Blocked on Weibo

Blocked on Weibo: What Gets Suppressed on China’s Version of Twitter (And Why)

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here on this blog yet, but I’m excited to announce that a book I wrote is coming out this summer. (Above is an advance reader’s copy that my publisher The New Press shared.) It’s basically a version of this blog, also aimed at giving general readers the context for why certain topics in China are sensitive. There are over 150 entries, about a 100 of which are brand new, and the others which come from this blog are updated. You can pre-order online now at your favorite online store or you can pick it up at your local bookstore in August. As we get closer to the publication date, I’ll start posting entries from the book more regularly. Thanks to everyone for their support of this project over the past year: couldn’t have done it without you Tumblr and everyone else who follows this blog!

卫星电视 (satellite television / wèixīng diànshì) is TV programming broadcasted by a communications satellite orbiting the earth and received by households via an outdoor antenna, generally known as a satellite dish.

Why it is blocked: This is another fairly obscure word to be blocked (searching for 卫星电 returns 87 results, 5 of which are for 卫星电视), but at least there’s a reason. Installation of satellite TV dishes is regulated in China, with private ownership of them illegal in a number of cities (compelling some citizens to creatively conceal and hide theirs), though workplaces which need to monitor foreign news and establishments that cater to foreigners are allowed them. Satellite dishes were banned in China by Li Peng in 1993, supposedly in response to Rupert Murdoch’s declaration that satellite television would be “an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere.” (His company, STAR TV, would spend more than a decade trying to make up for that speech.) However, those restrictions are openly flouted by residents and marketers. Besides China’s desire to control overseas content entering the country, it’s reported that satellite programming is hampering the government’s efforts to transition cities to digital television (satellite TV service is earmarked for hard to reach rural villages).

Note: Satellite dishes themselves are more colloquially referred to as woks/pots (锅 / guō) or plates/dishes (碟 / dié). The more standard word for satellite dish is 卫星天线 (天线 / tiānxiàn literally means “sky wire/line,” aka antenna). 卫星天线 and 卫星碟 are not blocked on Weibo, but 卫星锅 is. [Status]

我的奋斗 (Mein Kampf / Wǒde Fèndòu) is an autobiography and book of political theory by Adolf Hitler.

Why it is blocked: As in Germany and a number of other countries, the sale of Mein Kampf is restricted in China. In fact, merely even searching for the title on Amazon China or Taobao will cut off your Internet connection to the site. Besides being the work of one of the 20th-century’s most infamous dictators, Mein Kampf is also known for its inflammatory anti-communist views—another reason for the CCP to ban it. However, due to his strong leadership and emphasis on social stability, Hitler is reported to be admired by some Chinese—though this is arguably due to ignorance rather than actual malice (the same way some Westerners embrace Mao). In May 2011, there was a bizarre Internet rumor that Hitler was raised by a Chinese family in Vienna, with a number of bloggers taking pride in China’s supposed connection with Hitler. [Status - 11/29/11: blocked; 2/5/12: unblocked; 3/12/12: blocked]

Note: 阿道夫·希特勒 (Adolf Hitler / ādàofū xītèlè) is not blocked on Weibo, Amazon.cn, or Taobao.

UPDATE: The key trigger in Deauville is “多維,” short for Duowei Times, a New York-based Chinese language newspaper which is known for its mostly even-handed news coverage. It may still be possible that Deauville is being singled out for censorship, but it is perhaps more likely that Duowei Times is the actual target and Deauville is a mostly innocent keyword.

多维尔 (Deauville / duōwéi’ěr) is a famed seaside resort city in northwestern France. Each year it holds the prestigious Deauville American Film Fesitval along with the lesser well-known but similarly respected Deauville Asian Film Festival (法国多维尔亚洲电影节), which concluded its 14th edition yesterday. The Iranian film Querelles (aka Mourning) won the top prize, the Golden Lotus.

Why it is blocked: Over the years, alongside the typical Wuxia and art films at any Asian film festival, Deauville has screened a number of incredibly raw Chinese films that engage sensitive contemporary topics. The 2010 Grand Prize winner, Judge, is about a death row inmate and the judge who controls his fate. The 2003 winner, Blind Shaft, is a brutal depiction of life as a coal miner in northern China and was banned in the PRC. [Status - 11/19/11, 2/5/12, 3/12/12: blocked]

Two quotes:

Judge touches on a lot of topics considered sensitive in China. Did you have a lot of difficulty getting approval to make the film? Yes, there were some difficulties but we overcame them in the end. The most difficult thing was the fact that government departments were not sure about this, and they didn’t want this talked about.There were two reasons I think this film was approved. Firstly, the authenticity of the film […] every single sentence and every detail in the film is very accurate – if there were any small mistakes they picked them up.—Liu Jie, director of Judge

Your film has been banned, but why didn’t the government crack down on the novel? It is quite unusual in China. Certain aspects of Chinese politics are strange and many things don’t follow homogenous standards. It is defined as “One Country, Two Systems” but it really is “one country with several systems”. Every department seems to have its own rules […] I don’t actually understand how it works, but I can say that the Chinese Film Bureau is one of the most conservative of the artistic institutions. They probably heavily restrict films because they think movies can become a means of propaganda, instead of entertainment and artistic expression.—Li Yang, director of Blind Shaft

开放杂志 (Open Magazine / kāifàng zázhì) is a Hong Kong monthly magazine founded in January 1987. Its original title was Liberation Monthly.

Why it is blocked: Since its first publication amidst the burgeoning reform protests in China, the magazine has been known for its strong support of pro-democracy activities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. It famously published interviews with dissident Liu Xiaobo, including the notorious one where Liu said tongue-in-cheek that China might be better off under Hong Kong-style colonialism. It has also published numerous books under the name Open Books/Open Press, including a set of interviews with Zhao Ziyang while he was under house arrest and a retrospective on the 1989 protests. It celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The magazine is banned in China.

Note: As is the case for most Hong Kong media, the title will generally be found online written with the traditional characters “開放雜誌.” While the simplified version of the name is blocked on Weibo, the traditional one is not. [Status - 11/23/11: blocked; 2/5/12: blocked]

彭博社 (Bloomberg / Péngbóshè) is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg L.P. was founded by Michael Bloomberg (current Mayor of New York City).

Why it is blocked: A number of foreign media outlets are blocked on Weibo, including Voice of America, the World Journal, and Epoch Times, but Bloomberg is notable in that it might be considered an apolitical corporation. Chinese authorities blocked Bloomberg’s website in June 2012 after it published an exposé on the wealth accumulated by future president Xi Jinping’s family, but this search block on Weibo predates that article. Currently, one is unable to make a post that contains 彭博社. Trying to do so will return the error message, “Sorry, this content violates ‘Sina Weibo’s Community Guidelines’ or related regulations and policies.” [Status - 11/25/11: blocked; 2/5/12: blocked; 3/12/12: blocked]