provides a competitive boon to several hundred domestic blog-hosting services. These services, with names like Bokee.com, Blogbus.com and Blogcn.com, all comply with Chinese government censorship requirements. Software prevents users from posting politically sensitive words, and provocative content that gets past the automated controls is frequently removed. These businesses would not be allowed to exist otherwise.
Despite the censorship, the Chinese blogosphere is blossoming, with probably somewhere between 5-10 million active blogs. The Chinese public has grown expert over the years at finding plenty of things to do and talk about while avoiding politically dangerous issues. Chinese bloggers are no different. New pop cultural celebrities are emerging online, and people are creating their own radio and even TV shows.
Naturally, the Chinese companies that provide most of the tools used to create and host this content have censorship built into their software, management structure, and business models. But most Chinese bloggers accept this as part of the reality of life in China. They are not willing to fight for greater freedom of speech and are even willing to censor each other in order to preserve what they have.
Which brings us back to China’s greatest modern writer, Lu Xun. In 1921, he wrote a biting piece of social criticism, “The True Story of Ah Q,” about a hapless character who adjusts his values to whatever the circumstances and people around him seem to demand.
Unfortunately, faced with a choice between protecting the long-term interests and human rights of their customers and complying with laws implemented by unelected power-holders, technology firms like Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google seem to have embraced the Ah Q spirit. They have made it clear that when it comes to free expression, their priorities lie on the side of surrender.
In the long run, this does not bode well for their global reputations, which depend on users’ trust in the openness and independence of their products and services. One day, perhaps, censorship will no longer make good business sense anywhere.