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Has Censorship gone too Far?

11/8/18

Do you believe every citizen should be allowed to have their own sense of freedom on the internet? While researching topics for my research paper, I had this question in mind and realized that I am blessed to live in a country with the freedom to express whatever you want wherever you want. However, for certain people, to gain the freedom to express whatever you want would be a blessing. Some of my family members live in countries that endure censorship on a daily basis and they consider it normal due to being born in that system. Some countries in today's society block their citizens from expressing the freedom to look up important information and the use of social media. A prime example of censorship in today’s society is in China who opposes western ideas about democracy, certain freedoms, and American values about the distribution of power. The Chinese government blocked many social media websites, certain outside influences, and important Chinese history to manipulate their citizens to think their way, and as a result, people have no sense of individuality. The Chinese use many different methods of censorship such as trigger words to ban certain posts off social media, banning certain artwork that does not reach government standards, and blocking important historical moments. The definition of censorship is the suppression of any parts of books, movies, news, music that are in times considered politically unacceptable or can be a threat to the security of a country. The communist party in China has a goal of censoring content due to political reasons, but also try to sustain their control over the people. To do so, China uses “trigger words” which are words that will be deleted immediately after use. This tactic by the Chinese government is used with social media posts and the news. For example, posts that contain the word “tank” will

be changed to “tractor.” Likewise, articles can be censored out because of trigger words. Another instance is, fifty-six percent of articles ranging from the Olympics to posts about contaminated milk is censored. That is such an absurd number. Also, from 2005-2006, China reached deals with Google and MSN (blog tool) to have both sites in China, but to censor certain information that is considered bad. Chinese trigger words are the basis for how the government censors social media and blog posts. Imagine a world without access to social media websites such as Instagram and Snapchat. If you live in China, you will be in this world. China banned social media due to the government not wanting free discussion by the citizens. Chinese citizens live day and night without the freedom to post what they desire. As a result, Chinese citizens will never have strong creative skills because there was never a sense of individuality. The people wanted social media, so China made their own. Weibo is the Chinese form of Twitter. It is an exact replica of Twitter, but the government censors and controls what users post. Another form of social media created is Youku which is Chinese youtube. Just as Weibo, Youku is an exact replica of youtube, but the government monitors the site. The Chinese government tricked the people into believing they are using social media, but they are still being manipulated and controlled by the government. Art is a visual expression of what the artist wants to portray at the time which makes much artwork special in the eyes of the artists due to them having a message behind the art, however, China has placed restriction to artists which destroy artists creative freedom. Back in 2017, Beijing based artist Zhao Bandhi’s art show was censored. Works such as “Scenery  with Cameras” (2015) and “Night View” (2015) was censored by immigration authorities which proves that China sees everything. Another instance was recent in Hong Kong, where a political

cartoon artist had his art show canceled due to “threats made by Chinese authorities relating to the artist.” The Chinese did not want an artist to persuade their citizens through his political cartoons. Art censorship is bad because it violates the freedom of expression, but the freedom of the press is also violated. The Chinese press is under a lot of pressure to report on information that fits with the government. Since 1949, the market is ruled by the government and newspapers will be checked and issued by the government. The government wants “healthy news” reported because the Chinese don’t want the people to question the government. A prime example of this is the Tiananmen Square Massacre. In every country around the world, you can find information, video, and pictures of the awful incident, but in China, if a citizen searches it up, it never existed. Other news not reported is corruption in government, environmental safety issues, scandals involving unsafe products, harmful foods, or counterfeit drugs, dam projects, and, mining incidents. While many would call this illegal, China is communist which allows the government to do whatever they want in terms of their citizens. The Chinese have censored information for many years causing their citizens to be unable to think freely. They have censored social media and the press by using trigger words. The Chinese leaders must understand that it isn't possible to control the internet because the internet is uncontrollable, citizens in China will try to access these banned sites by the use of VPN’s. I believe if most citizens find out about freedom outside of China, they will try to overthrow the government....