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China Unblocks Sensitive Keywords
hackingbear writes "Reports from overseas (in Chinese) [Google translation] and Hong Kong-based Chinese media report that China appears to have unblocked several sensitive political keywords. Using Baidu.com, the country's leading search engine, users within the mainland border find, in Chinese, uncensored web page links and images using keywords like
Tiananmen and 'June 4'. (Readers can click on the first one to view the images.) Given that the unblocking of these sensitive keywords comes one week after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao publicly denounced left-wing leader Bo Xilai's movement of 'striking down the ganster while reviving the red culture' as going down the path of Cultural Revolution, it could signal the silent start of a major political change."
They'll just spam public internet services to suppress what they view as dissent, ramp up coordinated cyber attacks, make their lawyers swear oath to the Communist Party, force real name registration on internet services, continue censorship of social networks when deemed necessary, and continue to massively build out CNO and espionage capabilities, all while on track to exceed even the United States' defense spending by 2025.
But yeah, no big deal.
I'd read a few days ago that there was a lot of stuff going around the Chinese blogosphere about a possible coup or revolt going on in Beijing - armored vehicles in the streets, gunshots, and so on. This is second- or third-hand stuff - bloggers->other bloggers->american news - and until this, I figured it was the rough equivalent of the fake death rumors that go around Twitter sometimes. Even combined with the political infighting news, it was "possible but not probable".
But, in light of this, I'm thinking there might actually be something to it. Probably not a full-fledged revolution, but even violent political maneuverings might be a good thing (if the less-evil faction wins).
China is a vast multicultural society only held together by a sometimes ruthless dictatorship.
Releasing the reins too fast can have some very disturbing side effects.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
do you seriously believe a contentious current figure, in a secretive state is going to get an honest rap from Wikipedia?
Anyone in the echelons of power is an elitist, or crazy, it's a matter of degree, and what you're trying to do with that power.
Jiang Zemin was the party leader in shanghai during Tianmen who was able to stop the protests in shanghai without resorting to violence. Wen Jibao would not have publicly denounced Bo Xiliai without the approval of Jiang Zemin. It is likely the chinese government may be willing to adjust its view of the June 4th protesters to call them "sincere if misguided citizens seeking reform" and the ones who sought the crackdown were "hardliners" like Li Peng and use this as an excuse to purge the "red culture" and other hardliners faction from the party.
Also look and see if Zhao Ziyang gets rehabilitated posthumously.
Wen Jibao would not have publicly denounced Bo Xiliai without the approval of Jiang Zemin.
I'm not sure I understand this interpretation. To me, it looked like a direct shot from Hu Jintao / Wen Jiabao aimed right at Jiang Zemin's faction. They're opening up the Great Firewall because the majority of the information circulating on the western side is more embarrassing to Jiang than to Hu/Wen. Not only that, but it's allowing dirt regarding Bo Xilai / Zhou Yongkang to get back through to Chinese citizens in a roundabout way, bypassing domestic news sources (who, even when encouraged by the nominally-in-charge authorities to report, find themselves paralyzed and unwilling to possibly end up on the losing side, once the purges are over).
Why is Bo Xilai called a left-wing leader? Wikipedia portrays him as an "elitist" who sometimes supports leftist policies.
It's relative to the peculiar (and seemingly contradictory) factional politics of mainland China.
Bo Xilai is aligned with the "Shanghai Princeling" faction; their members are mostly descendants of the original generation of Communist leaders. Generally this group has been seen as elitist and market-oriented. Yet at the same time, Bo Xilai was known for instituting populist welfare programs, busting "criminal gangs" (and according to rumors, ordinary businessmen whose assets were coveted by the government) and encouraging Mao-era culture and ideology.
Their major rival faction, the Tuanpai faction, arose from members of the Communist Youth League; few of their members came from privileged backgrounds, including current General Secretary Hu Jintao (whose father was denounced during the Cultural Revolution). Their faction is generally considered populist, with special emphasis on social harmony.
Given these descriptions, it would be difficult for a Western observer to assign labels like "Left" or "Right" to these groups, but it makes sense from a Chinese perspective.