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China Declares War on Internet Pornography
segphault writes "The Chinese government has shut down nearly 600 pornographic web sites, and arrested over 200 people for distributing "obscene" content. The Chinese government has also started performing covert surveillance of mobile phone text messages in order to crack down on banking fraud and prostitution organized and perpetrated with text messages. Ars Technica has the story: 'With more than 100 million Internet users, China has the second largest population of web content consumers after the United States. Although the Chinese government promotes web use for business, education, and government activity, the communist regime has committed its resources to crushing web sites that challenge government authority, or distribute content that the government considers to be detrimental to society'"
...has shut down nearly 600 pornographic web sites
The jedys are going to feel this one.
checking content for the Chinese government and censor it accordingly.
Watching P0rn from 9 to 5 at work... hm wait, that's not that different to my current job...
there's always encryption. there's a whole world of dirty internet out there and if people want to see it they will find a way
This is just forcing people to use things like proxies or one of the many projects designed to bypass chinas tough filters...
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own" - Adam Savage
What's that? Like 0.0001% of all pornsites out there?
In the past they have:
- China: Police Shut Down Gay, Lesbian Event
- Rampant Violence and Intimidation Against Petitioners - Chinese citizens who petition Chinese authorities for the redress of grievances are attacked, beaten, threatened, and intimidated
Not to mention China's stance on Hongkong's pursuit of democracy...http://efil.blogspot.com/
I would think they have said ..... All your porn is belong to us ...... (groan :-))
...I obey the laws of physics....
China regularly launches campaigns like this, and although the "saohuang" (clean up the porn) movement is effective in barring domestic porn sites, there is absolutely nothing China can do about the influx of porn from abroad, especially from Japan and the West.
Furthermore, China is becoming more and more lax about porn, which any visitor to the country will realize within a day or so. Only the hardliners are still fighting it, but they might as well start a program to eradicate all the flies in the world. It is all in vain.
Now, why is China fighting porn? Because it is an old taboo since the times after the Tang dynasty. Before, China was sexually liberal, and now the times are turning again. This has to do with the opening up to the outer world in general, and with Internet in particular.
You should also note that there is no law against downloading or consuming porn in China. It is legal, it is practiced, and it is virtually unfiltered on the net (bar a few percent of the sites). What is illegal is copying and distributing porn, especially for commercial purposes. Spreading less than 20 "huangdai" (yellow tapes, porn videos) is not punishable. 20--99 tapes (or images) is punishable, and above 500 tapes (or images) is considered severe, with a potential lifetime imprisonment. This also goes for digital content.
The effect is that China is consuming as much porn as the rest of the world, but they won't be able to cash in on it. This is bound to change in the future, if you ask me.
FTFA: The Chinese government also recently increased surveillance of mobile phone text messaging, a popular method of communication in China where 383 million individuals use mobile phones.
For one thing, I didn't know that it was that easy for the cops. I bet it's even easier here in the US. Now that I know that the police have this capabliltiy, I can be a bit more vigilant about my own civil liberites, as much as I can. These things that China is doing is bringing to light some of the capabilities that police around the world have.
I am curious though, exactly how easy is it? Can some local cops in anytown, USA do this?
How much liberty and freedom would you sacrifice to remove goatse and tubgirl from the net?
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Let me get this right... China doesn't want to see people demonstrating because they fear democracy. And they're attacking porn. Sorry, but I can't think of a better reason why half a billion Chinese would take to the streets.
It should be noted that in China the word "democracy" is considered pornographic
I'm taking all bets on which war is going to be won first.
The War on Drugs
or The War on Porn
Place your bets now...
I'm sorry for the Chinese, I think the pornographers are going to kick their ass.
I wouldn't get cross about this misnomenclature except that there have been a very few real attempts at Communist government, notably in India, and they shouldn't be dirtied by association. Let's be clear - if the Chinese people eventually overthrow or modernise their government, it will be the end of the process of the rise and collapse of large scale dictatorships in the 20th Century.
Pining for the fjords
Clearly, the Chinese government has misunderstood the very purpose of the Internet .
Such a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Internet is, and was intended to be used will result in the Chinese people using the Internet for less desirable purposes such as dissent, subversion, and spreading dangerous ideas such as freedom of thought and expression.
Those who would give up liberty in exchange for security and DRM should switch to Microsoft Palladium!
Interesting how the Chinese government goes all out on pornography, but does absolutely nothing to try to stem the rampant software and video piracy that takes place there. I need hardly mention the millions of machines spewing spam out into the internet.
I wonder whether the rest of the world would be for the better if China was completely segregated from the rest of the internet, with the only access through safe "portals" supervised by the government.
PocketGamer.org - For the gamer on the go!
Did I miss anything?
This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.
.. as substantial privatisation has happened over the last few years. They are still oppressive though.
It does not seem like being oppressive is the problem the US or the EU has with communist states though, as they are conducting extensive business with China these days.
An oppressive facist police state is perfectly ok, as long as there are possibilities for making money from them. This makes a mockery of the argument that the US invaded Iraq to free the people from oppression.
Please consider how Internet censorship is being implemented in the "free world" when reading this story.
Example: Starting January 1st 2006, it is illegal to have organized debate on how to by-pass copyright restrictions in Finland. It is also illegal to distribute software, also free software, that can be used to by-pass copyright restrictions. This is a violation of free speech in the Internet in The Free World(tm).
Another example: In many countries now it is illegal to inform that the World War II holocaust where claimed six million jews supposedly died is a hoax. You don't even need to be accused of lying, which you are not by informing about this issue, in many countries you will simply be put in prison on the vague charge of "denial".
And there are many, way too many, examples on how free speech is being violated and limited in the western world.
The first amendment seems to be the only one left in the USA now and it is under constant attack. Eye-ball the story and ignore place in the world (China), this is something every citizen should protest against, regardless of where in the world it happens - And it is, sadly, a trend that I see too clearly all over the world these days.
Btw. You might aswell start using http://tor.eff.org/ right away - Sadly, tools that allow anonymous communication have now become necessary and essential.
9/11: Never forget it was a false-flag operation
So because the citizens don't have rights, the government can do whatever it takes to make sure that no illegal communication takes place.
A point of order here.. Chinese citizens have all the same rights as you and I. Rights are intrinsic to human beings. The fact that the Chinese government violates those rights is what makes it a tyranny.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
It WAS communist, but due to trade with other countries, capitalism has become a dominant part of their economy. It's just not a democracy or republic. Technically, China is a "Capitalist Dictatorship."
As an aside, it seems that people want to blindly attach communism all the time. Yes, communism is bad, but to just blanketly poopoo it is stupid. The truth is that communism is one of the fastest ways to bring a country from total anarchy and poverty to a functioning economy. The problem is that Marxist socialism and communism don't dissolve into democracy like the ideaists said it would. Instead, the people in power don't want to let go of their power, and it becomes a totalitarian, oppressive dictatorship. China's transition to a capitalist dictatorship is probably less disruptive to the people and economy than the sudden switch from communist dictatorship to capitalist democracy in the former USSR. Yes, China's government really sucks and they need a revolution, but this needs to be considered objectively. Sudden revolution could be disasterous locally to China and globally. And things like this usually get worse before they get better.
Cracking down of pornography, wiretapping its own citizens' communications without a warrant.
Wait a minute! Where have I heard the same thing recently?
Wow. You really do not understand what rights mean. Rights are independent of government and legislation. You have the right to freedom of speech, and no government can take that from you. The government can use coercion to stop you from using that right, but you still have it. That others (including government) don't respect your rights is not equal to your not having them. Indeed, others cannot violate your rights if you don't them. In short: the US supreme court has no right to decide which rights you have, neither has any other government agency. Your rights are the right to your own body and all rights which follow as consequences of this. That is, all rights can be derived from self-ownership.
I'm really getting sick of stories treating the Web as if it were just another conventional medium, like TV or publishing.
The whole point of the Web is that everyone is a producer. Even though, yes, there are millions upon millions of end-users who do nothing but read cnn.com, aol.com, foxnews.com, and the like, there are also millions of everyday users who produce their own content. Be it through commenting on blogs (or running their own ones), maintaining a MySpace page, writing to a LiveJournal/DeadJournal/Blurty/etc., or actually running their own domain, Web users are making their own corners of the Web. For that reason, I find it deceptive (if not outright insulting) that the body of Web users are described collectively as "consumers". "Users" would be more accurate.
I can see where the conventional news outlets would be inclined to reinforce the notion that the Web is a one-way, inactive medium (like television), but it isn't.
With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
China apologists always seem to float the transgressions of other countries rather than trying to refute the fact that the PRC government is evil. They do this because the PRC government is indefensible. The post I am responding to is a perfect example of this.
So, h4rm0ny, why can't I be for justice everywhere? In the PRC and in the United States if the USA government is also disrespecting human rights? Are you for absolute right and wrong or is politics a team sport for you?
Someone thought of the kittens!
Cynicism, like dogmatism, can be an excuse for intellectual laziness. - Susan Shirk
It should be noted that India is not a communist country. We are in fact the largest democracy in the world (According to population). We have a democractically (Ok i wont go into gory details about cheating during elections) elected government.
Now I'll have to switch to Indian porn to still have low-costs. However, I will forever be haunted by the fear that I am looking at the pussy of the chick who took my programming job.
Table-ized A.I.
Do you have an e-mail address where I can report porno spammers being hosted in China?
It's true no man is an island, but if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie 'em together, they make a good raft.
Europe Internet Usage Statistics
USA Internet Usage Statistics
Or did a Holocaust denier just get modded (5, Informative)?
Don't get me wrong, I would jail the guy for thinking or saying this, but I wouldn't mod him up either.
(referring to parent post)
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
The only real difference is what we are willing to accept as harmful porn or as detrimental to society. In America, many states still have laws on the books that prohibit co-habitation and/or gays. We also crack down on sites that we regard as illegal. A good example is child porn. Of course, most states define child porn as below 18 YO. But in other countries (and cultures and times), a child would be defined as below 12 (or possibly when a women starts menstruation or a boy grows hair). We have a loser definition than china, but a more stringent one than others. As to civil liberties, well, your seem to forget the more than 5 americans (we really do not know how many are there) who are being held in Gitmo, as well as the NSA spying. BTW, if you wish to state the spying is only those that talk to terrorists, well, I say that you need to prove that. Just 6 months the far right was arguing that warrents were used and that no harm would come from PATRIOT act, etc.
And as to intimidation, well, we all know that America gov. never intimidates anybody. No? We never hold people in prison without cause. We never hold people overseas without charges. And we never object when bad things are found out about the current gov.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Go to a concert hall, stand up, and try to explain to everyone how warped their perception of music is, and you will get thrown out. Go to an alcoholics anonymous meeting and tell them all how warped their view of alcoholic beverages are, and you will get thrown out. Go to a meeting of a political party and be so kind as to explain in insulting terms what utter morons they are for not subscribing to the competing party, and you will get thrown out.
And yes, if you go to a church and try to tell everyone what they believe is ridiculous, and you will get thrown out.
But what's your point?
As I sit here, the comment count is only at 212. Come on folks, where's the outrage? The righteous indignation of people being oppressed?
One this is for sure: if this article were about the United States clamping down, there'd be 900 comments thus far, with 899 of them calling the U.S. everything but Satan himself. But since it's China, nobody says (much of) anything. Just goes to prove once again that everybody's eager to call the U.S. the #1 enemy of...well, just about everything, but when real oppression happens outside U.S. borders, they're given a free pass.
In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
China stopped being communist when switched from a planned/command economy to a free market system. But they made sure to keep the authoritarian regime in place.
Back in the 1930s and 1940s, they called that fascism. I guess when the pots occupy the media and government infrastructure, they are unwilling to call kettles black.
-------- -------- Support Wesley Clark for president!!!
Fascism and Communism dash off in opposite directions. But they arrive in the same place. A feudalistic political/economic system where there is no distinction between governance and commerce.
So yes, when the international corporations BECOME the defacto government (by undermining political systems) than they effectively become the state and they will equally fit the "1984" paradigm.
BTW, just remember that China plays the same games as Big Brother (as does GW Bush). They are always stoking the people up about some external or social issue to keep them from thinking and acting critically against the states. A couple of months ago, it was Japan. In this case, it is pornography.
-------- -------- Support Wesley Clark for president!!!
IF Dialectical Materialism is any measure of adherence to the Communist Manifesto, the USA is the most successful Communist country in the world.
Beginning with the Marshal Plan following WWII, the USA has given away more money and aid than all the other contries of the world combined. Japan and Western Europe were rebuilt by American generosity, and it was well into the 70's before they could begin altrustic donations, and then only because we bought their Volkswagons instead of Detroit's junk.
And now, 50 years later, we are shipping our manufacturing overseas, lowering our standard of living while raising the standard of living of every country that is now manufacturing the goods we once built but now buy at Walmart. China has been the biggest beneficiary.
And, manufacturing wasn't enough. Now we are sending our jobs over seas too.
But, NAFTA and OUT SOURCING aren't altruistic examples. They actually represent the greed of management and the stockholders, who don't understand that they are killing the Goose that laid the Golden eggs.
The fact that both political parties are doing their best to destroy those parts of the Constituion that they don't like, it won't be long before freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, or free speech or association will mean no more in the USA than it does in China.
Running with Linux for over 20 years!
Speaking as a marxist as well as someone who has studied some of the various ideologies behind communist movements (marxist leninism, maoism, etc), there is nothing specifically wrong about sexuality. What it comes down to is how you and your culture feels about it, and it can go either way:
Example A: You are a policy maker in an authoritarian socialist government. You personally perceive sexual licentiousness as having a negative effect on your society. For this reason, you identify such licentiousness as a product of a culture formed by capitalism. In order to remove capitalism completely from your society, you'd also have to overturn capitalist values and culture, so that also means making an effort to inhibit what you think is sexual deviation.
Remember, most conservatives in the United States have similar views on sexuality (a product of culture), but they do not link it to any economic system--most would relate the issue to religious matters if to any body outside practicality.
Example B: You are a policy maker in an authoritarian socialist government. You personally perceive that a more liberal view of sexuality would be socially beneficial. Therefore, you identify anti-sex views in your culture as being values that have been imposed upon the working class by a capitalist elite. Since your goal is to oust the elite class and do away with their imposed culture and economic system, you must make an effort to encourage sexuality.
As you can see, communist ideologies are not necessarily equiped with pre-defined views on much of anything outside of economics and class struggle. Whatever you are for or against, you need to make the case for whether or not such a thing is antisocial.
Politics work like that in the US as well, but the government has a slightly different attitude about what needs to be done.
You have to be careful in any case. In a communist country, it may be "think of the people!" In the US, an equivalent might be, "think of yourself!" Or, in either, "think of the children!" If you think about it, those statements are nearly identical when you follow them to where they're meant to lead you (hint: yourself).
True communism is a magical world where everyone works together for the common good without any personal motivation, or coordinating mechanism. It is based on the denial basic truths about human beings, and the world we live in. Any rational, thinking person should realize that such a mode of social organization and economic distribution is unrealistic and impossible.