Canadian Anti-Infringement Enforcement Company Caught Using Infringing Photos On Its Website

Critic Of Chinese Censorship Censored: Microblog With 1.1 Million Followers Deleted

from the maybe-they-won't-notice dept

Wed, May 15th 2013 3:25am — Glyn Moody

It will hardly come as a surprise to anyone to learn that a popular writer and well-known critic of China's pervasive censorship system has run into trouble for his views. Fortunately, in this case that doesn't mean getting arrested, but nonetheless involves quite a dramatic slapdown:

The online Sina Weibo microblogging account of Murong Xuecun, one of China's most popular writers and one of the country's foremost critics of censorship, has been deleted from the site, suspected to be part of the government's efforts to crack down on online rumors by targeting high-profile users.

Murong's account, which had more than 1.1 million followers, was taken down from the Twitter-link website on May 11, 2013. His writing as well as his microblogging discusses social issues in contemporary China such as corruption and media censorship.

The Global Voices story quoted above goes on to describe the ways in which some of those 1.1 million followers have reacted, and how many feel that Sina Weibo is diminished by Murong's absence. It also points out that all of his posts have been preserved and are available -- but on the other side of the Great Firewall of China (GFW). Although only those with the requisite technical know-how to tunnel under the GFW using VPNs will be able to access the now-deleted messages, that doesn't mean the Chinese authorities have really won here. After all, using censorship to silence a critic of censorship means that his 1.1 million (ex-)followers now have definitive proof of what he was warning them about.

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: censorship, china, free speech, microblog, murong xuecun, weibo
Companies: sina weibo

12 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

That One Guy (profile), 15 May 2013 @ 2:45am

Brilliant, just brilliant...
He complains about censorship carried out by the chinese government, and they turn him into as very well known and visible example for all to see. But hey, I'm sure that couldn't possibly cause more harm to the government than his blog ever could have... /s
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2013 @ 4:09am
  
  Re: Brilliant, just brilliant...
  I'd like to share your enthusiasm, but, although 1.1 Million followers is impressive, that accounts to less than 0.1% of the Chinese population (according to Wikipedia numbers).
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - That One Guy (profile), 15 May 2013 @ 5:31am
    
    Re: Re: Brilliant, just brilliant...
    A proportionally small number on it's own yes, but as far as a 'seed' group from which the news can spread, that is a LOT of people to start out with, so the spread of news regarding this shutdown is likely to be very quick and very widely dispersed, making damage control on the censors' side quite tricky.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Zakida Paul (profile), 15 May 2013 @ 3:34am

Oh how the UK and US governments dream about being able to get away with doing this.

Ironically, the UK and US governments just love to decry the human/civil rights violations of the Chinese.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2013 @ 3:57am
  
  Re:
  Hilariously enough, the West has no high ground this time considering what they're doing to AP.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - That One Guy (profile), 15 May 2013 @ 5:34am
    
    Re: Re:
    Please, as though demonstrable hypocrisy has stopped them from crying foul when others follow in their footsteps in the past...
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ninja (profile), 15 May 2013 @ 3:59am

After all, using censorship to silence a critic of censorship means that his 1.1 million (ex-)followers now have definitive proof of what he was warning them about.

That. Awareness is key to promote change.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2013 @ 4:12am

So this is what Chris Dodd wanted for SOPA? "China-style censorship" that's easy to implement? Comforting to know.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2013 @ 5:01am

given the over reaction to this sort of thing in ALL countries, but particularly in places like China, i wonder how long it will be before the news of his arrest, trial and sentencing are released? i then wonder how long it will be before those witting similar blogs in so-called Democratic countries receive the same treatment?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
horse with no name, 15 May 2013 @ 6:11am

question:
Glyn, exactly how much time have you spent in your life in China?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2013 @ 7:00am
  
  Re: question:
  Why, do you feel qualified or relevant to bring up this point as though it might merit some degree of valid criticism? Or would you like to live there for the SOPA-esque experience Chris Dodd wanted for America?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- That One Guy (profile), 15 May 2013 @ 3:27pm
  
  Re: question:
  Ah good old ad hominem, when you can't attack the message, go after the messenger.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]