China’s Draconian Internet Censorship
Image courtesy of Internet of Business
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine mentioned “Xinjiang Concentration Camp” in our conversation. Growing up in mainland China, I’d never heard this phrase; I couldn’t believe there’d be a massive yet unreported concentration camp in any civilized country, so I vehemently refuted her statement. Yet a few days later, the New York Times published a set of leaked documents detailing the Xinjiang Re-education Camp or, officially, the Vocational Education and Training Centers. These four hundred pages, according to the New York Times, provide an “unprecedented inside look” at the “crackdown” on ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region. As the camps’ existence was proved, I immediately began to wonder — is the Chinese government filtering out other information that may impact its domestic reputation? Google and social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat were once accessible with a VPN, but most VPNs were shut down this past August, marking the government’s triumph in the Internet censorship battle.
Internet censorship is a worldwide necessity for fighting false information and maintaining the security of the Internet. However, according to CNN, China’s Internet censorship, more extensive and advanced than that of any other country, is excessive. Many controversial events are prohibited from news coverage, resulting in a lack of authenticity in the news available to Chinese citizens as well as their incomprehensive knowledge of domestic affairs. Because of this censorship, there’s no freedom of speech: any anti-central government movement, report, or post on social media is erased. The reporters, journalists, and individuals are detained and imprisoned.
Chinese people, like citizens of all other nations, have the undeniable human right to acquire authentic information regarding both domestic and international affairs. The Chinese government fails to fulfill this right; instead, the government blocks out undesirable reports on the Xinjiang Re-education Camps while allowing a limited amount of appraisal or commentary in order to guide public opinion. Meanwhile, Chinese officials dubbed foreign journalism on the camps rumors that were spun into stories.
Earlier this year, when the Hong Kong protests drew global attention, the Chinese government attempted to suppress the permeation of such news into mainland China. After a month of rapid news “outbreaks,” the Chinese government finally revealed that police and innocent citizens had been assaulted and attacked by a frenzied mob. Knowing that the ongoing protests had existed for a month before they were officially reported and that the Xinjiang Re-education Camps were substantiated, I felt deceived by and disappointed with the government. Internet censorship is supposed to provide authenticity to citizens’ internet usage. Ironically, this blockage of information hampered the right of Chinese people to know; thus, the Chinese government should abandon its current Internet censorship unconditionally.
Not only are websites void of anti-government voices, but individuals are also unpermitted to make their complaints felt. Reactionary posts on social media are often cleared out, and the individuals who published them are either banned from accessing the social platform or sentenced — even imprisoned based on their social status and potency. Even more irrationally, citizens cannot even have negative commentary on Chinese Communist Party leaders who died half a century ago; celebrities who inadvertently did so were forever removed from the public eye, reminding us of the dangers associated with pursuing freedom of speech under Internet censorship.
Some might ask: what is the exact reason for conducting such intense censorship? Well, since the Chinese Communist Party is the only predominant political party in China, Chinese government officials would like to guarantee the unanimity of all Chinese citizens. However, instead of reducing the available information to a few pro-government articles, silencing the opposers, and subjecting Chinese people to the illusion of being well-informed, the only righteous approach to ensure the loyalty of Chinese people is to offer open access to various perspectives and resources. In other words, Chinese citizens should form their own opinions on the Chinese government and current events — the ongoing Internet censorship in China is the first thing that impedes citizens from doing so.