Letters | Chinese social media: living by the Great Firewall bears its own risks

Chinese netizens seem happy for the cyber watchdog to silence those they disagree with, but will resist being silenced on issues that move them
Unfortunately, this will not engender a healthy internet environment with space for discussion

China’s internet censorship

Letters

Published: 6:30am, 14 Mar 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

After the revelation that four Chinese soldiers died in last year’s clash at the border with India caused an uproar on social media, China detained a few individuals for defamatory social media posts on the deaths of the PLA “heroes”.

It’s worth noting that some of these cases were “reported” to the police by other people in WeChat groups and on Weibo, which I find deeply baffling: when it comes to China’s internet censorship system, are Chinese web users supporters or rebels?

In early February last year, there was an outpouring of grief on Chinese social media. News of “whistle-blower” doctor Li Wenliang’s death from Covid-19broke the hearts of millions of Chinese.

As always, a lot of information about the death of Li would have been blocked by China’s cyber watchdog. However, people reacted differently to this blockade than they had in the past. Driven by grief and anger, China’s social media users tried every single way they could to spread the truth and their eulogies. Messages were posted with words reordered and coded, or even translated into different languages, to avoid censorship. There was a wave of rebellion on Chinese social media.

Chinese netizens are accustomed to being censored: they hate being censored, they are afraid of being censored, and yet sometimes some of them are advocates of the censorship system.

In a benign, healthy internet environment, different opinions can coexist. People with different positions can discuss their thoughts with each other. Nevertheless, nowadays, there is little space for discussion in China’s internet ecosystem.

02:19

Wuhan residents commemorate doctor who raised alarm over coronavirus, a year after his death

Influenced by official propaganda and spoiled by internet censorship, Chinese netizens are increasingly unable to tolerate the emergence of voices that differ from mainstream views. People find that using the cyber watchdog to silence other voices is far easier than arguing with and persuading others.

Chinese social media users declare war on South Korean cartoon for allegedly disrespecting China

But when the propaganda machine tries to mislead or silence Chinese people, like with the online blockade on Dr Li’s death, they will eventually find that the censorship system is pervasive and can hardly be resisted. As you have made your bed, so you must lie in it.

Like poor little rich children, Chinese netizens are spoiled by the censorship system, but they are also abused by the censorship system from time to time.

Nicole Wei, Tseung Kwan O

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