“China’s cyber regulator has launched a hotline to report online comments that defame the ruling Communist Party and its history, vowing to crack down on ‘historical nihilists’ ahead of the Party’s 100th anniversary in July. The tip line allows people to report fellow netizens who ‘distort’ the Party’s history, attack its leadership and policies, defame national heroes and ‘deny the excellence of advanced socialist culture’ online, said a notice posted by an arm of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on Friday. ‘Historical nihilism’ is a phrase used in China to describe public doubt and skepticism over the Chinese Communist Party’s description of past events. China’s internet is tightly censored and most foreign social media networks, search engines and news outlets are banned in the country. Netizens in China already face jail time and other legal punishments for posting content that is critical of the county’s leadership, policies and history. Legal amendments released earlier this year stipulate that people who ‘insult, slander or infringe upon’ the memory of China’s national heroes and martyrs face jail time of up to three years. Last week, authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu detained a 19-year-old man after making ‘insulting’ comments online about Japan’s 1937 occupation of Nanjing.”
“China Launches,” Newsmax, Apr. 11, 2021
CONCLUSION: We wonder if China has considered hiring Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Sundar Pichai as censorship advisors?
(Friday Church News Notes, April 16, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org , 866-295-4143)