Stories from Quick Reads and China
‘History of love in the country of hatred': influencers detained in Russia for LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’
Apart from widespread censorship, the Russian "anti- LGBT propaganda" law leads to unprecedented pressure on LGBTQ+ people and the organizations helping them.
Why the Numbers 64, 89 and 535 Are Missing From the Chinese Internet
Today is June 4, the 26th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests of 1989. In recent years, some numbers have gone missing on the Chinese Internet because of censorship. These numbers are 64, 89 and 535 — which stands for May 35, a popular way to refer to June 4. They are...
An Online Joke Captures China's Censorship Practices
Letscorp, a site devoted to bridging information across Chinese speaking communities, reposted an online joke on Twitter that vividly captures mainland Chinese censorship practices. 老大:官员好不好,百姓说了算。宣传部:我补充一句,大多数百姓不明真相。团中央:没事,我们有一千万网评员保证舆论。公安:还有漏网的我们就抓。央视:再让他们嫖娼。环球:就说他们收了美国人的钱。外交部发言人:依据相关法律和政策,我国有充分言论自由。人民日报:你瞧,这是人民的选择嘛 — 墙外楼 (@letscorp) May 28, 2015 Man on top [implying Chinese president Xi Jinping]: Whether a government official is performing well should be judged by...
In China, Online Game Has To Comply With Laws in Real Life
An online game designer, Xu Youzhen revealed in his Weibo that the Chinese authorities require that childbearing in his company's video games comply with family planning. The guideline was issued by Internet Culture Office, Bureau of Culture Markets in their powerpoint explanation of “Ministry of Culture's Online Game Content Censorship...
The Translation Detail Everyone Missed in the China Internet’s Incredibly Surreal Anthem
Below is an edited version of “The Translation Detail Everyone Missed in the China Internet's Incredibly Surreal Anthem“ by Jason Li, originally published on the blog 88 Bar and republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement. In case you missed it, the New York Times, ProPublica, the Guardian and the Atlantic all wrote about...
The Poetry and Brief Life of a Foxconn Worker
Foxconn, a Taiwanese company and Apple company's subcontractor in China, has been criticized for its labour management policy, which has resulted in high number of workplace suicides. Nao, a pro-grassroots group, translated poems of Xu Lizhi, a Foxconn worker who committed suicide on 30 September 2014, at the age of...
Comic Explains the ‘Cold War’ Between Hong Kong's Pro-Democracy Protesters and Their Parents
Jason Li has translated a letter written by a web user named Cherish to her parents, which was published on citizen media website inmediahk.net, and turned it into a comic. The letter addresses the generational conflict triggered by the Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong. Most of the pro-democracy protesters are under...
Chinese Outbound Foreign Direct Investment in Europe
This five-minute video created by ESADE business school shows where Chinese capital is invested in Europe and examines the various motivations Chinese companies have for investing overseas (via the China Observer).
Six Hong Kong Police Officers Kick and Punch a Handcuffed Protester in a Dark Corner
Last night at 9:30pm, around 300 hundred protesters attempted to set up new barricade in Long Wo Road, near the government headquarter at Admiralty. Riot police took action to disperse protesters and arrested 45 of them. The process was brutal. The TV news showed that one of the protesters, identified...
Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution in Mathematical Formula
The above high school test paper has gone viral in Hong Kong social media in the past few days. The test question is: What are the factors that lead to the September 28 Umbrella Revolution? The student answered with a mathematical formula: 64+71+101+689+3=928. The teacher marked the paper 0 and...
Weapon of Mass Destruction in Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution
Mainland Chinese state-run media has been running editorials and opinion pieces to criticize the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, with emphasis on the destruction the street occupations have brought to ordinary people. The Umbrella Revolution has also been labeled as “Color Revolution” backed up by foreign forces, in particular, the...
Industrial Pollution Kills Hundreds of Wild Birds in Inner Mongolia
More than 500 dead wild water birds appeared in the lake areas of Inner Mongolia since this summer as a result of water pollution. The poisonous water, as reported by local herdsmen, came from factories from a nearby eco-industrial area. Annie Lee from China Hush wrote a photo feature on...
China: ‘The More You Exploit Us, the Happier We Get’
Kevin Slaten from China Labour Watch wrote on China File on the situation of labour exploitation in China — the fact that industrial safety and workers’ lives were taken for granted for economic growth, which is reflected in a notorious local Kunshan government's appeal to foreign investors: “The Kunshan people...
Interview With the Author of ‘Chinese Turkestan’, a Photographic Documentary of Xinjiang
Far West China interviewed Ryan Pyle, a Shanghai-based photographer who recently published a photographic documentary of Xinjiang titled “Chinese Turkestan”: The news is so segregated and so focused on conflict areas that places like Xinjiang get left off the map. When the spotlight does turn there, it’s all about the...
An Urgent Call for the Protection and Preservation of Tibetan Language
Khenpo Tsultrim Lodoe is an influential Buddhist teacher at Larung Gar Buddhist Institute in Tibet. His article which addresses the relation between language and identity and urges for the preservation of Tibetan language was posted on an official educational website for Tibetan middle schools on July 4, 2014. High Peaks...
5 Tips to Prevent Threats of Cyber Snooping in China
Want to prevent threats of cyber snooping in China? See the details of the following five tips given by Sean Maples on ChinaHush: 1. Upgrade your operating system 2. Remove extra data 3. Bring a simple cellphone 4. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) 5. Reformat your digital device
China's New Regulations on Instant Messaging Tools Explained
Hu Yong, associate professor at Peking University’s School of Journalism and Communication, explained the issue at stake regarding China's latest regulations on instant messaging tools on Chinafile. The regulations forbidden public account holders, except from registered media organizations accounts, to republish articles on current events. The result is a highly...
An Election Film Week in Lebanon to Say #NoToExtension of Parliament Term
What better than the seventh art to mobilize? In another effort to push for Elections in Lebanon and prevent an extension of the Parliamentary term #NoToExtension, Lebanese NGO Nahwa Al Muwatiniya (meaning Towards Citizenship) held an “Election Film Week”. Six works from Chile, Iran, China, Ghana and the US, varying between documentaries...
Beijing Expects Hong Kong People to be Rubber Stamps
David Webbs a finance news commentator concluded that the Beijing decision on the nomination of Chief Executive candidates in 2017 is to turn Hong Kong people into rubber stamps.
China Blocks Beijing Independent Film Festival
Beijing authorities blocked an annual independent film festival from opening on August 23, 2014. The move is seen as a sign that Beijing is tightening ideological controls. According to indie director Huang Wenhai, the shutdown was “the darkest day in the history of Chinese independent film.” Started in 2006 by independent art critic Li Xianting,...