China’s internet regulators have launched a campaign cracking down on puns and homophones, one of the last remaining ways for citizens to safely discuss sensitive subjects without recriminations or censorship.
“For some time, various internet jargons and memes have appeared frequently, leaving people more and more confused,” said an editorial by the Communist party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily
China’s online spaces are strictly monitored and censored. Some sensitive topics and terms are strictly banned, such as references to the Tiananmen massacre, or criticism of President Xi Jinping. Insulting individuals or China generally is also frowned upon.
In response, users have adapted, using funny or obscure references and in-jokes to get around the censorship. Many rely on homophones, using phrases that sound very similar in Mandarin, but were written with different Chinese characters, such as the word for “paratrooper” (sǎn bīng) instead of “idiot” (shǎ bī).
China could just make explosive collars that read minds and when the thought criminals have that thought that crosses the line; boom.
No more thought crime after the first few weeks AND a boost to employment for a month or two as the janitorial service backup with work.
You’re welcome, China.
Crickets from the ML crowd
Hopefully you can follow that link. Ml mods removed the article lmao.
Edit. Holy shit, they banned me from .ml all together for posting the article! It wasn’t even lemmygrad ml, it was just the ml world news comm. Lmao.
The reason was “rule 1”, which is:
Please only post links to actual news sources, no tabloid sites, etc.
That’s hilarious
Of course, The Guardian - the famous tabloid without any actual news lol
I think you’re supposed to accept only articles from the Grayzone, and those without any fact checking whatsoever.
Basically anything out of an ML mouth I distrust. If they’re trying to promote china and destroy the west, they’re doing a really shitty job at it.
“This is western propaganda, actually everyone can write what they like. Furthermore censorship is necessary to keep capitalist lies out of the country, so being banned from criticizing the government is a good thing.”
Andy Zaltzman will be devastated.
Now that’s an old thumbnail picture. Android 4.x on an old-style LG phone, along with the “green blocks” design play store (just after the android market rebrand)
I hope these poor souls learn to use TOR and a VPN
It’s more complicated than that. Your isp knows when you use a vpn. Your isp sometimes knows when you use tor. That’s why end to end encryption is so important. But in china, these activities are banned. So connecting to the wrong vpn could get them in trouble.
I hope these poor souls get a new damned government.
Clearly you have never been to China. It can take extra steps to VPN
