By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, July 18: China had heavily monitored the flow of information on its social media censoring information about Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, according to the the Citizen Lab, which added that China is employing stricter online censorship Liu’s death.
Following numerous news reports about Chinese social networking sites blocking ‘references to Liu Xiaobo and his legacy’, the interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, analyzed censorship related to Liu and his death on WeChat and Sina Weibo, two of the most popular Chinese applications.
“Before his death, messages were blocked that contained his name in combination with other words, for example those related to his medical treatment or requests to receive care abroad. However, after his death, we found that simply including his name was enough to trigger blocking of messages, in English and both simplified and traditional Chinese,” the report said.
The Toronto-based University in its report said that WeChat issued a blanket ban on his name after his death, greatly expanding the scope of censorship.
The Citizen Lab also said that for the first time China has censored images of Liu Xiaobo in one-to-one chat on WeChat. Moreover, images have also been blocked in group chat and WeChat Moments. A Chinese account won’t be able to receive images related to Liu sent through an International account.
According to the study, the censorship is not transparent since the message containing sensitive/blacklisted keywords do not appear on the receiver’s end and no notice is given to the sender that their message has been blocked or why it was blocked.
With over 768 million daily active WeChat users, mostly based in China, the Citizen Lab thinks the censorship might be because of the authorities’ fear for the collective protest. However, it also added that their findings suggest it exists to help the authorities’ save face or avoid embarrassment.
Similar to WeChat, the government has also laid a ‘blanket ban’ on searches for Liu Xiaobo’s name on Weibo, China’s google. The report said, “Just his given name of Xiaobo is enough to trigger censorship in English and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, which shows increased censorship on the platform and a recognition that his passing is a particularly sensitive event.”
In an experiment conducted by the Citizen Lab, international WeChat users are able to access each other’s feeds. However, it remains hidden from Chinese users.
In conclusion the report questions whether the blanket ban of Liu Xiaobo is a reaction to a particular sensitive moment in time, or will there be a discussion on him in the near future or will he remain blocked forever and erased from history.
