Posted on Dec 8, 2022
How protesters in China bypass online censorship to express dissent
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https://www.npr.org/2022/12/08/ [login to see] /china-zero-covid-lockdown-protests-online-xi-jinping-censorship
Although protests in China have now successfully convinced government officials to loosen enforced COVID-19 restrictions, anybody expressing their dissent in person or online has had to do so while navigating their country's notoriously strict censors.
After a deadly apartment fire in the city of Urumqi left at least 10 dead in late November, many questioned whether long-standing COVID restrictions limiting mobility within buildings could be blamed, which became a national conversation about the sustainability of the country's "zero-COVID" measures.
Although protests in China have now successfully convinced government officials to loosen enforced COVID-19 restrictions, anybody expressing their dissent in person or online has had to do so while navigating their country's notoriously strict censors.
After a deadly apartment fire in the city of Urumqi left at least 10 dead in late November, many questioned whether long-standing COVID restrictions limiting mobility within buildings could be blamed, which became a national conversation about the sustainability of the country's "zero-COVID" measures.
How protesters in China bypass online censorship to express dissent
Posted from npr.org
China
Protest
Posted >1 y ago
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The bypasses are temporary -- the PRC has a robust digital capability -- the fear must and will be maintained, unfortunately.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."People will post pictures of those, or even blog posts that just have these phrases, these sort of empty phrases repeated over and over again. There was one that was going around that said over and over again: 'good, good, good, yes, yes, yes, right, right, right'," Webster said.
Additionally, China's strict COVID prevention measures have led to an interconnectedness among neighbors, workers and students, who don't necessarily need to post online or participate in a protest to talk with each other in person.
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"There's a tendency to think of the Chinese online reality as 100% totalitarian, fully controlled, ubiquitous surveillance where everything is automated. That's not quite right. The mechanisms are not absolute," said Webster.
"If you get together many thousands of Chinese people trying to come up with ways to use euphemism or manipulate visual media to get around automatic detection, or even get around human censors, they will do it, because that's a lot of smart people doing something. They're going to figure it out."
..."People will post pictures of those, or even blog posts that just have these phrases, these sort of empty phrases repeated over and over again. There was one that was going around that said over and over again: 'good, good, good, yes, yes, yes, right, right, right'," Webster said.
Additionally, China's strict COVID prevention measures have led to an interconnectedness among neighbors, workers and students, who don't necessarily need to post online or participate in a protest to talk with each other in person.
Perspective: Jiang Zemin's passing marks the end of an era for China
OPINION
Perspective: Jiang Zemin's passing marks the end of an era for China
"There's a tendency to think of the Chinese online reality as 100% totalitarian, fully controlled, ubiquitous surveillance where everything is automated. That's not quite right. The mechanisms are not absolute," said Webster.
"If you get together many thousands of Chinese people trying to come up with ways to use euphemism or manipulate visual media to get around automatic detection, or even get around human censors, they will do it, because that's a lot of smart people doing something. They're going to figure it out."
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