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China’s anniversary rally in Tiananmen goes beyond the firewall

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The 24-hour vigil began on June 3 at 8:00 a.m. in the Eastern United States, at approximately the same time and without much interruption.

The event, organized by Zoom and broadcast on other platforms such as YouTube, was recalled by Chinese activists in the Tiananmen Square massacre, a bloody bloodshed against a pro-democracy movement in Beijing on June 4, 1989.

It wasn’t certain if it could happen: organizers were worried that it would be repeated last year when Zoom, a California video conferencing company, closed three events related to Tiananmen after the Chinese government made the request. . The company temporarily suspended the accounts of the coordinators, all of whom were outside the Chinese mainland and four of them were in the US.

The zoom action led to an investigation and lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in December. “We strive to limit our actions to those necessary to comply with local laws. Our response should not affect users outside the Chinese mainland,” Zoom wrote. statement he posted it on his website, where he admitted that he had “fallen short.”

It was one of the most extreme examples of how far Western technology companies will go to enforce strict controls over China’s online content.

A suppression suite

This type of self-censorship is standard for Chinese technology companies – unlike American businesses protected by such rules as Section 230—Chinese law is responsible for the content of users.

Every year, a few days before sensitive dates such as the anniversary of the 1989 repression, the Chinese Internet — which is already being scrutinized — is even more closed than normal. Some words are censored on various platforms. Common use emojis, like candles, begin to disappear from emoji keyboards. Usernames on different platforms cannot be changed. Speeches that may have been an acceptable limitation at other times of the year may result in a visit to state security.

In 2020, Zoom closed three incidents related to Tiananmen at the request of the Chinese government, although all were outside the Chinese mainland. In December, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the company.

Along with this, real-world repression appears increased security in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and the government believes other places are sensitive, while criticisms are sent against the regime forced vacation, arrested or imprisoned directly.

This year, that deletion is getting even longer. After passing a new one national security law in Hong Kong which greatly reduces speech—months protest—Memory ceremonies are officially banned in and around Macau. (In the first year 24 people were indicted for ignoring a similar ban, including one of the movement’s prominent leaders, democracy activist Joshua Wong, who is still in jail and has recently received another 10-month sentence.

Covid is also fulfilling its role: a major public event in Taiwan has also been canceled, for example, following a new wave of covid-19 infections as a result of a sharp blockade.



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