How does Censorship work in China?
Comments on a blogger’s review of Chinese self-censorship:
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2006/04/20/what-is-self-censorship/
One may wonder why Chinese bloggers write under strict censorship. Actually the censorship is not so strict, because the administrative capability of the government is little compared the huge number of websites and the bloggers today. However, Chinese government maitains censorship effciently despite the lack of caliber.
Such censorship works even out of the phiscal border of CCP China. Wang Yi, a dissenter of Chinese government, once criticized some oversea Chinese for their pussyfoot. They declined Wang’s proposition to discuss Chinese politics. For those who did attend his lecture, they did not appreciate his talking on some sensitive issues. It seems that the censorship is no less intense in oversea Chinese community.
How do Chinese government maitain such intense censorship? The secret is to imply, promote, coerce, enforce self-censorship.
The administrative may use competition, franchise or punishment to achieve this goal. One of my friends, an editor in a famous Chinese press, told me the governing organ simply awarded those who complied their rules well. But the reaction of the numerous publishing institute was to try their best to comply those rules of censorship. Thus the self-censorship was established in this industry.
With the well-established and deep-rooted self-censorship, one courageous liberalist may meet press both from government and from his/her collegues, friends or family members. The reason is simple. One’s rebellious action may cause trouble, and therefore their interests may be effected by such action. As Chinese are taught to care for others’ interest, he/she has to compromise. Hence in most cases such action is defeated not by the government, but by other ordinary people. With time passing by, routines are formed and justified, so is the self-censorship. Remember 1984? What makes life miserable and hopeless is the inter-censorship. When it lasts long enough, it becomes self-censorship.
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