Internet Censorship in China by Ruochong ZHANG https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z How Chinese Netizens Reacted to Government Censorship on Weibo en-us 2023-10-06 13:23:23 UTC 2023-10-30 16:19:08 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f5a5.png Research Questions ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735657479 This particular research intends to evaluate:

1. What are the impacts of China's Internet censorship on the dissemination of information and international interaction on a global scale?

2. How do the intricacies of China's censorship mechanisms shape how individuals and society adapt to and resist censorship?

]]> 2023-10-06 14:03:13 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735657479 Background ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735657861 The 'white paper revolution' emerged in China during the last week of November（2022）. The 'white paper revolution' was a public protest movement criticizing the measures taken by the government to control COVID-19 (Che & Chien, 2022). 
The protest was showcased on online platforms as well by uploading plain blank paper on Weibo and WeChat. However, soon these online posts were shadow-banned and taken down. It led to people using different techniques to criticize the government indirectly.  ]]> 2023-10-06 14:03:30 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735657861 Rationale ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735658065 The Chinese netizens continue to face situations where they are under strict supervision and government control. Over the years, Chinese citizens have found different tactics to express themselves, for example, using VPNs or homophones of restricted keywords (Marks, 2023). This study intends to evaluate the techniques, processes, and ways netizens apply in order to escape censorship while presenting their thoughts, particularly when criticizing the government and its approach. ]]> 2023-10-06 14:03:38 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735658065 Overview of Methodology ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735658473
  • This study will be a discourse analysis.
  • The public posts related to the 'white paper revolution' on Weibo between 24th November to 31st December 2022 will be collected
  • A detailed discussion of the languages, techniques, expressions presented in these posts will be analyzed
  • Further comparisons would be made by previous situations and incidences where public expressed themselves by dodging government censorship creatively
    • ]]>     2023-10-06 14:03:55 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735658473     Preliminary Key Findings 1 ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735658651 Weibo is the most widely used social media platform with over 253 million active users last recorded in September 2022 (Daniel, 2023). Hence, studying activities on netizens on this platform is feasible. ]]> 2023-10-06 14:04:04 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735658651 Reference List ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735658767 ChannelDraw. (2022, November 30). A4 revolution! white paper revolution 白纸革命.  https://www.channeldraw.org/2022/11/28/a4-revolution-white-paper-revolution-%E7%99%BD%E7%BA%B8%E9%9D%A9%E5%91%BD/
    Ch, D. (2023). Sina Weibo Usage and Revenue Statistics (2023). https://www.usesignhouse.com/blog/sina-weibo-stats
    Marks, T. (2023, February 10). Censorship in China: How to bypass the Great Firewall of China. VPNOverview.com. https://vpnoverview.com/unblocking/censorship/internet-censorship-china/
    Pollard, M., & Goh, B. (2022, November 28). Blank sheets of paper become symbol of defiance in China protests. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/blank-sheets-paper-become-symbol-defiance-china-protests-2022-11-27/ 
    Reddit. (2022). German embassy in Beijing posts White Paper on Weibo in response to the White Paper Revolution. Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/z9m1ot/german_embassy_in_beijing_posts_white_paper_on/?rdt=43700 (Accessed: 07 October 2023).
    Soo, Z. (2022, December 6). Chinese users play cat-and-mouse with censors amid protests. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/technology-health-hong-kong-shanghai-covid-5452012336b1f8bbbd8b4658e87be453 ]]>     2023-10-06 14:04:08 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735658767     Key Findings 2: Chinese Netizens Protests on Weibo ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735815235 The initial responses of the Netizens showcased outrage, which was soon taken down. The public resorted to using cryptic keywords in order to dodge the government ban.]]> 2023-10-06 15:54:10 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735815235 Key Findings 6: Many netizens criticized the white paper revolution ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735820114 2023-10-06 15:58:27 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735820114 Key Findings 4: Online posts related to 'white paper revolution' ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735822853 Use of memes, caricatures, and pictures became common in different other social media sites including Twitter (ChannelDraw, 2022). The buzz of the revolution started getting international recognition and coverage. ]]> 2023-10-06 16:00:48 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2735822853 ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736070723 2023-10-06 20:01:52 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736070723 Key Findings 3: Cryptic Methods used in Weibo ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736076643 2023-10-06 20:11:28 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736076643 Key Findings 5: German Embassy in China showed solidarity on Weibo ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736093094 2023-10-06 20:38:42 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736093094 ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736099586 2023-10-06 20:51:36 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736099586 ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736104540 2023-10-06 21:02:05 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736104540 Conclusion ruochong https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736886206 This research intends to evaluate Chinese netizen's reaction to government censorship of social media. It uses a discourse analysis method to evaluate the recent 'white paper revolution' on Weibo. The preliminary findings suggested that there were initial direct government criticism which were taken down under censorship. It is followed by use of cryptic language, sarcasm, and other techniques to dodge the issue. The protest became big on other social media as well. ]]> 2023-10-08 08:04:31 UTC https://padlet.com/ruochong/i7vvjsbk4pi4a3z/wish/2736886206