text:
CrunkLord420
china-dictatorship
mirror of https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship.git
Chinese "Communist" "Dictatorship" "facts". 中国《共产主义》《独裁统治》的《事实》。Home to the mega-FAQ, news compilation, restaurant and music recommendations. 常见问答集,新闻集和饭店和音乐建议。Heil Xi 卐. 习万岁。
Assembly 19.8%
Shell 10.4%
Python 2.3%
Other 17.5%
VincentTam-patch-1
body-html-bak
gh-pages
readme-split
Ciro Santilli 7f3d8f9c9c
.github quick issue_comment trial 7 months ago
china_dictatorship bump package version 2 years ago
evil-man Rename intermediate file README.body.html -> body.html to try and prevent inclusion in NPM package, so invasive 6 months ago
hello-world hello-world 10 months ago
index-split index-split local github stub 6 months ago
template_dir Modify templates to use loading="lazy" 1 year ago
.gitignore Rename intermediate file README.body.html -> body.html to try and prevent inclusion in NPM package, so invasive 6 months ago
.gitlab-ci.yml again 9 months ago
CONTRIBUTING.md Baidu baike censorship screenshot 8 months ago
Gemfile extra space on gemfile 6 months ago
Gemfile.lock try split page publish 6 months ago
LICENSE LICENSE 3 years ago
MANIFEST.in OK, Python package really working, omg 2 years ago
Makefile multipage was not updating, should be fine now 6 months ago
README-docinfo.html multipage was not updating, should be fine now 6 months ago
README.adoc Cantonese 1 week ago
action.js moar 1 month ago
censorship.md quora block 2 years ago
china-dictatorship make nodejs package programtaically usable 2 years ago
china-dictatorship.py bump package version 2 years ago
communities-that-censor-politics.md small stuff 4 months ago
description 许章润-愤怒的人民已不再恐惧.md 5 months ago
description-cirosantilli grandma wong 7 months ago
description-filter better description 7 months ago
dissidents.md dissidents start moving, xu xiaodong in 2 years ago
foot.html image height 1 year ago
gifs.sh grammar fixes, gifs download 5 months ago
head.html multipage was not updating, should be fine now 6 months ago
images.js images.js 9 months ago
index.js make nodejs package programtaically usable 2 years ago
media.md rfa: move out of media.md 2 years ago
misc.md huawei section, more russia killings 2 years ago
movements.md 10 years film 6 years ago
package-lock.json token attempt 10 months ago
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people.md faq: better to do 4 years ago
policies.md reincarnation of buddhas 3 years ago
push fix h2 fixup 5 months ago
push-mirrors Rename intermediate file README.body.html -> body.html to try and prevent inclusion in NPM package, so invasive 6 months ago
push-mirrors-bump-package-json-version git auto tagging 2 years ago
push-mirrors-bump-setup-py-version python getting closer 2 years ago
setup.py Rename intermediate file README.body.html -> body.html to try and prevent inclusion in NPM package, so invasive 6 months ago
stack-exchange-lost-freedom-of-speech.md stuff 8 months ago
stack-overflow-profile.md bomb 10 months ago
trump-ban-is-bad.md Baidu baike censorship screenshot 8 months ago
岳昕-致北京大学师生和北大外国语学院的一封公开信.md push to 2 5 months ago
许章润-愤怒的人民已不再恐惧.md 许章润-愤怒的人民已不再恐惧.md 5 months ago
许章润-我们当下的恐惧与期待.md xu zhangrun 5 months ago
赫连禾-21世纪新政宣言.md all articles to chiense filenames 5 months ago
郝雪森-三朝罪恶元凶王沪宁.adoc all articles to chiense filenames 5 months ago
魏京生-第五个现代化.md all articles to chiense filenames 5 months ago
[[china-dictatorship]]
= China Dictatorship (中国独裁统治)
:china-dictatorship-media-base: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media/master
:china-dictatorship-media-base-ignore: {china-dictatorship-media-base}
:docinfo:
:idprefix:
:idseparator: -
:sectanchors:
:sectlinks:
:sectnumlevels: 6
:sectnums:
:toc: macro
:toclevels: 6
:toc-title:
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship[cirosantilli.com (规范链接 canonical)] |
https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship[GitHub 项目 project] |
https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-2[GitHub 项目 project 2] |
link:index-split[分裂标题版本 split header version] |
中国镜像 China mirrors:
https://cirosantilli.gitlab.io/china-dictatorship[cirosantilli.gitlab.io],
https://htmlpreview.github.io/?https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/blob/index.html[htmlpreview.github.io],
https://www.unpkg.com/china-dictatorship@latest/README.html[www.unpkg.com (tag)],
https://gitlab.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/-/blob/master/README.adoc[gitlab.com],
https://raw.githack.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html[raw.githack.com],
https://cdn.statically.io/gh/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html[cdn.statically.io],
https://xenodochial-heisenberg-0fc0f1.netlify.app/[cirosantilli.netlify.app],
https://china-dictatorship.onrender.com/[china-dictatorship.onrender.com]
下载 HTML download:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html[raw.githubusercontent.com],
https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/china-dictatorship@latest/README.html[cdn.jsdelivr (tag)]
Anti-Chinese government information. 反中共消息库。<<faq,FAQ>>, <<news,news compilation>> and <<restaurants,restaurant>> and <<music,music>> recommendations. <<faq,常见问答集>>,<<news,新闻集>>和<<restaurants,饭店>>和<<music,音乐>>建议。<<xi-abolishes-term-limits-2018-03,Heil Xi 卐>>. <<xi-abolishes-term-limits-2018-03,习万岁>>。
This README is too large and https://github.com/isaacs/github/issues/1610[GitHub cuts it up] on https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship[github.com]. You can view it fully at either:
* https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship[]. Canonical, https://zh.greatfire.org/https/cirosantilli.com[blocked in China since 2020] according to <<greatfire>>. However, <<brave-new-world-books,China is still the second largest hit location after USA according to Google Analytics, I don't understand>>
* https://cirosantilli.gitlab.io/china-dictatorship[]. Let's see how good is the <<gfw>> at blocking subdomains.
or by downloading it locally as shown at: <<mirrors>>.
**住在中国大陆有真名用户或者用中国邮箱的网友请别给星星,不然你要被警察请喝茶。先注册一个Gmail/Protonmail匿名用户才来,最好也要用VPN/Tor/<<shadowsocks>>. Friends who live in China and have real name on account or who use a Chinese email provider, please don't star this repo, or else the police might pay you a visit some day. First create an anonymous account with Gmail/Protonmail instead, preferably from behind VPN/Tor/<<shadowsocks>>.** 你不是一个人。未来需要隐藏的将是今天的五毛,而不是你。You are not alone. In the future, it is the wumaos who will have to hide, not you. See also: <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jinping_The_Governance_of_China_photo.jpg[height=600]
toc::[]
[[about]]
== About (关于)
This repo has the following goals:
* allow copy pasting links to answers to questions/comments that have been posted a million times before by <<wumao>>, mostly under: <<faq>>. This was the original goal.
* serve as a censorship bomb to block <<github>> in China: <<keyword-attack>> to destroy the <<gfw>> and <<dictator-needs-gfw,therefore the CCP>>. Or more realistically get added to the <<github-gov-takedowns>> hall of fame.
* be a fun and sometimes silly source of Chinese mostly anti-CCP culture like a better https://en.uncyclopedia.co/wiki/China[Unencyclopedia] / https://web.archive.org/web/20191209021646/http://encyclopediadramatica.rs/China[Encyclopedia Dramatica] without the stupid stereotype jokes. Just quickly browse the pictures with Ctrl + F "Figure" and have fun.
* serve as a place where people can post interesting related stuff in the issues: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues see also: <<shitpost>>
* highlight positive about China's culture outside of its shitty government, such as <<the-best-chinese-supermarket-food-products,food>> and <<music>>. This has two goals:
** teach foreigners (maybe even Chinese people on certain points) about amazing Chinese things that they can consume
** show wumaos that <<ciro-santilli>> is not as clueless about China as they think
== Copypasta
Here's an image/sentence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copypasta[copypasta]/summary of key events for the <<keyword-attack>>.
Another advantage of this is that since it comes first in the repo, it ensures that key elements show up on github.com despite file size cutups: https://github.com/isaacs/github/issues/1610[].
Each summary section contains a link to the main section, which contains sources and description of each image.
* <<xi-abolishes-term-limits-2018-03>> (2018包子露宪)
* <<the-709-crackdown>>
* <<panama-papers>> (邓家贵)
* <<low-end-population>>
* <<tibetan-unrest-2008>>
**社会主义核心价值观 Core socialist values**
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Core_socialist_values.jpg[height=1000]
**六四事件 Tiananmen square protests 1989**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#tiananmen
Music!
* https://youtu.be/-JTWXqUPQ7I[Joan Baez - China]
* https://youtu.be/6OOlXJs4I8k[Philip Morgan - Blood is on the square]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_students_sitting.jpg[height=400]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tank_Man.jpg[height=400]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_crushed_dead.jpg[height=600]
**法轮功 Falun Gong 1999 70M believer religion banned**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#falun-gong
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Falun_Gong_Guangzhou.jpg[height=600]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Falun_Gong_lady_silenced.jpg[height=600]
**新疆改造中心 Xinjiang re-education camps 2018**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#xinjiang
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xinjiang_prisoners_sitting_identified.jpeg[height=400]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xinjiang_prisoners_march.jpg[height=500]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Uyghur_sale_website.jpg[height=600]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xinjiang_camp_in_camp.jpg[height=600]
**小熊维尼 Winnie the Pooh 2018**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#winnie-the-pooh
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Pooh_Obama.webp[height=500]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Abe_Pooh.webp[height=500]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jinping_heart.jpeg[height=400]
**郝海东 Hao Haidong Chinese soccer superstar turns against the CCP 2020**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#hao-haidong
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Hao_Haidong_kick.jpg[height=500]
**冠状病毒审查 Censorship of the 2019 Corona Virus**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#corona
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Wenliang_covid.jpg[height=400]
**基督迫害 Christian persecution 2018**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#christianity
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Church_demolition.jpg[height=400]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Last_Supper_Mao.jpg[height=400]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Pope_CCP_deal.jpeg[height=400]
**LGBT权利 The suppression of homosexuality**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#gay-rights
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_lesbian_kiss.jpg[height=500]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Addicted_bed.jpg[height=400]
**996.ICU**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#nine-nine-six-icu
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/996ICU.png[height=400]
**Gay Putin**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#gay-putin
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Gay_Putin.jpg[height=400]
**The poisoning of Alexei Navalny 2020**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#the-poisoning-of-alexei-navalny-2020
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Navalny_hospital_sitting.jpg[height=400]
**Vajiralongkorn Hamtaro**
https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship#thai-king-hamtaro
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Side_by_side_comparison_between_Thai_king_Vajiralongkorn_and_Hamtaro.jpg[height=400]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Thai_king_crop_top.jpg[height=400]
[[mirrors]]
== Mirrors of this page (此网页的镜像)
You can download the webpage locally from GitHub at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/archive/gh-pages.zip
Media such as images are not stored in this repository, but rather at https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media to keep the lightweight clone. That downloaded HTML will read images from that repository, e.g. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media/master/Xi_Jinping_The_Governance_of_China_photo.jpg[]. But we've learnt after creating that maybe the raw.githubusercontent.com subdomain is censored: <<github-censored-subdomains>>. If anyone can confirm, we will start using another image provider by default.
Clone locally with Git using GitHub images:
git clone https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
cd china-dictatorship
git checkout gh-pages
xdg-open README.html
Build it yourself:
Build and view the multipage version:
make multipage
xdg-open out/multipage/README.html
Build with GitLab served images:
make MEDIA=MEDIA=https://gitlab.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media/-/raw/master
Build with local images:
git clone https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media
make MEDIA=../china-dictatorship-media
or build to use GitLab images:
Given <<github-censored-subdomains>>, this might be the only way to view the images from China.
The cool thing about Git is that we can maintain several mirrors on multiple websites very easily:
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship Canonical source and rendered output. If ever <<github-gov-takedowns>> we do this: <<strategy-if-this-repo-gets-added-to-github-gov-takedowns>>
* https://gitlab.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-2 mirror in case they block just https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship[], see also: <<strategy-if-this-repo-gets-added-to-github-gov-takedowns>>
* https://gitlab.com/cirosantilli/cirosantilli[]: a mirror just so that some interesting stuff will show up at https://gitlab.com/cirosantilli/cirosantilli[]. The policy is to transfer any <<wumao>> issues from there to https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship[].
* https://gitlab.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
** their gitlab.com render is shit for some reason, clicking on the ToC does not jump to headers properly, not sure why, IDs look correct
** one really cool thing about gitlab is that it can serve images from directly gitlab.com e.g. https://gitlab.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media/-/raw/master/Xi_Jinping_The_Governance_of_China_photo.jpg unlike GitHub which has the `raw.` subdomain: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media/master/Xi_Jinping_The_Governance_of_China_photo.jpg This makes it impossible to block the GitLab images without blocking all of gitlab.com, until GitLab starts a <<github-gov-takedowns,gov-takedowns>> of their own.
** https://cirosantilli.gitlab.io/china-dictatorship GitLab Pages. Works fine. Let's see if they can block subdomains: https://zh.greatfire.org/https/cirosantilli.gitlab.io/china-dictatorship
** Maybe some day https://gitlab.cn/ ? :-) Edit 2021-03, yup, it happened, with <<icp-license>> and all
*** https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2021/03/18/gitlab-licensed-technology-to-new-independent-chinese-company/
*** https://about.gitlab.cn/
*** <<ciro-santilli>>'s name at: https://about.gitlab.cn/security/vulnerability-acknowledgements/
*** no free public SaaS yet, but it might come, though they are saying 30 day trial only: https://about.gitlab.cn/free-trial/
* https://gitee.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship on <<gitee>>, blocked after 12 hours: <<gitee-censorship>>
* https://bitbucket.org/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
* https://gitlab.binets.fr/ciro.duran-santilli/china-dictatorship[]: a GitLab instance run by and reserved for students and ex-students of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/École_Polytechnique[École Polytechnique], in which Ciro Santilli previously studied. They also have a few Chinese students every year, that's how Ciro met <<wife>>, it will be fun when those students see this.
Mirrors controlled by other people:
* https://git.kiwifarms.net/CrunkLord420/china-dictatorship auto-pull Gitea mirror on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwi_Farms[Kiwi Farms], a <<politically-incorrect,politically incorrect>> social network website
* https://china.vkoor.com/ presumably by https://github.com/Vkoor[] who is a collaborator os this project, e.g. https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/533[]. They're also hosting a search engine proxy at https://www.vkoor.com/[], TODO Google? See also: <<google-mirrors>>.
GitHub Pages: https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship trade-offs with https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship[]:
* pros
** cut up to 512KB of source, and therefor unacceptable as the only source: https://github.com/isaacs/github/issues/1610[]
** https://help.github.com/en/github/authenticating-to-github/about-anonymized-image-urls[GitHub's camo] keeps hiccuping and not showing images
** and YouTube videos show inline there
* cons
** domain will eventually get blocked in China. <<greatfire>> https://zh.greatfire.org/https/cirosantilli.com shows that in 2020-01-19 the domain was unblocked, but on the next text at 2020-05-23 it was "contractictory".
** Camo bypasses the need for VPN, since most images are served from <<wayback-machine>> which is <<censorship,blocked in China>>.
It is really interesting to see how many people star the GitHub repository, and then a few minutes later they think about how they might get put in jail, and then unstar it. Talk about <<chilling-effect>>! But yes, for the love of God, please stay safe: <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship>>.
GitHub Pages was first enabled in 2020-03-22 at https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/commit/0b362a83fb5dd55f67b9d351551d0c18e7f3229a[].
The perfect solution might be to download all images and upload them to https://github.com/cirosantilli/media since GitHub content does not go through Camo, we have to see if such images don't fail to load as often.
A few NPM/Git CDNs can also be used to bypass subdomain blocks, and some actually render HTML with the correct content type. Lists of such CDNs:
* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8446218/how-to-see-an-html-page-on-github-as-a-normal-rendered-html-page-to-see-preview
* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6551446/can-i-run-html-files-directly-from-github-instead-of-just-viewing-their-source
Some we've found, with HTML content type:
* https://htmlpreview.github.io/?https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/blob/index.html[]: https://zh.greatfire.org/https/htmlpreview.github.io%3Fhttps%3A//github_com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/blob/index_html%3D
* https://www.unpkg.com/china-dictatorship@latest/README.html[]: https://zh.greatfire.org/https/www.unpkg.com/china-dictatorship%40latest/README.html
* Blocked when last checked:
** https://raw.githack.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html[]: https://zh.greatfire.org/https/raw.githack.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html blocked since 2021-05-20
** https://cdn.statically.io/gh/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html[]: https://zh.greatfire.org/https/cdn.statically.io/gh/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html blocked since 2021-05-20
* https://xenodochial-heisenberg-0fc0f1.netlify.app/[] from https://www.netlify.com/[]. Auto sync with Git.
* https://china-dictatorship.onrender.com/[] from https://render.com/[]. Auto sync with Git.
* https://china-dictatorship.web.app/[] TODO get working, explained under "hosting": https://console.firebase.google.com/u/0/project/china-dictatorship/hosting/sites
Without HTML content type:
* https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html[]: https://zh.greatfire.org/https/raw.githubusercontent.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/gh-pages/index.html
* https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/china-dictatorship@latest/README.html[]: https://zh.greatfire.org/https/cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/china-dictatorship%40latest/README.html
We've also tried to use jsfiddle like-services, but most don't work well:
* https://jsfiddle.net/cirosantilli/0tL3ckqb/ very slow to load, but eventually does
* https://jsbin.com/ HTML too long
* https://codepen.io/ 1MB limit
List of such services: https://codysaylor.com/notes/comparing-codepen-jsfiddle-cssdeck-liveweave-jsbin-dabblet/
=== Software package mirrors
We also have a NPM Node.js package https://www.npmjs.com/package/china-dictatorship[]. After https://askubuntu.com/questions/594656/how-to-install-the-latest-versions-of-nodejs-and-npm/971612#971612[installing NPM], you can be use it as:
npm i -g china-dictatorship
china-dictatorship > README.html
This forces China to also block/curate package managers to block this repo. The package is already available in the following NPM Chinese mirrors, both which were blocked at some point:
* Taobao: https://registry.npm.taobao.org/china-dictatorship (https://web.archive.org/web/20200406081433/http://registry.npm.taobao.org/china-dictatorship[archive]).
Noticed down as of 2021-02-23, replaced by a dummy package admined by fengmk2@gmail.com presumably https://github.com/fengmk2 and https://fengmk2.com/ and https://twitter.com/fengmk2 He is a large NPM contributor, and likely `cnpm` too. TODO is he pro or against <<censorship>> based on online comments?
In order to overcome this, includers
* Aliyun from <<alibaba>>: https://developer.aliyun.com/mirror/npm/package/china-dictatorship (https://web.archive.org/web/20210211123658/https://developer.aliyun.com/mirror/npm/package/china-dictatorship[archive]).
Taken down as 404 likely around 2021-02-22 after come incoming links from https://developer.aliyun.com[] to https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship?spm=a2c6h.14275010.0.0.60be9dc4vwIZTP[] and `?spm=.14275010.0.0.60be9dc4PsRmA`.
There is actually a `cnpm` tool to install from Chinese mirrors: https://github.com/cnpm/cnpm[].
We also managed to upload a Python PyPi package at: https://pypi.org/project/china-dictatorship/ Is as:
python3 -m pip install --user --upgrade china-dictatorship
china-dictatorship.py > README.html
Like NPM, this will also have Chinese mirrors that will need to be censored by their admins ovrview https://titanwolf.org/Network/Articles/Article?AID=25a20c20-c97b-4bfe-af67-760861343658 :
* http://pypi.douban.com/simple/china-dictatorship/ vs http://pypi.douban.com/simple/numpy both up March 2021
* http://mirrors.aliyun.com/pypi/simple/china-dictatorship/ vs http://mirrors.aliyun.com/pypi/simple/numpy both down March 2021 but in a different way, so maybe it was censored already
* http://pypi.mirrors.opencas.cn/simple/china-dictatorship vs http://pypi.mirrors.opencas.cn/simple/numpy both down March 2021
* http://pypi.v2ex.com/simple/china-dictatorship vs http://pypi.v2ex.com/simple/numpy both down March 2021
* https://pypi.mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/simple/china-dictatorship vs https://pypi.mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/simple/numpy both up March 2021
* reference: https://pypi.org/simple/china-dictatorship/ vs https://pypi.org/simple/numpy/
We later found on Google by chance that libraries.io picked it up and rendered the README.adoc nicely as well: https://libraries.io/pypi/china-dictatorship (https://web.archive.org/web/20200318043050/https://libraries.io/pypi/china-dictatorship[archive]). This is why packaging is a good idea.
A programmatic interface is also exposed on those packages, making it easy to quickly add a `--china` option to your project, e.g. from Python:
import china_dictatorship
assert "Tiananmen Square protests" in china_dictatorship.get_data()
print(china_dictatorship.get_data())
or from Node.js:
const china_dictatorship = require('china-dictatorship');
if (!china_dictatorship.get_data().includes("Tiannmen Square protests")) throw 0;
console.log(china_dictatorship.get_data());
You have to do the assert after the imports because otherwise Chinese mirrors could replace the real package with dummy packages to not break imports, as was already done once at https://registry.npm.taobao.org/china-dictatorship[].
This outputs the rendered HTML, which end users should the pipe into a file:
./your-program --china > README.html
Concrete examples:
* https://cirosantilli.com/cirodown/china
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/linux-kernel-module-cheat/commit/082166a360c56990662c715196229016d8806ab3
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/vcdvcd#vcdcat-china[]. Sample forks removing the most important functionality:
* https://github.com/ZihaoZhao/vcdvcd
* https://github.com/riverlane/vcdvcd/commits/master by employee https://www.linkedin.com/in/seyed-amir-alavi/[Seyed Amir Alavi] of quantum computing company https://www.riverlane.com/ with commit "Removed politics from package dependencies of setup.py". Seyed appears to be <<iran,Iranian>>.
These also offer great plausible deniability: a citizen in China could always argue that they were just interested in the software itself, and had no choice but to download it.
TODO: create an Ubuntu PPA and Ruby gem as well.
Create tags,and update all mirrors in one go with: link:push-mirrors[]:
sudo apt install python3-setuptools
python3 -m pip install --user setuptools wheel twine
./push-mirrors
In particular, that script calls link:push[]:
./push
which is more lightweight and pushes just to GitHub and GitLab Pages, so we are going to be using that more often to avoid overloading package managers too much.
`./push` is used to publish every commit.
There is no need to update package versions or add git tags, all of that gets done automatically by the script!
==== GitHub proxies
Another source of China-specific mirroring of this project are GitHub proxies, https://linuxpip.org/github-in-china/ contains an overview:
* https://hub.fastgit.org/ this appears to auto-redirect to GitHub from non-Chinese IPs, but presumably shows the pages for Chinese IPs, e.g. we had hits from http://hub.fastgit.org/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship[] in 2021-03-25. This happened soon after SEO optimizations mentioned at: <<zhao-heming>> and might be related.
* https://github.com.cnpmjs.org/ as of March 2021, it often reaches an apparently random "Whoa there! You have triggered an abuse detection mechanism.". But other time it succeeds, e.g. some of the times: https://github.com.cnpmjs.org/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship is visible.
* https://a1.mk-proxy.ml/-----https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship generated from http://toolwa.com/github/
* https://github.com/521xueweihan/GitHub520
* https://github-dotcom.gateway.web.tr/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship a Turkish proxy. They have their own censorship issues as well of course.
* https://phoenix.yizimg.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship Not sure origin, https://web.archive.org/web/20200221135123/http://www.yizimg.com:80/ has a little bit of information
* using https://workers.cloudflare.com/[Cloudflare workers]:
** https://github.independentlyreview.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship described at https://independentlyreview.com/link as using Cloudfare workers
** https://github.laobiao.workers.dev/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
* https://gitmemory.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship appears to be Chinese: https://www.reddit.com/r/github/comments/iiolp8/what_the_hell_is_gitmemorycom/
[[github-repositories-with-censored-information]]
== GitHub repositories with censored information (政治敏感的GitHub库)
For lists of censored information outside of GitHub see: <<lists-of-material-censored-in-china>>.
For content outside of GitHub: <<lists-of-material-censored-in-china>>.
Mentioned in other sections:
* <<gov-takedowns-china>>
* <<nine-nine-six-icu>>
* <<nCovMemory>>
* <<bandinchina-github-repository>>
* https://github.com/jasonqng/chinese-keywords mentioned at <<where-can-i-find-good-words-for-a-keyword-attack>>
* https://github.com/programthink/zhao from <<programthink>>
* <<censorship-monitoring-tools-on-github>>
* <<huawei>>:
** https://github.com/evil-huawei/evil-huawei
** https://github.com/HuaweiJoke/Huawei-Joke
* https://github.com/fuck-xuexiqiangguo/Fuck-XueXiQiangGuo from <<fuck-xuexiqiangguo>>
* from <<metoo>>
** https://github.com/sikaozhe1997/Xin-Yue/blob/master/letter.md see <<yue-xin>>
** https://github.com/CNwoman-bot/evil-man from <<evil-man>>
* https://github.com/fuckcqcs/fuckcqcs at <<changsheng-bio-technology-vaccine-data-falsification-incident-2018>>
* <<xi-jinping-speech-synthesizer>>
* https://github.com/zhangrunxu/zhangrunxu.github.io from <<xu-zhangrun>>
* <<anti-video-game-ban-tools>>
Not mentioned in other sections:
* taibangle (太棒了)
** https://github.com/taibangle/awesome-china
** https://github.com/taibangle/lennon-wall
* https://github.com/Project-Gutenberg/Pincong see also <<pincong>>
* https://speechfree.github.io/cultural-revolution-database/ 中国文化大革命文库 The Chinese Cultural Revolution Database
* https://github.com/Luterngun/Record_of_Survival_in_Digital_Totalitarian_Era[] small docuement that goes over <<censorship-circumvention>> and opsec. There was a PDF on GitHub but got removed from master (still in Git history), now links to external websites only. Newbs.
* https://github.com/nodebe4 personal account with anti-CCP projects
** https://twitter.com/tansunit claims name 陳純一, "Previous: NGO worker, educator, social activist. Present: Master student @Univ_Paris"
** https://github.com/NodeBE4/hero 自由人的英雄榜 "List of fredom heroes"
** https://github.com/NodeBE4/impact good list of Chinese political projects on GitHub
* https://github.com/woct0rdho/pkuholebackup/ appears to contain a list of posts of anonymized (Alice/Bob/Carol/Dave/...) deleted posts from some Peking University (PKU) chat system. The posts are from 2013 to 2019. TODO how could they obtain that list? Who delete the posts in the first place? Authors or authority?
* https://github.com/ejiaogl/FuckCoolapk TODO understand better: in 2016 this company started blocking political commentary from their app, and people didn't like it seems. But there were so many complaints, that people manipulated things such that they ended up banning accounts that hadn't posted anything. What does that GitHub project do?
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/酷安[酷安] is the company name: https://www.coolapk.com/
** https://github.com/ejiaogl/FuckCoolapk/wiki/Background-information "316"事件 (316 event)
** https://www.zhihu.com/question/20658510
* https://github.com/xi-yu-yan-kai-fa/Xi-Yuyan/tree/f8364a8b8f1d783e4fa32de548bec46069407c1b 习语言 esoteric programming language that mimics <<xi-jinping>> jargon natural language. Appears to be specification only, no implementation provided.
** on <<gov-takedowns-china>>: https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns/blob/master/China/2021/2021-01-29-BNIA.md
Interesting users:
* https://github.com/gfw-breaker
** appears to give a lot of focus to <<falun-gong>>, e.g.:
*** https://github.com/gfw-breaker/truth Falun Gong information repository
*** https://github.com/gfw-breaker/banned-news1 automatic scraper of news from banned websites into the repository, with top sites being <<falun-gong-media>>
** present in <<gov-takedowns-china>>
* https://github.com/bannedbook
** https://github.com/bannedbook/fanqiang is the main repository about <<censorship-circumvention>>, TODO what it contains exactly? Code, or just documentation of existing methods?
* https://github.com/breakwa11 likely previous ShadowsocksR dev: <<censorship-circumvention>>, 10k+ followers 2020, but no repos, so forced takedown.
Non-information but also interesting:
* https://github.com/lurongkai/anti-baidu
TODO evaluate:
* https://github.com/sky8964/home
* https://github.com/FuckAntiAddiction/BiligameAddictionNotLimited is this a repo to overcome <<video-game-ban>>?
* https://github.com/jdzj/log/issues/24
* https://github.com/dropod/issues/issues/6675 some kind of backup bot from other websites
Reasonable topics:
* https://github.com/topics/censorship
[[github-com-cirosantilli-china-dictatorship]]
=== github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
Canonical source code of: https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship/
[[terminus2049]]
=== Terminus2049 (端点星计划, 2049bbs)
* https://github.com/Terminus2049/Terminus2049.github.io
* https://terminus2049.github.io/
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/端点星事件
* https://2049bbs.xyz/
* previous project name: https://github.com/Info-cn/Terminus
Jekyll GitHub Pages repository that saves full text copies of censored articles:
本仓库存放被删文章
This repository stores deleted articles.
Also accompanies a dynamic forum https://2049bbs.xyz/ which appears to be where content for the static pages gets discussed and brought up. But it possible that the website has been compromised and is leaking identity of users. At some point, https://2049bbs.xyz went down. Live https://web.archive.org/web/20200719151022/https://2049bbs.xyz/ dead: https://archive.vn/JFqCJ
The "Terminus" in the repo name seems to be a reference to Isaac Asimov's fictional https://asimov.fandom.com/wiki/Terminus[Terminus planet] which is called https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/端点星[端点星] in Chinese, but it is not clear where the 2049 comes from in that context. Forgetting the Chinese name, Terminus2049 could be a reference to the fictional https://bladerunner.fandom.com/wiki/World_War_Terminus["World War Terminus"] from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_2049[Blade Runner 2049 (2019)] movie, which also explains the 2049.
First commint on 2018-04-27, GitHub pages domain blocked in China at least since 2019-03 according to <<greatfire>>: https://zh.greatfire.org/search/all/https%3A//terminus2049.github.io but not in <<github-gov-takedowns>> as of 2020-04.
The full post list can be seen most conveniently at: https://github.com/Terminus2049/Terminus2049.github.io/tree/master/_posts The number of articles is insane, usually several every day.
Most articles appear to be taken from recent news at the time of writting, although there are a few from before the repo started. As of 2020-04, the oldest article was from 2016 <<metoo>> events reported by Yue Xin, some other topics include:
* <<gay-rights>> https://github.com/Terminus2049/Terminus2049.github.io/blob/master/_posts/2018-04-14-LGBTRights-advocacy-china.md
* <<nine-nine-six-icu>> https://github.com/Terminus2049/Terminus2049.github.io/blob/master/_posts/2019-04-04-996-ICU.md
* <<lebron-james-opposes-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>> https://github.com/Terminus2049/Terminus2049.github.io/blob/master/_posts/2019-10-11-NBA.md
They use Jekyll tags a lot, which makes for a good grouping of the topics.
In 2020-04-25, it was reported that three Beijing-based contributors were arrested during <<covid>>:
* https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3081569/chinese-activists-detained-after-sharing-censored-coronavirus
* https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/7-04252020144555.html Chinese article, gives the Chinese names, and some background on the arrested people
* https://qz.com/1846277/china-arrests-users-behind-github-coronavirus-memories-page/
* Chen Mei (陈玫)
** https://www.linkedin.com/in/玫-陈-1607b735/ a LinkedIn account with matching photo and name
** chanmei007@gmail.com
** https://github.com/cmmei[], down 2020-12, live archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20200101232039/https://github.com/cmmei[]. Includes https://web.archive.org/web/20180611153507/https://github.com/cmmei/Banned-zh
* Cai Wei (蔡伟)
** https://github.com/thphd/2047 mentioned below reveals and email caiw15@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn and profiles/further aliases:
*** https://github.com/Tsai1993
*** https://tsai1993.github.io
*** https://mastodon.xyz/@ciao
*** tsai1993@qq.com
*** Tsai2049@gmail.com
* Xiao Tang (小唐), who is also Cai Wei's girlfriend
In 2020-06-12 their families received calls saying that they had been charged with <<picking-quarrels>>:
* https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3089002/coronavirus-chinese-activists-held-posting-censored-articles
* https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/10-06122020154234.html
In 2021-05-11 they were charged: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/11/two-plead-guilty-in-case-highlighting-chinas-online-control
Ciro's petition to free them: https://github.com/cirosantilli/chen-mei-cai-wei-ziyou
How their identities were found:
* https://github.com/Terminus2049/Terminus2049.github.io/issues/598 offers a good analysis
* https://pincong.rocks/question/24370
* https://gist.github.com/chinatimeline/5386a4f9d82483aa5346b17d8d324877 comments by <<chinatimeline>> and gives further opsec guidelines
Terrible opsec... they used real name GitHub emails on early commits, including the institutional university address, before they started better opsec under https://github.com/TerminusBot / terminus2049@protonmail.com
https://github.com/thphd/2047 is a project to restore terminus, live at https://2047.name[] Ciro mention at: https://2047.name/e/76182458[] by https://2047.name/u/5155 which is similar to a <<mohu>> mention, so they seem to share the database? Who knows what's the relation between all those <<pincong>> lookalikes. TODO that website shows an <<icp-license>>? Very confusingly also mirrored at https://pincong.org e.g. https://pincong.org/t/10219[]/https://2047.name/t/10219[], which is very similar to <<pincong>>'s address. Related account: https://github.com/PincongBot
https://2047.name[] has a links section at: https://2047.name/links shown on the sideboard, containg links of interest. Some all not are very China specific.
https://2047.name/register registration requires an invitation code.
https://github.com/2049bbs/2049bbs.github.io[] / https://2049bbs.github.io/[] maintains another archive up to 2019-03-03.
.Side-by-side photos of Chen Mei (陈玫) and Cai Wei (蔡伟) from <<terminus2049>>. https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/7-04252020144555.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Chenmei_Caowei.jpg[height=600]
[[chinatimeline]]
=== chinatimeline (中国时间线)
https://github.com/chinatimeline/chinatimeline.github.io
Explores several sensitive topics through interesting timelines with many pictures, for example:
* <<tiananmen>>: https://chinatimeline.github.io/tiananmen/
* <<covid>>: https://chinatimeline.github.io/wuhan-coronavirus/
* religious persecution, including <<falun-gong>>: https://chinatimeline.github.io/religion_tl1/
Some minor relationships with <<terminus2049>>:
* https://github.com/chinatimeline/chinatimeline.github.io/issues/3
* https://gist.github.com/chinatimeline/5386a4f9d82483aa5346b17d8d324877
[[duty-machine]]
=== duty-machine GitHub account (责任机器GitHub用户)
https://github.com/duty-machine
Anonymous user with automation setup such that anyone can request certain webpages to be copied on to GitHub anonymously through a separate website, notably:
* https://github.com/duty-machine/duty-machine[]: big Chinese social media, e.g. <<weibo>>, <<zhihu>>, Douban. Articles stored in issues. Archive requests: https://archives.duty-machine.now.sh/
* https://github.com/duty-machine/news[]: big Western news websites like Reuters, BBC, etc. Articles stored in-tree.
The project claims to have been inspired by <<terminus2049>>, but hopefully they will have better operational security.
Unfortunately, it was found that the project could be used by malicious users to at mention spam GitHub users: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/192[], let's see if they patch it. Edit: the did.
[[duty-machine-porn-attack-duty-machine]]
==== duty-machine porn attack (责任机器色情攻击)
https://github.com/duty-machine/duty-machine/tree/d6ee9ff8e504b863352f163f7e143e84161ac349 explains that the automatic submission had to be taken down because <<wumao>> uploaded porn which is against GitHub's content policy.
Related idiotic attempt on <<china-dictatorship>> project: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/500
This likely led the repository to be added to <<github-objectionable-content>>.
This highlights the following ideas:
* it is impossible to have uncurated anyonymous content on GitHub
* censorship of non-political issues can seep into censorship of political issues
[[zhao-heming]]
=== Zhao Heming (召赫名)
A few accounts were created by this pseudonym, e.g.:
* https://github.com/zaohmeing/21-[]: https://github.com/zaohmeing/21-/blob/master/.gitignore
* https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-[]: https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-/blob/master/%231a.txt The repository was deleted as of March 2021, TODO why?
** Ciro's fork: https://github.com/cirosantilli/-21-
** archive from December 2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20201225094655/https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-
* https://github.com/zhaohmng-outlook-com/21-
Much more sanely encoded/formatted/rendered versions can be found at:
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/master/赫连禾-21世纪新政宣言.md[]. Copied from https://matters.news/@halanh/网传70岁赫连禾用大半生研究构建-21世纪新政-引发专家们高度关注-bafyreihnbf6jyzvwyybwl5hym2nikj5zrpwxli6nphzylvdq6btsbydn3y
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/master/郝雪森-三朝罪恶元凶王沪宁.adoc[]. Copied from: https://matters.news/@halanh/三朝罪恶元凶王沪宁-bafyreifrjf5ce45fqpif4nms4x72mlrbyijs7bffqi7f7sng47fuelkhmm
Both Zhao Heming repos contain reproductions of two manifestos are pasted together on a single file, and somewhat broken encoding.
Ciro noticed that thoe repos attracted an incredible ammount of <<wumao>> on the comments, despite having very simple copy pasted content, it was very impressive!!! Ciro was jealous, and added some anti-wumao comments in. On commits:
* https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-/commit/0cc2b2a546ad51fb360ba800c67b057ea3270869#commitcomment-47495235
* https://github.com/zaohmeing/21-/commit/42de05338193f39981b1a820873a990c959fd6ec#commitcomment-47392119
https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-/issues/416#issuecomment-784939665 "为什么这个屎一样的东西会出现在我个人主页左侧的repositories中,那里不是应该只有自己的项目才会出现吗?有办法屏蔽它吗?还是github故意的?" explains why so many people come comment in the repository: it is because it appears on the "Explore repositories" repository suggestions which show on the side bar of your GitHub homepage, and on searches. This was also mentioned at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/201 originally titled " 一搜索中文就跑出这屌鬼玩意,爱玩政治去竞选总统啊,笨,死扑街". Ciro feels that that Chinese people might use GitHub search much more than Western people because their search engines are shit due to <<censorship>>, <<censorship-makes-countries-poorer>> comes vibrantly to mind.
After further inspection, taught understood that repository descriptions given to GitHub can be really huge for SEO: they had pasted the entire 21st century text there.
So Ciro attempted the same approach, and pasted all of link:https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/master/赫连禾-21世纪新政宣言.md[], https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/master/郝雪森-三朝罪恶元凶王沪宁.adoc[] and https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/master/魏京生-第五个现代化.md[] in there on 2021-03-23, and the effect was dramatic: an immediate 4x more views on the following day according to https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/graphs/traffic[] (40 unique visitors to 100 on a Wednesday), and a few wumao comments. And a wumao soon confirmed that it was working directly: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/201[].
Ciro believes that this is due to two reasons:
* there aren't so many good Chinese repositories to compete with
* perhaps more importantly, Chinese language does not have spaces, which makes implementing search for it more difficult, because if you hit all the characters, even if they are not part of the search words, it also gets counted as a hit
This can be automated with: link:description.sh[].
Further optimizations using link:description[] by using <<github-chinese-top-charts>>:
git clone https://github.com/kon9chunkit/GitHub-Chinese-Top-Charts
./description
this does some processing to increase density creates a BOMB:
Ciro started using that one instead to see if it was going to be more effective on 2021-03-28. First it hit a peak of 168 visitors on Monday 2021-03-29, and then fell back to 90 and 81 on the following days, so similar to the previous Chinese political input. It is very hard to understand why the first day was so different.
It also includes:
* https://github.com/trending?since=monthly&spoken_language_code=zh trending Chinese repositories
A large part of those projects falls in the following categories:
** interview preparation. Competition is of course cutthroat with such a large population.
** collections of interesting things Chinese like repositories or blog posts
Furthermore, Ciro later noticed that under GitHub's settings, there is a "Preferred spoken language" box described as "We'll use this language preference to filter the trending repository lists on Explore and our Trending Repositories page." Therefore, the secret to get lots of hits is to add Chinese programming keywords to the repository description string.
New issues:
* https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-/issues/533 "Thank you for this great repository. Human rights and freedom of speech are more important than money. github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship"
* https://github.com/zaohmeing/21-/issues/138 "Why put the censored content in the .gitignore?"
On top commented/liked issues:
* https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-/issues/190#issuecomment-784921038
* https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-/issues/325#issuecomment-784922882 "看你发的"美中"而不是"中美"我就知道你TM是轮子" claims they are <<falun-gong>>
* https://github.com/zhaohmng/-21-/issues/346#issuecomment-784936138 "那么问题来了,为什么美国及西方和越南共产党亲近呢?" the US allies with Vietnam Communists for geopolitical reasons only, not because it has any ideology
The first is "21世纪新政宣言" (New System Declaration for the 21st Century).
It proposes a peaceful reunification of China with <<taiwan>> under their specified political system described in 12 paragraphs. This system is a reformed type of Western democracy, which the manifesto also criticize downsides of.
The manifesto is dated drafted 2019.8.6, and several versions have different update dates and revision numbers, e.g. our copy is dated 7th edition of 2020.6.19. TODO what is canonical?
The manifesto provides an email "wanghunn@gmx.com" for those who signed it to send the signed version to, and describes the author as male 70 years old Chinese person.
TODO what does: "起草人:赫连禾" mean?
The second is "三朝罪恶元凶王沪宁" (The Culprit of Three Dynasties Wang Huning).
The title presumably refers to:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Huning
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/王沪宁
Wikipedia mentions:
Wang is believed to have been one of the principal architects behind the official political ideologies of three paramount leaders: "Three Represents" by Jiang Zemin, the Scientific Development Concept by Hu Jintao, and the <<chinese-dream,Chinese Dream>> and <<xi-jinping-thought>> of Xi Jinping.
so it must be about him.
The manifesto is divided into 23 numbered headers which appear to be independently published texts later collected. It is signed by 郝雪森 (Hao Xuesen) 2016-09-10. One of the sections gives the email: haoxuesen@gmx.com[].
=== Bot + issue mention attack
In March 2021, this repo had a traffic search spike for: "Search · 联级选择器"
This term refers to https://ant.design/components/cascader-cn/ which seems to be a CSS live selector
The related project: https://github.com/ant-design/ant-design-pro
Someone actually used wumao techniques mentioned at:
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/191
to attack that repo:
* https://github.com/ant-design/ant-design-pro/issues/8133 https://archive.ph/xp8ls
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/196 https://archive.ph/etYSf
TODO which exact GitHub action did they rely on? That repo currently has a https://github.com/ant-design/ant-design-pro/actions/workflows/issue-open-check.yml Issue Open Check GitHub action sample run: https://github.com/ant-design/ant-design-pro/runs/2209272410?check_suite_focus=true we see the similarity issue analysis thing, but how could that have worked more precisely to link across repos? Asked at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/203
[[wumao-github-repos]]
=== Wumao GitHub repos (由五毛的GitHub库)
Not in other setions:
* https://github.com/Sherlockcxk/counter-terrorism
* https://github.com/yangxiangquan/fuhaisun contains some evil west issues: https://github.com/yangxiangquan/fuhaisun/issues
In other sections:
* https://github.com/boycott-fuck-xuexiqiangguo/Boycott-Fuck-XueXiQiangGuo from <<xuexi-qiangguo>>
* https://github.com/wumaoland from <<reply-policy>>
* https://github.com/SBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSBSB followed Ciro, coon after https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/671
* Ciro Santilli spoof accounts:
** https://github.com/cirosantillifather[], e.g. https://github.com/programthink/books/issues/94[] at (https://web.archive.org/web/20210807195703/https://github.com/programthink/books/issues/94[archive])
On 2021-09-23 Ciro Santilli received this email from cirosantillifather@protonmail.com "Hello son: I like your wife very much, can you let her have a one-night stand with me?". https://github.com/cirosantillifather had been deleted at that point.
** https://github.com/cirowayne[] (e.g. https://archive.ph/wip/sCYLF[archive]) possible new account
** https://github.com/AlstonScott https://github.com/programthink/zhao/issues/428 was using Ciro's profile picture: https://archive.ph/K59TN
** https://github.com/Ciro-Santilli-NMSL 我在你爸坟头骨灰拌饭 https://archive.ph/5iVR2
[[faq]]
== FAQ (常见问答集)
[[why-keyword-attack]]
=== Why attack websites with censored keywords? (用审查词攻击网站有什么用呢?)
The attack: <<keyword-attack>>.
To <<effective,destroy the firewall>>.
This would then end <<censorship>>.
And then <<dictator-needs-gfw,Ciro believes>> that this would also <<why-end-dictatorship,end the dictatorship>>.
The keyword attacks increase the cost of censorship.
If commies censor things, they will get worse IT technology, and thus become <<richer,less rich>> and militarily powerful.
Since all they care about, like any other politicians, is power, the only way to make them stop censorship is to make the cost of censorship higher than not censoring.
Without the threat that China will be less technologically, and therefore militarily advanced, there is no incentive for the CCP to destroy the firewall.
The goal is to put them in a position where they have to choose between either:
* having military power
* remaining a <<dictatorship,dictatorship>>
but not both, since having both means that they will <<war,start WW3 and destroy humanity>>.
And if they decide to destroy the dictatorship, Ciro wants to help China become <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,the most awesome country on Earth>>.
Closely related/identical ideas are <<cute-cat-theory-of-digital-activism>> and <<collateral-freedom>>.
Related attack: <<photobombing-like-attacks>>.
[[harm-programmers]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli want to harm the Chinese programmers? 三西猴想要伤害中国程序员吗?
This is not a <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,revenge>> of any kind.
Ciro knows that he is harming you in the short term, and he doesn't like that.
But he believes that this harm is a necessary means to reach his real goal, which is to destroy the <<gfw,firewall>>, and the <<dictatorship,dictatorship>>.
Don't you think it is worth a try? Destroying the firewall, would <<why-end-dictatorship,enormously benefit>> not only Chinese programmers, but every single other Chinese person too.
Once the firewall is destroyed, which <<dictator-needs-gfw,may destroy the dictatorship>>, he want China to develop the best science and technology in the world, and <<would-ciro-santilli-like-to-live-in-china>>.
And by the way, with his https://github.com/cirosantilli[extensive contributions to open source software], Ciro is already helping China, and all underdeveloped countries, to become stronger. His hope is that if poor countries become richer and better educated, that they will be less likely to be influenced by the CCP's money, and therefore are more likely to be allies of democracy.
See also: <<disturbs>>.
[[harm-people]]
===== Does Ciro Santilli want to make the Chinese people people look bad?
No, the opposite.
Ciro only wants their <<dictatorship,dictatorial government>> to look bad to destroy it, and help China become <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,the most awesome country on Earth>>.
Even the Chinese that are against their own Government <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship,cannot do much about it openly>>, so it is not their fault.
And even those <<i-like-my-dictatorship,who supported their dictatorship>> must be respected, whoever <<stupid,stupid>> and <<brainwashed-by-usa,brainwashed>> you might think they are, <<democracy-is-a-religion,since it is impossible to prove who is right or wrong in politics>>.
See also: <<about>>.
[[stupid]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli think that the Chinese are stupid or brainwashed? (三西猴觉得中国人是傻子或是被洗脑了吗?)
Obviously not, if you even thought about this, it is likely because of: <<evil-west>>.
Don't you see that this is just pure and simple politics? And likely ineffective one at that: <<effective>>.
* everyone is brainwashed by their environment: <<brainwashed-by-usa,brainwashed>>
* it is impossible to prove who is right or wrong in politics: <<democracy-is-a-religion>>
* not even the CCP is evil: <<ccp-evil>>
* <<young-pioneers-of-china>>
* <<little-pink-american-dream-vs-chinese-dream,Little pink explains the difference between the American dream  and the Chinese dream>>
[[keyword-attack]]
==== Screen name keyword attack (网名审查关键字攻击)
A keyword consists of adding censored words to your username: https://stackoverflow.com/users/895245
This only works on websites that show usernames everywhere.
This then leads to your username appearing on thousands of pages, depending on how much you contribute to the website.
It is also possible to do it with images, although this is less effective in taking down websites since images are harder for the firewall to track automatically. But:
* they are more memorable than words
* they also work on websites like GitHub where your real name does not show on most pages, only slug
so maybe the most effective approach is to use both keywords and images to get the best of both worlds ;-)
This type of attack is essentially an <<embargo>>, and it is especially effective in websites that contain valuable technical content, such as <<stack-overflow>> and <<github>>.
* <<photobombing-like-attacks>>.
* 2021-06-03 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/03/free-hong-kong-road-budapest-renames-streets-to-frustrate-chinese-campus-plan "Free Hong Kong Road: Budapest renames streets to frustrate Chinese campus plan"
Some people say https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/284671/dont-st-where-you-eat[don't shift where you eat]. Ciro says: bring a shitbucket to the canteen, and start a shitfight.
.<<chrysanthemium-xi-jinping>> has been used by Ciro Santilli as a profile picture censored image attack
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Chrysanthemum_Xi_Jinping_with_black_red_liusi_added_by_Ciro_Santilli.jpg[height=400]
[[cute-cat-theory-of-digital-activism]]
==== Cute cat theory of digital activism (可爱猫理论)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cute_cat_theory_of_digital_activism
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/可愛貓理論
Someone told <<ciro-santilli>> a while after he had started doing his <<keyword-attack>> on <<stack-overflow>>, he didn't know about it before, but it is basically what he was doing.
You can never invent anything new anymore nowadays!
This is especially relevant to <<github>>! And GitHub's mascot is also a cat ;-) Some mentions of this:
* 2020-09-09 https://www.wired.com/story/china-github-free-speech-covid-information/
* 2020-09-09 https://www.xataka.com/servicios/github-inesperado-ultimo-reducto-libertad-expresion-gran-firewall-que-pone-jaque-intereses-china
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_activism
[[bitcoin-blockchain]]
===== Anti-CCP content in the Bitcoin blockchain (在比特币区块链的反中共内容)
Blockchain technologies, such as Bitcoin, provide essentially uncensorable (at a transaction cost), because the messages are put together with financial transactions which are extremely valuable to its users.
Services that can be used to easily view this data online include:
* http://bitfossil.org/ is a website that indexes especially formatted images uploaded to the blockchaian.
* https://bitcoinstrings.com/ dumps all ASCII printable strings of length 20 ore more online
We have been able to find the following anti-CCP information in the blockchain so far:
* http://bitfossil.org/fe0dfa51337dfce616a0e0305d10eed867e56a9f0f006b0521ec1ea32851a342/index.htm[] from 2014 is about the <<hong-kong>> 2014 protests. It contains text and images in the AtomSea & EMBII format. Part of the text is ripped from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-29421909 "Hong Kong democracy protesters defiant on National Day Tens of thousands of people have been blocking parts of the city for days."
* 2017 https://bitcoinstrings.com/blk00776.txt[blk00776.txt] transaction https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/3845e630032578cb825d587b759eb499511d691f93962f4b9f5b2e06ef9570c7[3845e630032578cb825d587b759eb499511d691f93962f4b9f5b2e06ef9570c7] says:
Tiananmen massacre <--- I dare China to censor this.
* 2017 blk00808.txt transaction https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/91b9b44532e094522e905012c04f207df1bcad8d9df7232679cb16859a008bdd[91b9b44532e094522e905012c04f207df1bcad8d9df7232679cb16859a008bdd] (TODO why not visible at https://bitcoinstrings.com/blk00808.txt[]) contains a full text reproduction of: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/01/china-tell-truth-about-tiananmen-anniversary "China: Tell the Truth About Tiananmen on Anniversary" from <<human-rights-watch>>. The text is preceeded by a Chinese version of the same.
* ca4f11131eca6b4d61daf707a470cfccd1ef3d80a6f8b70f1f07616b451ca64e from 2017 contains an image of <<tank-man>> encoded as standard transaction SHAs. The image is mentioned at: https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/191157608/#q191162145 with indexer URL https://cryptograffiti.info/#ca4f11131eca6b4d61daf707a470cfccd1ef3d80a6f8b70f1f07616b451ca64e.jpg but that link is not working
But of course, there are crypto-<<wumao>>'s there too!!! The incongruence of a dictatorship and uncensorability is just mind blowing:
* 2016 transaction https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/4921ae59b6ca89c2cd78e3d0850abd657f88a3ecc13c9c667872bf2740841dee[4921ae59b6ca89c2cd78e3d0850abd657f88a3ecc13c9c667872bf2740841dee], by a miner who earned 12 BTC:
South China Sea belongs to China-pc
Neutral references:
* https://bitcoinstrings.com/blk00776.txt[blk01341.txt] tx 3d2226aa2591acfb0d3c9206b9bb2058b0a488ad6d0e9c61e0c8f3c53d0d4b90 "EW Hello Xi Jingping" (mispelled). "EW" is a service identifier, not part of the message.
On the test blockchain (boring!):
* Tankman on the https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Testnet[Bitcoin testnet] http://bitfossil.org/64b4e3c5610b421ef254d0a57c92642bd97cce3675d5afdd81e73a651a04db20/index.htm
* https://www.vice.com/en/article/z43xx4/love-is-forever-when-its-written-in-the-blockchain
Other blockchains:
* 2019-02-25 https://theconversation.com/chinese-internet-users-turn-to-the-blockchain-to-fight-against-government-censorship-111795 "Chinese internet users turn to the blockchain to fight against government censorship" mentions the insertion of the <<metoo,Yue Xin letter>> and <<changsheng-bio-technology-vaccine-data-falsification-incident-2018>> information in the Ethereum blockchain. This gives the transaction in the screenshot: https://www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3028662/chinas-netizens-use-blockchain-spread-censored-news
[[collateral-freedom]]
===== Collateral Freedom (依附的自由)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collateral_freedom
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/依附的自由
<<greatfire>> people called a <<cute-cat-theory-of-digital-activism>>-related project of theirs "Collateral Freedom" (a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collateral_damage[collateral damage]), in which they seem to be trying to forward censored websites somehow through AWS to force the Chinese Government to block the entire AWS in China:
Collateral Freedom ties access to information to the Chinese economy. If [authorities] truly want to block access to this information, then they must give up certain access to economic freedoms.
At some point the Wikipedia page was created, but the concept was largely publicized by Greatfire most likely, although it might have been older. It is also not obvious that it satisfiers notability requirements of Wikipedia as of 2021.
2015 coverage: https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/30/greatfire/
There's an useless Wiki page for that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collateral_freedom
https://www.theregister.com/2019/05/10/amazon_backtracks_on_s3/ clarifies that on Amazon S3 the question is about:
* `https://s3.amazonaws.com/<bucket_name>/<object_key_name>`
* `https://<bucket_name>.s3.amazonaws.com/<object_key_name>`
the second of which can be easily blocked by domain, but the first can't, and how amazon was planning on killing the first option.
[[dual-use-technology]]
===== Dual-use technology (军民两用技术)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-use_technology
Normally, the term "dual-use technology" is used in the context of blocking exports that can be used either for peace, but also for war.
However, as mentioned https://twitter.com/Dogbert_Catbert/status/1372467670826684419[by a Twitter friend], a <<keyword-attack>> for Freedom of Speech is also essentially a dual-use matter.
* <<western-companies-that-sell-censorship-technology-to-dictatorships>>
[[meant-to-be-used]]
=== Politics should not be posted in technical websites such as GitHub or Stack Overflow 不应该在技术网站例如Stack Overflow和GitHub讨论政治
So, where do you propose politics be posted? On Facebook or Twitter, which are already blocked by the <<gfw>>? Or maybe on <<weibo>>, where it will be taken down within seconds due to <<internal-censorship,internal censorship>>?
Is the Chinese government using the Internet the way it was meant to be used, by investing billions in <<censorship>>?
What about <<nine-nine-six-icu>>? Did you also complain about it, or did you just star it like 250k of your fellow programmers?
Any act of protest will use things in ways that it was not meant to be used.
For example, the street is not meant to showcase protest banners, it is meant to be a passageway for cars.
As engineers, we have a moral responsibility towards society. We should not blindly follow orders of those in power if it violates our principles, e.g. build weapons or censorship mechanisms. And we should freely express our principles and violation concerns.
Making a statement where no one will ever see it, like a personal website, is <<effective,sure to have no effect>>.
Much of the best art and technology is about using something in a way that it wasn't meant to be used.
Finally, the political powers of each website decide what is allowed or not on their website, and what is not allowed gets blocked. So far, Stack Overflow and GitHub's Terms of Service have said to go ahead:
* <<stack-overflow>>
* <<github>>
Another consideration is that any profile information is essentially a form of advertisement. Some people advertise their skills for hire, or their company and product. Other people, advertise their <<falun-gong,religion>> or <<gay-rights,sexual orientation>>. So why should you not be able to advertise your political position? Companies pay millions of dollars to grab other people's attention. Ciro feels it is much fairer to instead pay for those ads with your labour of love.
<<programthink>> has, of course, a beautiful reply to this at https://github.com/programthink/zhao/tree/e8eea46424549c11792dfe61cf9e7698bdbd7240#致反对此项目的墙内程序员[]:
[[programthink-meant-to-be-used]]
致"反对此项目的墙内程序员"
本项目上线第二天,就收获 363 个 star 兼 88 个 fork,甚至还挤进 GitHub 的"当日 Trending"——俺很荣幸,也很高兴有这么多人给俺捧场。
但是在本项目的 issue 列表中也看到好几个反对此项目的程序员(应该都来自墙内),他们担心这个项目导致 GitHub 被 GFW 封杀。
这几年来,类似的言论俺已经看了不少。就好比强盗拿刀杀人,围观者不但没有谴责强盗,反而去谴责卖刀的店家——这就是传说中的"link:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/斯德哥爾摩症候群[斯德哥尔摩综合症]"。
有兴趣的同学,可以看俺之前的博文——《link:https://program-think.blogspot.com/2012/06/stockholm-syndrome.html[天朝民众的心理分析:斯德哥尔摩综合症]》
In reply to: "Programmers behind the <<gfw,GFW>> who are against this project"
The second day after the project went online, it got 363 stars and 88 forks, and even squeezed into GitHub's "Trending repositories of the Day". I am honored and I am so happy that so many people gave me their support.
However, in the issue list of this project, I also saw several programmers who opposed this project (likely all from within the GFW), and they worried that this project would cause GitHub to be blocked by GFW.
Over the past few years, I have read a lot of similar comments. A good comparison would be if a robber were killing someone with a knife, and the onlookers not only did not condemn the robber, but instead condemned the shop that sold the knife. This is the legendary "link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome[Stockholm syndrome]".
Interested people can read my previous blog post: https://program-think.blogspot.com/2012/06/stockholm-syndrome.html["Psychological Analysis of the People of the Heavenly Dynasty: Stockholm Syndrome"].
The more places we can denounce dictators, the better people are off, <<disturbs,the minor annoyance to sensitive people is worth it>>. Ciro wrote a poem:
Don't discuss politics on Stack Overflow. +
Don't discuss politics on GitHub. +
Don't discuss politics on YouTube. +
Don't discuss politics on Facebook. +
Don't discuss politics on Twitter. +
Don't discuss politics. +
Don't discuss. +
Don't. +
. +
Infinite duplicate pool:
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Ameant-to-be-used+
* https://github.com/caffeine-overload/bandinchina/issues/89
==== Is Ciro Santilli making programming contributions with the main intent of promoting his political agenda?
No, that is just a side effect.
For example, if that were the case, he would definitely target more widely used technologies, in particular Web and JavaScript, instead of obscure things like C and assembly in which I have spent tons of my time.
Also, <<effective,any attempt to influence a billin people is unlikely to have any effect>>. Much more likely to have any effect, would be for <<ciro-santilli>> to become rich and powerful first, and the best way to do that is to invest in whatever he thinks is most useful.
Actually, it can even be argued that Ciro's somewhat irrational, since he would be much more likely to become rich and powerful by bowing down to the CCP and trying to get their money instead.
On the other hand, becoming rich and powerful is also highly unlikely, so maybe it's justa matter of taking a low-risk low-reward path?
Ciro has have very little free time, and he will never do something for political reasons, only things that interest me technically.
Finally, do you really think he'd be able to do such awesome projects if he had primarily political considerations in mind? XD
===== Is Ciro Santilli making trivial edits on questions just to spam your name further?
I just think that the website is great, and want to push it to perfection, in particular with better Google keyword hits, and uniform grammatically correct titles.
If you think that any of my edits were harmful, please ping me and open a meta thread to discuss specific edits, and I will comply with consensus.
[[communist-bread]]
==== Communist bread (中共面包)
Earliest sources found so far are from <<reddit>>:
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/o2qyu5/china_has_a_brand_of_bread_named_stop_interfering/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/o2l16c/香啊造啊/
English text:
Stop interfering in China's internal affairs
Chinese text:
中国人不吃这一套 +
美国没有资格 +
居高临下同中国说话 +
巧克力酱面包 +
保质期10天 +
The Chinese people don't eat this trick +
The United States is not qualified to +
Take the high ground and look down on China +
Chocolate sauce bread +
https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/o2qyu5/china_has_a_brand_of_bread_named_stop_interfering/h2838jz mentions that this was something that came from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States%E2%80%93China_talks_in_Alaska[2021 US-China Alaska summit]
Here is a different picture of the same product from April 14th: https://twitter.com/YukayuyuWasGod/status/1382218316895244295 That one might allow better brand identification: 万X福 That one also posted at: https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/comments/o2zbsw/偶然看到这张图不知道是不是真的/ Watermarked Weibo @第三豹弹
.Chinese <<dual-use-technology,dual-use>> bread. More info at: <<communist-bread>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Stop_interfering_in_China_s_internal_affairs_bread.jpg[height=500]
.Communist bread vs Communist condom. Someone made a brilliant communist condom Photoshop reply to the <<communist-bread>>. Pointed out at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/523 and a previous source at: https://weibo.com/5586291457/K9Vg7ceM7?type=comment#_rnd162900969912[]. Part of the joke is that the Chinese message reads "中国人不吃这一套" (The Chinese people won't fall for this trick, literally "don't eat this trick"), and "套" is the last character for condom in Chinese (避孕套), so the sentence is recast as "The Chinese people won't eat this condom.". "套" more generally means a type of "slip-on cover or envelope". <<ciro-santilli>> reposted at: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/p4p3u3/stop_interfering_in_chinas_internal_affairs/ on <<r-china>>. As mentioned at https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/p4p3u3/stop_interfering_in_chinas_internal_affairs/h90foja the association of the Chinese sentence with condoms had been done independently before this Photoshop emerged, see e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdEQ7JavgLw[] by <<gfwfrog>>. GFWfrog also twitted this image of course: https://twitter.com/gfwfrog/status/1387121102967672835[].
[[why-end-dictatorship]]
=== Why would China be better without its Dictatorship? (为什么没有独裁的中国会更好?)
Because it would make China, and the world:
* <<richer,richer>>
* less likely to get into <<war,WW3>>
* <<intolerance,safer for its own citizens>>
[[richer]]
==== Why would democracy and freedom of speech make China richer? (为什么民主和言论自由能够让中国变得更加富有?)
Democracy is even one of the <<core-socialist-values>>!
There is infinite debate about this out there, some examples:
* https://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2011/05/can-poor-countries-afford-democracy-becker.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20180923192824/https://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2011/05/can-poor-countries-afford-democracy-becker.html[archive])
* https://www.quora.com/Is-democracy-or-authoritarianism-better-for-developing-countries
* dictatorships are more likely to start <<war>> or other <<policies,crazy policies>> like the <<great-leap-forward,Great Leap Forward>>, which completely destroy the economy in one go
* society becomes richer when people know that they can do their startups, get rich, and stay in the country without fear of being persecuted unfairly and losing everything instead of migrating to Canada, see also: <<rule-of-law>>, <<jack-mas-disappearance-2021>>
* it is much harder to fix problems if you can't talk about the. Any criticism of the government, even if constructive, <<censorship,is taken as menace to power, and more likely to be shut down>>, which makes the government and just becomes less efficient since there is less feedback.
This greatly increase the probability of dealing poorly with such problems, see e.g. all the global problems listed at: <<not-chinese>>.
* governments are monopolies, and the more powerful they are, the worst it is for competition an efficiency in general. E.g.: the startup with better government ties wins, instead of the most efficient one.
* people in dictatorships tend to <<real-username-law,hide their true identities online>> and in life in general. It is best not to stand out, because if you make any mistake, you are really fucked. As a result, for example, if you do something awesome like a creating an open source project, but do it anonymously, you won't get as much fame. And therefore everyone does less of such awesome things on average.
* presidents only care about the 4-8 year horizon, while dictators can make longer term decisions to maintain power forever, their power being limited only by "the people are happy enough to not start a revolution"
* dictatorships can make changes faster without the same amount of discussion that happens in democracies, where power is more spread out.
Killing a million people will make us richer? No problem, let's do it.
That is great when they make good decisions, but it sucks when they make <<war,bad ones>> more likely.
Maybe China was poor because of Mao's crazy communist regime. Similar regimes also made <<russia>> poor. And yes, before that exploitation by the West may have been a factor.
Definitely, the current regime is better than Mao's, but just imagine how rich China could be if it had more freedom and justice.
Imperial China lost the race for the Industrial Revolution. Will another dictatorship be able to stay on top of the next technological revolution?
.XKCD 937 "TornadoGuard" comes to mind in relationship to the <<dictatorship-variability,variable performance of dictatorships>>. https://xkcd.com/937/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/XKCD_937_tornado_guard.png[height=500]
[[dictatorship-variability]]
===== Dictatorships have greater development variability (专政具有更大的发展可变性)
<<ciro-santilli>> really likes https://web.archive.org/web/20180923192824/https://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2011/05/can-poor-countries-afford-democracy-becker.html[Posners'] way of putting it:
While average rate of growth do not appear to differ much between democracies and authoritarian regimes, the variability in performance does differ more among authoritarian governments. China has had remarkable growth since the 1980s, but the prolonged devastation and hardship produced by China's "<<great-leap-forward>>" (when millions of farmers starved to death) and its Cultural Revolution would unlikely have occurred in a democratic country like say India. Nor is it likely that say Cuba and many African nations would have suffered so long with such terrible economic policies if they had reasonably democratic institutions.
[[tea-egg-incident]]
===== Tea egg incident (茶葉蛋事件, 2011)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/茶葉蛋事件
A Taiwanese celebrity said many people in China can't even buy <<tea-egg,tea eggs>>, which are extremely cheap and easy to make at home: you just need to cook some eggs in any cheap tea! Chinese internet <<wumao>>s made fun of that, and likely rightly so.
[[censorship-makes-countries-poorer]]
==== Censorship makes countries poorer (审查使国家更穷)
<<dictatorship,Dictatorships>> need <<censorship>> to survive, and they must control all information to make themselves always look good: <<dictator-needs-gfw>>.
As a result, knowledge of problems flows more slowly, and therefore they also take longer to solve.
Maybe this hurts the argument, but Hillary agrees: :-)
But countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccGzOJHE1rw&t=2110 "Secretary Clinton Speaks on Internet Freedom", U.S. Department of State, 2010-01-22
video::ccGzOJHE1rw[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=2110]
Also mentioned at: link:https://youtube.com/watch?v=d3dE_LDz_9E?t=1681[Google versus China - VPRO documentary - 2011]
This is also the basis of a <<keyword-attack>>.
This suggestion is even more explicit in the fictional https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Z[World War Z] 2006 novel by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Brooks[Max Brooks] about a <<covid,virus>> outbreak in China. It was later adapted into the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Z_(film)[World War Z (2013)] movie by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramount_Pictures[Paramount]:
* https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jun/04/brad-pitt-china-world-war-z[]: Paramount cowards tried to kowtow and remove references to China from the movie, but it failed
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/china-barred-my-dystopian-novel-about-how-its-system-enables-epidemics/2020/02/27/cc0446f0-58e5-11ea-9000-f3cffee23036_story.html[]: no Chinese publisher dared publish the book unless China references were removed, which the author declined, and so the book was not published in China
Or https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/21/death-statistic/[if you prefer]:
The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amartya_Sen[Amartya Sen] is another famous proponent of similar arguments in the area of hungers: https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/211/44284.html[] (https://web.archive.org/web/20170722090616/https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/211/44284.html[archive])
In democratic countries, even very poor ones, the survival of the ruling government would be threatened by famine, since elections are not easy to win after famines; nor is it easy to withstand criticism of opposition parties and newspapers. That is why famine does not occur in democratic countries. Unfortunately, there are a great many countries in the world which do not yet have democratic systems.
although like any other political argument, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/01/arts/does-democracy-avert-famine.html[some disagree].
Virus outbreaks and other natural disasters also illustrate this well: <<covid>>.
* https://www.uow.edu.au/the-stand/2019/chernobyl-a-lesson-in-truth.php Chernobyl: a lesson in truth Secrets were kept, mistakes were made, and people were exposed
[[chernobyl-2019-miniseries]]
===== Chernobyl 2019 miniseries (切尔诺贝利_(迷你剧))
* link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_(miniseries)
* link:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/切尔诺贝利_(迷你剧)
Suggests that part of the reason why Chernobyl happened is because of the Soviet Union's obsession to save face, and illustrates well how <<censorship-makes-countries-poorer>>.
The URSS only admitted Chernobyl three days after when Swedish nuclear plant radiation detector alarms started going off.
Notably, in order to keep it secret, they for example did not cancel the https://time.com/4313139/post-chernobyl-parade/[International Workers' Day parade in Kharkov, Ukraine which happened five days after the disaster]. Related: <<different-levels-of-truth>>.
* <<different-levels-of-truth>>
* <<law-of-gravity-1984>>
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocBVLMHK6c8 Chernobyl supercut scene where the reactor explodes, and a chief engineer "Comrade Dyatlov" accepts a hastily made radiation measurement of 3.6 Roentgen as "Not great, not terrible" and forwards it to his superiors who take actions based on that, even though the radiation measurement apparatus only goes up to 3.6 Roentgen! Needless to say, the actual radiation was much, much higher: when a proper measurement was made much later on, the value was 15000 Roentgen!
video::ocBVLMHK6c8[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.Photo of a CDV-717 radioactivity meter that maxes out at 3.6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roentgen_(unit)[Roentgen] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/倫琴_(單位)[倫琴]) like the one that would have been used in Chernobyl. https://www.reddit.com/r/ChernobylTV/comments/bnio6n/36_roentgen_on_a_cdv717/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/3_6_Roentgen.jpg[height=400]
[[censorship-makes-no-one-trust-your-country]]
===== Censorship makes no one trust your country (审查使得沒有人相信你的国家)
Who would trust a government that does not <<censorship,trust its own journalists and citizens>>?
Even democracies cannot be trusted, but dictatorships? No one ever believes what they say, even when it's true.
The boy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Cried_Wolf[just called wolf far too many times].
And as a result, this makes it very difficult to have allies.
Sure, other dictatorships will seem to become allies with your dictatorship and collaborate.
But deep down, you know that they are all just waiting patiently to put a knife in one other's backs.
Dictators will always live in fear.
<span id="corona">
[[covid]]
===== Censorship of the 2019 Corona Virus (2019冠状病毒病早期迹象审查)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_disease_2019
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019冠状病毒病
The Chinese Government <<censorship,censored>> the initial outbreak in January and did not inform Wuhan on January 8, which likely made the situation much worse than what it could have been.
On the other hand, one may argue that the "city closure" measures were stronger/faster than in democracies, and maybe that is true.
And <<ciro-santilli>> does believe that the virus would have escaped even if there had been no censorship. Although maybe thousands of lives would have been saved due to smaller saturation of hospitals had a proper early warning been given.
So Ciro's main criticism is that of the censorship of citizen reports the event: <<people-arrested-for-reporting-on-the-2019-corona-virus>>. Why do you need to censor things when you are doing so well?
And it should also be said that some Western politicians have used "blame China" as an excuse to divert attention from their own failures.
Some believe that the Chinese government grossly under-reported death counts. Initial official figures were about only 3300 deaths, in the insanely densely populated Wuhan area, while Italy had reached 10000 deaths:
* 2020-04-19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr280LWjJT0&t=2198 Trump says on a White House briefing he does not believe China's case count
* 2020-04-01 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-01/china-concealed-extent-of-virus-outbreak-u-s-intelligence-says CIA speaks
* 2020-03-29 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8165717/Locals-Wuhan-believe-42-000-people-died-coronavirus.html Reports of funerary urns sold
Maybe China is saying the truth this time. Maybe the rapid Dictatorship response worked. But maybe the most important lesson to take out of this is that https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/27/china-loses-trust-internationally-over-coronavirus-handling[no one] trusts <<censorship-makes-no-one-trust-your-country,in a Dictatorship after an infinitely long history of lies and lack of freedom of the press>>.
<<li-hongzhi>> of course doubts those numbers :-) <<falun-gongs-view-of-epidemics>>.
Good timelines so without a fucking paywall:
* https://www.axios.com/timeline-the-early-days-of-chinas-coronavirus-outbreak-and-cover-up-ee65211a-afb6-4641-97b8-353718a5faab.html "Timeline: The early days of China's coronavirus outbreak and cover-up"
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2019–20_coronavirus_pandemic_in_November_2019_–_January_2020
* 2019-12-27 several genomics companies had sequenced the coronavirus and noticed the similarity to Sars. According to GeneBank, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/MT019529[] the sample was collected on and 23-Dec-2019 and published on 04-FEB-2020
* 2020-01-01 <<cctv>> announces that posting about it online is a crime: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/ko18aa/on_this_day_one_year_ago_cctv_first_reported_on/
* 2020-01-03 findings were sent to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Center_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention[Centre for Disease Control] (CDC, https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国疾病预防控制中心[中国疾病预防控制中心]) in Beijing, but then the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Commission[Chinese National Health Commission] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华人民共和国国家卫生健康委员会[中华人民共和国国家卫生健康委员会]), China's top medical authority, issued orders to not talk about it and destroy samples
* 2020-01-08 CDC team went to Wuhan to see the situation, was not informed that contagiousness of the disease had been confirmed
* 2020-01-20 the findings were made public, in an interview with Zhong Nanshan. He later said in an interview that the local government should be blamed:
video::LK1Pz8FmryM[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=132]
* 2020-01-23 Wuhan begins lockdown
* 2020-01-24 to 30 Chinese New Year
* 2021-03-04 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/china-makes-anal-swab-covid-tests-compulsory-for-foreign-arrivals-mvthjq8c7 "China makes anal swab Covid tests compulsory for foreign arrivals". This is not a criticism to China as the test might be accurate. But it is one of the funniest things I've ever heard.
* 2020-12-20 https://www.propublica.org/article/leaked-documents-show-how-chinas-army-of-paid-internet-trolls-helped-censor-the-coronavirus "Leaked Documents Show How China's Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus" talks about <<wumao>> working during COVID
* 2020-05-12: https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-cia-believes-china-tried-stop-who-alarm-pandemic-1503565 CIA people said China stopped the WHO from sounding the alarm from January 24 to January 30, while at the same time stockpiling protection materials
* <<caixin>> article about how early Coronavirus signs were censored:
** https://china.caixin.com/2020-03-10/101526309.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20200317111527/http://china.caixin.com/2020-03-10/101526309.html[archive]) "李文亮所在医院为何医护人员伤亡惨重?" (Why did Li Wenliang's [李文亮] hospital suffer heavy casualties?)
** https://www.caixinglobal.com/2020-02-29/in-depth-how-early-signs-of-a-sars-like-virus-were-spotted-spread-and-throttled-101521745.html (paywall) "In Depth: How Early Signs of a SARS-Like Virus Were Spotted, Spread, and Throttled"
** https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chinese-scientists-destroyed-proof-of-virus-in-december-rz055qjnj "Chinese scientists destroyed proof of virus in December". Paywall skip: https://archive.md/xOKiu Terrible copy paste of some Caixin article with no sources/precise names.
* https://www.businessinsider.com/china-information-crackdown-on-wuhan-coronavirus-2020-1 "China spent the crucial first days of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak arresting people who posted about it online and threatening journalists" (https://web.archive.org/web/20200124113400/https://www.businessinsider.com/china-information-crackdown-on-wuhan-coronavirus-2020-1?r=US&IR=T[archive])
* https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/g5xykx/you-can-now-go-to-jail-in-china-for-criticizing-beijings-coronavirus-response "You Can Now Go to Jail in China for Criticizing Beijing's Coronavirus Response"
* https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdn4d/doctors-in-wuhan-are-still-dying-and-beijing-is-still-trying-to-silence-them Ai Fen's (艾芬) report of how the situation was mishandling was censored
* 2020-04-13 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/12/asia/china-coronavirus-research-restrictions-intl-hnk/index.html "Beijing tightens grip over coronavirus research, amid US-China row on virus origin". The Government can now veto papers from being published on the subject of the origin of COVID-19.
In other countries:
* <<india-covid-handling-twitter-suppression-2021>>
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assemblage_(art)[Assemblage] of a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respirator[respirator mask] with a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gag_(BDSM)[BDSM gag ball] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/口塞[口塞]) attached to it, suggesting that citizen reports of COVID-19 in China have been censored. https://twitter.com/FakeNewsOfChina/status/1221396086033530880[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Covid_gag_mask.jpg[height=600]
.Corona Xi mural of <<xi-jinping>> morphed into a Coronavirus by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lushsux[Lushux]. Fuller composition view: https://twitter.com/lushsux/status/1243830638966235136[]. Reddit called it https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/fqku03/winnie_the_flu/[Winnie the Flu] in a reference to <<winnie-the-pooh>>. https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/fqku03/winnie_the_flu/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Covid_Xi.jpg[height=500]
.Comparison of how some Chinese sources counted COVID deaths excluding <<taiwan>> and <<hong-kong>>, while at the same time https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4266780[including their gold medals in their gold medal count to overcome the United States' medal count]. TODO original untranslated source. https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/p133fx/double_standards/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/CCP_Olympic_medal_2020_vs_COVID_death_counts.jpg[height=500]
[[li-wenliang]]
====== Li Wenliang (李文亮)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Wenliang
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李文亮
He reported <<covid,the virus>>, but was told by authorities to stay quiet, and later died from the virus, becoming somewhat of a martyr:
* https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51409801
* https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2020/02/【网络民议】你能做到吗?-你听明白了吗?/ by <<china-digital-times>>
The following excerpt from his forced confession trended:
你能做到吗? +
你听明白了吗?
Can you manage? +
.Selfie of <<li-wenliang>> on his hospital bed before he died. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51409801[Source].
[[li-wenliang-by-kuang-biao]]
.Caricature of <<li-wenliang>> wearing a mask made of barbed wire by artist <<kuang-biao>>. The image https://nationalpost.com/news/world/chinese-government-censor-li-wenliang-dead-weibo-wechat-coronavirus[circulated on Weibo] for some time. https://rsf.org/en/news/coronavirus-information-heroes-china-silenced[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Wenliang_COVID_barbed_wire_mark_by_Kuang_Biao.jpg[height=500]
====== nCovMemory
Popular GitHub repo documenting personal experiences and media reports:
* https://github.com/2019ncovmemory/nCovMemory "新冠肺炎记忆:报道、非虚构与个人叙述" 2020 New coronavirus pneumonia memories: reports, non-fictional and personal accounts.
Some of the creators of the repostory were arrested in 2020: https://qz.com/1846277/china-arrests-users-behind-github-coronavirus-memories-page/ and the repo must have been taken down at that time.
fork with the most stars we can find: https://github.com/dta0502/nCovMemory[], in case that goes down: https://github.com/cirosantilli/nCovMemory
* https://github.com/memoryhonest/nCovMemory-en translation project
Other interesting GitHub repositories: <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>.
* https://github.com/lestweforget/wuhan2019
* https://github.com/lestweforget/COVID-19-Timeline
[[people-arrested-for-reporting-on-the-2019-corona-virus]]
====== People arrested for reporting on the 2019 Corona Virus (因报道 2019 年冠状病毒而被捕的人)
Best montage: <<eight-people-were-punished,Eight people were punished>>.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Qiushi[Chen Qiushi] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/陈秋实_(律师)[陈秋实])
** Twitter: https://twitter.com/chenqiushi404
** YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv361SF6FKznoGPKEFG9Yhw
** https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/09/asia/wuhan-citizen-journalist-intl-hnk/index.html "Chen Qiushi spoke out about the Wuhan virus. Now his family and friends fear he's been silenced"
** 2020-04-18 https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/epgek4/he-traveled-to-wuhan-to-report-on-coronavirus-and-hasnt-been-heard-from-since "He Traveled to Wuhan to Report on Coronavirus – and Hasn't Been Heard From Since"
** https://youtube.com/watch?v=Iwpr55PZEJ8 "Lawyer Chen Qiushi documenting coronavirus epicentre disappears" by <<scmp>>
video::Iwpr55PZEJ8[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* Fang Bin (方斌)
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_Bin
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/方斌
** Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuqZJRTOvbqbGub
** YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRItarzSwqakT-EZkSvuy3A
*** The last YouTube video simply says:
全民反抗 +
https://zh.m.wiktionary.org/zh-hans/还政于民[还政于民] +
方斌书
which translates as:
All the people, revolt. +
Return the country (politics) to its people. +
Written (calligraphed) by Fang Bin.
video::_7VIG2qp0j4[youtube,height=400,width=600]
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUvBNpkxrJo "Fang Bin is second Chinese citizen journalist to vanish while reporting from coronavirus epicentre" by <<scmp>>
video::sUvBNpkxrJo[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Zehua[Li Zehua] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李泽华_(记者)[李澤華])
** YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJHUpBCNKrZwBhxfcIrP8Aw
** Twitter https://twitter.com/kcrissli
** 2020-02-28 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdejp/a-chinese-citizen-journalist-covering-coronavirus-just-live-streamed-his-own-arrest
* 2020-04-25: Chen Mei, Cai Wei and his girlfriend, who contributed to <<terminus2049>>
* 2020-04-14: Zhang Zhan (张展)
** https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsNKkvZGMURFmYkfhYa2HOQ
** https://www.scmp.com/video/coronavirus/3084983/coronavirus-chinese-citizen-journalist-detained-after-live-streaming
*** 2020-11-16 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/16/citizen-journalist-facing-jail-in-china-for-wuhan-covid-reporting-zhang-zhan[], finally accused of <<picking-quarrels>>
*** 2020-12-28 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/28/wuhan-citizen-journalist-jailed-for-four-years-in-chinas-christmas-crackdown[] "Wuhan Covid citizen journalist jailed for four years in China crackdown"
* <<xu-zhangrun>>
TODO maybe not arrested but relevant:
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/p2t243/police_travel_to_mans_house_and_force_him_to/ unconfirmed video: Police travel to man's house and force him to delete his WeChat post about Covid-19 spreading in his area because the government won't admit to any cases.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_Fang[Fang Fang] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/方方_(作家)[方方]) published in 2020 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhan_Diary[Wuhan Diary] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/方方日記[方方日記], 方方日记)
Possible free Chinese version: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGF5YWJvb2suY29tfHd3d3xneDo3ZGUzZWZjZDgyZDkxNjc0 (http://web.archive.org/web/20200720084342/https://doc-10-bk-apps-viewer.googleusercontent.com/viewer/secure/pdf/3nb9bdfcv3e2h2k1cmql0ee9cvc5lole/0cr4s4veutmm50d7alffk68perm7us3s/1595234550000/lantern/%2A/ACFrOgDGbspvoNIJBVI1N2-EwaZHJPCTgPKmJeFaWgposQKpu5Eu0aqwA_CIZfLkobNVy1-xKcxKzw2CMAyxH4aUPjcHsp2w1JB2fwoX1g_39gVGh38SxfK-UrQyhy_3n19wbWhWErj_a41hMVR4?print=true[archive])
[[censorship-makes-it-harder-to-solve-social-problems]]
==== Censorship makes it harder to solve social problems (审查制度使解决社会问题变得更加困难)
* <<labour-rights>>
* <<metoo>>
* <<gay-rights>>
[[low-end-population]]
===== Low-end population (低端人口, 2017)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/北京低端人口
* https://qz.com/1138395/low-end-population-what-you-need-to-know-about-chinas-crackdown-on-migrant-workers/
[[war]]
==== Why would democracy and freedom of speech make China less likely to start a war? (为什么民主和言论自由会让中国不太可能发动战争?)
This has been discussed to death:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_peace_theory
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_Peace:_A_Philosophical_Sketch
Some arguments include:
* the people who will actually fight and die on the front can't vote against it
* dictators have huge power, so if they put it in their heads that they want to start a war, it is much harder for sensible people to stop them
* dictators need <<evil-west,to keep the people in fear all the time to keep their power>>, and a war is a great way to achieve that
Of course China won't say that they are starting a war when they do.
They will of course start with territories which they claim as theirs, to add to <<separatism,other recent additions which were not theirs>> until the recent past, even though their inhabitants desperately want to leave China:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_China–India_skirmishes | https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/beijing-said-to-fund-separatist-india "Beijing Said to Fund Separatist India Movement"
Which reminds us of... <<nazi>>:
* 1939 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleiwitz_incident[Gleiwitz incident], a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_flag[false flag attack]
* 1938 Annexation of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudetenland[Sudetenland] from Czechoslovakia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_II explains:
A decisive proximate event was the 1938 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Agreement[Munich Conference], which formally approved Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. Hitler promised it was his last territorial claim, but in early 1939 he became even more aggressive, and European governments finally realized that appeasement was not guaranteeing peace."
* 1935-1938 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Causes_of_World_War_II&oldid=968409781#Expansionism_and_militarism comments:
In Italy, Benito Mussolini sought to create a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Empire[New Roman Empire], based around the Mediterranean. It invaded Ethiopia as early as 1935, Albania in early 1938, and later Greece. That provoked angry words and an oil embargo from the League of Nations, which failed.
* 1931 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_Manchuria[1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria], with one false flag event preceding it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukden_Incident[Mikden Incident].
When China <<evil-west,calls the USA Imperialist>> (帝国主义), there is of course some truth to it, but it is also very ironic, because as https://youtu.be/GiVs05yq9-o?t=74[Lindybeige mentions], China is obviously the largest empire on Earth! Despite its <<xinjiang,uniformization>> efforts, China is highly diverse since it is obviously made up of a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_China[large stitched up carpet of nations that were conquered by a single empire]. E.g. <<xinjiang>> translates literally as "The New Frontier"! Not to mention obviously the unification of the <<warring-states-period>>.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PhjfThj4IA Ending of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportpalast_speech[Sportpalast speech], AKA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_war[total war] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/总体战[总体战]) speech by <<nazi,Goebbels>>, given in 1943, when Germany started to lose the war. This was later target of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:8th_Air_Force_psychological_warfare_leaflet.jpg[opposing allied propaganda]. Total war, that's what <<dictatorship,dictatorship>> bring you.
video::7PhjfThj4IA[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[the-united-states-has-recently-started-several-wars-and-killed-millions]]
===== The United States has recently started several wars and killed millions! (美国最近发动了几场战争,造成数百万人死亡!)
Not even democracies can fully protect people from other countries, because they don't vote. Yes, congratulations, <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect>>.
But if the USA were a <<dictatorship,dictatorship like China>> it would kill way more, because it would censor every report against the war internally to its own people, and the wars would just go on like in <<nineteen-eighty-four-war-is-peace>>.
How many times do we have to bring <<nazi,Hitler>> up? 70-85 million deaths in one go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties
The only reason China has not started wars is because it is a poor country, and it would lose them. If it were rich, it would have started more wars and killed 100 times more people.
Finally, some wars are good.
If a country is oppressed by a dictatorship, and most of its people want to be free, it might be right to help them be free.
If a country sponsors terrorism, it might be a good idea to take out their Government.
This has to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, and maybe a verdict will never be reached. But at least in a democracy the people can decide based on varied information. In a dictatorship, whatever the dictator decides happens.
Also, most of those small wars that he USA started end up being https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_war[proxy wars] between the USA and <<russia>>/China, with the USA pushing for democracy, and Russia/China pushing for more dictatorships.
[[uneducated-masses]]
==== The Chinese masses are still uneducated, and not fit for free speech and democracy 中国大众愚昧,不能好好选领导
When will they be ready? Who decides? What if they think that they are <<tiananmen,ready now>>?
In George Bernard Shaw's "Maxims for Revolutionists" words:
Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for <<corruption,appointment by the corrupt few>>.
Many democracy supporters jokingly recognize democracy's shortcomings.
A https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-141/red-herrings-famous-quotes-churchill-never-said/[fake Churchill quote]:
The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.
Art Spander:
The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a chance to do something stupid.
Laurence J Peter:
Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame.
[[immoral-and-uneducated]]
.https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/preaching-to-the-mob[Preaching to the mob meme template]: "中国人道德低下素质差。所以不适合民主。" Translation: The Chinese people are immoral and uneducated (people are angry). That's why they're not suitable for democracy (people are happy). This makes fun of the fact even if you say bad things about the Chinese, some people will complain that you are racist. But the same people will also say the same bad things about the Chinese people as a way to explain why it is better if they don't vote, and no one minds that. https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/jssa4t/道德低下素质差的好处/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Immoral_and_uneducated.jpg[height=600]
.Translation of the above.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Immoral_and_uneducated_en.jpg[height=600]
[[not-interested-in-politics]]
===== The Chinese masses are not interested in politics and therefore not ready to vote (中国群众对政治不感兴趣,因此不准备投票)
But how would they be interested in politics or be able to discuss it, if it is <<dissidents,impossible to have a different view without going to jail>>?
What about the <<tiananmen,1 million people in Tiananmen>> and the 70 million <<falun-gong>> followers? Did they not care?
Chinese political spectrum meme in English: https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-b8d4cd1a58c6c7eee88bad82b94f4e5c
[[overlook-human-rights-for-profit]]
==== As long as China is developing economically, it is fine to violate the human rights of a few million people (只要经济好,我不在乎人权)
This argument can be made, but it is a risky way to live: <<intolerance>>.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Göring[Herman Goring] actually justified <<nazi,the atrocities of Nazism>> in the exact same way during <<goring-nuremberg,his appearance on the Nuremberg trials>>.
Do the <<violence,ends always justify the means>>?
What is the point of having all that wealth, when you risk <<rule-of-law,being put into jail for unfair reasons>>?
<<ciro-santilli>> argues that China would be even richer if it weren't for the CCP: <<richer>>, and that the CCP only violates people's human rights as a tool to stay in power: <<ccp-evil>>.
.<<rebel-pepper>> cartoon about a pig who does not care about politics because it cannot be eaten. 民主又不能当饭吃 https://twitter.com/remonwangxt/status/1131398147253710850[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Pig_politics_Chinese.jpg[height=600]
.Translation by Ciro Santilli of the Rebel Pepper cartoon about the pig who does not care about politics because it cannot be eaten.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Rebel_pepper_pig_can%27t_eat_democracy_cartoon_translated_to_English_by_Ciro_Santilli.jpg[height=600]
.https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shut-up-and-take-my-money[Shut up and take my freedom] meme by <<ciro-santilli>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Shut_up_and_take_my_freedom.jpg[height=400]
.https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shut-up-and-take-my-money[Shut up and take my freedom] meme by <<ciro-santilli>> translated to Chinese: "什么都别说了,拿走我的自由".
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Shut_up_and_take_my_freedom_zh.jpg[height=400]
[[corruption]]
==== Democracies have less corruption than dictatorships (民主国家的腐败比独裁国家少)
One of the key points of <<xi-jinping,Xi Jinping's>> governments has been to quench corruption. And use that as an excuse to get rid of rivals while at it.
However, there is one much better solution to that: democracy and freedom of speech.
The reason is obvious: with censorship, <<chinese-politicians-really-care-about-the-chinese-citizens,corrupt politicians>> can <<internal-censorship,censor>> anything bad that they did, and so it becomes much harder to destroy corruption.
Democracy substitutes election <<uneducated-masses,by the incompetent many>> for appointment by the corrupt few.
Ciro does however believe the <<spy>> claims made at https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/12/21/china-stolen-us-data-exposed-cia-operatives-spy-networks/ that the anti-corruption is also a legitimate national security issue for China, in addition to being a tool to take down political rivals:
Over the course of their investigation into the CIA's China-based agent network, Chinese officials learned that the agency was secretly paying the "promotion fees" - in other words, the bribes - regularly required to rise up within the Chinese bureaucracy, according to four current and former officials. It was how the CIA got "disaffected people up in the ranks. But this was not done once, and wasn't done just in the [Chinese military]," recalled a current Capitol Hill staffer. "Paying their bribes was an example of long-term thinking that was extraordinary for us," said a former senior counterintelligence official. "Recruiting foreign military officers is nearly impossible. It was a way to exploit the corruption to our advantage." At the time, "promotion fees" sometimes ran into the millions of dollars, according to a former senior CIA official: "It was quite amazing the level of corruption that was going on." The compensation sometimes included paying tuition and board for children studying at expensive foreign universities, according to another CIA officer.
Well known corruption cases:
* 2020 Ren Zhiqiang
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren_Zhiqiang
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/任志强
** https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/22/asia/china-ren-zhiqiang-xi-jinping-intl-hnk/index.html "Chinese tycoon who criticized <<xi-jinping,Xi Jinping>>'s handling of <<covid,coronavirus>> jailed for 18 years"
* 2012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ling_Jihua[Ling Jihua] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/令计划[令计划]): son died in Ferrari crash with two women on the car, which put the spotlight on him
* 2012 <<bo-xilai>>: trigerred by the murder of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Heywood[Neil Heywood], of which Bo's wife was accused
* <<panama-papers>>
===== Operation Fox Hunt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Fox_Hunt
Trying to prevent corruption is fine, but violating the laws of other countries in doing so, or the <<rule-of-law>> of their family is not.
Publicized by China itself: <<china-daily>> http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-11/05/content_22375920.htm
* 2020-10-28 "Eight Individuals Charged With Conspiring to Act as Illegal Agents of the People's Republic of China" https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/eight-individuals-charged-conspiring-act-illegal-agents-people-s-republic-china
[[liu-changming]]
====== The detention of Liu Changming's (刘昌明) family (2018)
China imposed an exit ban on the ex-official's family, who are also USA citizens:
* officer Liu Changming (刘昌明)
* wife Sandra Han
* children Victor Liu (born July 1999 in the USA) and Cynthia Liu (27 in 2019, born in China, but also American citizen)
China says that the children and wife do have valid Chinese documents, so maybe those idiots did not give up their Chinese citizenship and went to China. Why, why, why would you do that? Don't they know anything about China?
Cynthia claimed her father has left home a long time ago and that they are not in contact with their father.
Liu is a so called https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_official[naked official] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/裸官[裸官]), who let his family go live outside of China to prevent such problems with the CCP.
The wiki page also explains that in 2014 rules were added to prevent promotion of officials whose spouses live abroad.
This reminds Ciro of a Mafia movie, maybe Godfather II, where the bad guy says he "likes doing business with a man that has a family, because he has more collateral".
* 2018-11 https://www.businessinsider.com/liu-changming-china-holds-officials-family-hostage-to-force-return-2018-11
.2019-05-09 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2hBtXdaYsQ Cynthia Liu, daughter of Liu Changming (刘昌明) pleas freedom on YouTube. Commented upload by CBS, TODO can't find original video on YouTube, maybe they sent straight to CBS?
video::t2hBtXdaYsQ[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[effective]]
=== Will the keyword attacks really help to destroy the firewall? (关键字攻击真的有助于破坏防火墙吗?)
It is both unlikely, and hard to be sure.
Just like it is unlikely that the activity of on individual can have a big influence in any group of 1 billion people.
Every action is statistical: I just push the balance a little bit towards freedom.
This FAQ and any talk is useless. You and I are wasting our time here.
The possibility of blocking Stack Overflow and GitHub is 1000x more useful than any talk, but it is still useless.
However, potentially blocking those websites takes <<better-to-do,0 of my time>>, I just leave the content there, so it is worth my time.
To have an idea, in 2015 there are about:
* 20M developers in the world
* 2M in China : https://www.quora.com/Approximately-how-many-programmers-are-there-in-the-world https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/european-technology/there-are-185-million-software-developers-in-the-world-but-which-country-has-the-most/
* 5M Stack Overflow users https://data.stackexchange.com/stackoverflow/query/227868/select-count-from-users
* TODO I wonder what percentage of GDP those programmers control. I'll bet any programmer on Stack Overflow is at least 20x more powerful than the average Chinese.
And if we never start somewhere, nothing will ever happen.
Furthermore, even if the <<gfw,GFW>> falls, it is not clear that this will imply the end of the dictatorship: <<dictator-needs-gfw>>.
Even if it is not, it does not matter, since <<ciro-santilli>> spends so little time doing it: <<better-to-do>> and has fun in doing it.
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Cards_(American_TV_series)[House of Cards] S01E02 "Nobody can hear you. Nobody cares about you. Nothing will come of this." GIF. https://houseoflessons.tumblr.com/post/43967209684/on-protesters-nobody-can-hear-you-nobody-cares[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Nobody_can_hear_you.gif[height=400]
[[embargo]]
==== Embargoes make dictatorships stronger (禁运使独裁更强大)
The <<keyword-attack,keyword attack>> is basically an embargo.
There is already a lot of literature about this, especially in the cases of Cuba and North Korea. It is basically a libertarian vs conservative/Cato vs Heritage thing in the US:
* https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/no-embargo-harms-cubans-gives-castro-excuse-policy-failures-regime
* https://www.heritage.org/trade/report/why-the-cuban-trade-embargo-should-be-maintained
* https://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_big_idea/2006/08/thanks_for_the_sanctions.html
The key dilemma is:
* if we keep contact with the Dictatorship, maybe its people will see that democracy is better and start a liberating revolution
* if we keep giving technology to the Dictatorship and it does not become a democracy, we are making a Dictatorship more technologically advanced, and therefore <<war,dangerous>>
Some interesting aspects of the keyword attack embargo:
* it is immediately self-enforcing: we don't need politicians to decide and enforce the complex "if you do this, we punish you like that" question.
By political and technological information is together, and this immediately puts the dictatorship in a bad spot, without us having to decide anything.
* by affecting programmers in particular through Stack Overflow and GitHub, we make them more likely to develop better <<censorship-circumvention,Firewall climbing>> tools themselves
One point in favor of the embargo is that China has opened up since the '80s '90s, but did freedom improve at all? Under <<xi-jinping>>, it may be argued that it did not, and maybe that we should just stop feeding them technology and accept that they won't become free.
Trump's link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/02/trump-banning-huawei-beginning-of-biggest-trade-war-ever-united-states[2019 China trade war], and in particular the <<huawei>> ban, is an event that has brought this question to the spotlight once again.
===== Keyword attacks could be used by certain CCP political groups to justify blocking off the entire external Internet, and make the dictatorship even more pervasive
It is a risk, but it would make China drastically <<richer,less powerful>>, so at least they wouldn't be able to start or sustain <<war,WW3>>. So I don't think it will go that way.
[[so-block-cost]]
==== Stack Overflow and GitHub could be blocked at no cost by the Chinese government (中国政府可以免费封锁 Stack Overflow 和 GitHub)
Hitting the block button has, of course, no cost.
The cost of blocking Stack Overflow lies of course in the loss of information, and slower technological development, see also: <<why-keyword-attack>>
Remember that <<it-is-not-possible-to-block-a-single-page-of-an-https-website>>
The 2019 <<nine-nine-six-icu>> event however brought to my attention that Chinese (usually WebKit-based) browsers are already censoring HTTPS websites selectively of course, see e.g.: https://github.com/996browser/996.BROWSER/tree/77f28a36a862e3cc4d238dc47c19872156096bc4
But Ciro doubt developers use those browsers, right? The only way would be for China to forbid foreign browsers entirely.
BTW, <<ensi>> brings a whole new dimension to HTTPS by encrypting the domain name as well!
[[is-stack-overflow-blocked-in-china]]
===== Is Stack Overflow blocked in China? (Stack Overflow 在中国被封锁了吗?)
There was no clear evidence of that as of April 2020: https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/267715/is-stack-overflow-accessible-in-china/288497#288497
It worth noting however that as mentioned at <<is-stack-overflow-blocked-in-china>> that websites can become non-functional if CDNs they rely on are taken down, instead of the website being taken down itself.
For example, Stack Overflow relied on Google for some of its JavaScript and on Imgur for images, both of which are blocked in China.
[[disturbs]]
==== Keyword attack profiles disturb me (关键字攻击个人资料页打扰我)
But isn't it better to be annoyed than having <<war,war>>, <<richer,being poor>> or <<xinjiang,put into jail unfairly>>?
Another good option is to use the trusty <<cac-report-website>>.
Installing any of those immediately give you <<social-credit-system,10 Sesame Points>>, <<xi-abolishes-term-limits-2018-03,习万岁>>.
See also: <<harm-programmers>>.
[[what-is-more-obscene-sex-or-war]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwCyQINNXwE "What is more obscene: sex or war?" scene from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People_vs._Larry_Flynt[The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)]. Ciro just can't stop thinking about that scene when someone tells him that <<disturbs,his profile disturbs them>>. What is more obscene? <<xi-jinping-memes>> or human rights violations?
video::SRPiE59e8NU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[browser-extensions-to-hide-keyword-attacks]]
===== Browser extensions to hide keyword attacks (隐藏关键字攻击的浏览器扩展)
If the truth is too much for you to bear, worry not, you could use one of:
* Greasyfork browser extensions
** https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/32236-stackoverflow净化器 "StackOverflow净化器" (Stack Overflow cleanup)
*** GitHub user with the same username: https://github.com/EternalPhane
**** https://github.com/eternalphane/UserScripts repo with that source, and a related issue: https://github.com/eternalphane/UserScripts/issues/4 by https://github.com/SiqingYu
*** https://web.archive.org/web/20181211094818/https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/32236-stackoverflow%E5%87%80%E5%8C%96%E5%99%A8
*** https://web.archive.org/web/20181211094917/https://greasyfork.org/en/forum/discussion/47981
** https://twitter.com/guangyang_li/status/1204880709636124672 dude admiring it: https://github.com/gyli
** 2020-07-09 https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/406756-ciro-santilli "Ciro Santilli"
*** https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/406756-ciro-santilli/discussions/53697
*** Some possible authors (of course, with that name, there must be 10 thousand Chinese people at least):
**** https://english.meta.stackexchange.com/users/156741/li-xiaodong
**** https://github.com/DoyleLi from Intel
* a custom ad terminator expression shown at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/87 `stackoverflow.com##a[href="/users/895245/ciro-santilli-%e6%96%b0%e7%96%86%e6%94%b9%e9%80%a0%e4%b8%ad%e5%bf%83%e6%b3%95%e8%bd%ae%e5%8a%9f%e5%85%ad%e5%9b%9b%e4%ba%8b%e4%bb%b6"]`
* https://gist.github.com/chenx6/97d912a6ef623f5142f69f44b580c1a0 replaces Ciro's username with "Ciro Santilli my mother died".
[[not-chinese]]
=== Non-Chinese people should not interfere in Chinese politics (外国人不应该干预中国政治)
* For better or worse, China and other countries happen to be located in the same planet.
If China's <<richer,economy>> is bad, the economy gets worse in other countries.
If China's <<howey-ou,environment is bad>>, the environment gets worse in other countries.
If China <<war,starts a war>>, other countries will have to fight it.
If China <<covid,fails to control a viral outbreak>>, other countries might get infected.
* <<tiananmen,Millions of Chinese people>> disagree with their government, but can't say anything about it, otherwise <<t-shirt,they will go straight to jail>>. See also: xref:most-chinese-people-like-their-dictatorship[xrefstyle=full]
* Chinese people have been brainwashed by the <<evil-west,commies who say that all foreigners are bad>>, more than the West has been brainwashed to think that he CCP is bad: <<brainwashed-by-usa>>
* China would never ever try to influence foreign countries, would it? E.g. <<belt-and-road-initiative>>, <<confucius-institute>>, <<cgtn>>.
* If I <<wife,marry a Chinese woman>>, my <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,mother-in-law might be unfairly put in jail>> :-)
* <<the-ccp-would-not-be-in-power-if-it-werent-for-the-second-sino-japanese-war>> and if the link:https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/how-stalin-elevated-the-chinese-communist-party-to-power-xinjiang-1949[Soviet Union helped out Mao]:
* You can't do anything about it.
In the end, this is what all politics comes down to: power.
In some sense, this may be similar to the CCP and any other political party.
But conversely: <<effective>>.
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=SRPiE59e8NU House of Cards S01E02 Officer: "Some guy was trying to get into the building, when we said "no" he started tearing his clothes off." Frank: "Nobody can hear you. Nobody cares about you. Nothing will come of this. Why don't you let these nice gentlemen take you home?" video clip. Interpretation: https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/94608/what-can-we-make-out-of-the-final-scene-from-house-of-cards-season-1-ep-2
Why don't you go instead <<shitpost,shitpost>> in one of the following repositories and which are written in Chinese by Chinese citizens, many of which have many times more stars than china-dictatorship, and therefore <<keyword-attack,are much more effective at taking down the GFW>>? <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>.
* <<is-ciro-santilli-chinese>>
Duplicate pool: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Ayou-are-not-chinese-argument
[[the-ccp-would-not-be-in-power-if-it-werent-for-the-second-sino-japanese-war]]
==== The CCP would not be in power if it weren't for the Second Sino-Japanese War (如果没有抗日战争,中共就不会执政)
TODO study further to confirm:
* https://www.quora.com/How-much-is-Japan-to-blame-for-the-KMT-losing-control-of-the-Chinese-mainland
* https://china-journal.org/2018/02/26/why-did-chiang-kai-shek-lose-china-the-guomindang-regime-and-the-victory-of-the-chinese-communist-party
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/毛泽东感谢日本争议
* https://www.japanpolicyforum.jp/diplomacy/pt20160517095311.html (Japanese state media, but cites sources)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Communist_Revolution mentions:
The French historian Lucien Bianco, however, is among those who question whether imperialism and "feudalism" explain the revolution.[7] He points out that the Chinese Communist Party did not have great success until the Japanese invasion of China after 1937. Before the war, the peasantry was not ready for revolution; economic reasons were not enough to mobilize them. More important was nationalism: "It was the war that brought the Chinese peasantry and China to revolution; at the very least, it considerably accelerated the rise of the CCP to power."
And China would be much much less technologically advanced had it come in contact with the West, from which it is still trying to learn/steal from: <<university-espionage>>.
Foreign influence can be both good or bad.
* http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2005/07/12/2003263221/ (BIASED) says:
War histories from both Japan and the Republic of China clearly indicate the scale of the CCP's "participation." From 1937 to 1945, there were 23 battles where both sides employed at least a regiment each. The CCP was not a main force in any of these. The only time it participated, it sent a mere 1,000 to 1,500 men, and then only as a security detachment on one of the flanks.
There were 1,117 significant engagements on a scale smaller than a regular battle, but the CCP fought in only one. Of the approximately 40,000 skirmishes, just 200 were fought by the CCP, or 0.5 percent.
Not even the CCP can provide any data on its number of casualties in the war, and there are no memorials to CCP heroes in the war to be found in China. This makes one wonder what China really did contribute
[[brainwashed-by-usa]]
==== Non-Chinese people have been brainwashed by the USA know nothing about China (非中国人被美国洗脑,对中国一无所知)
Everyone is "brainwashed" by their environment.
E.g. people in the West are brainwashed to believe in democracy, freedom of speech and human rights.
<<ciro-santilli>> doesn't doubt that Chinese people know more about China than him.
Saying that "someone is not Chinese, he does not understand China", is just an useless https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem[ad hominem] argument and closely related to <<not-chinese>>.
Since you know so much about China, why  why don't you just actually prove your point by teaching Ciro one single interesting about China that Ciro didn't know about? He loves learning new things.
But please, link to reference material instead of just saying it, it will be much more convincing.
But if you are Chinese, also consider that you have been brainwashed by the commies, so likely much more than Ciro since you live in a dictatorship.
See also: <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect>>.
[[evil-west]]
==== The CCP exaggerates the threat of the West to keep in power (中共夸大了西方要继续掌权的威胁)
First, obviously, <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect>>.
However, the CCP greatly exaggerates how evil the West is, because making your people constantly afraid is a classic strategy used by dictators to stay in power.
Or in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fable[fable] form:
Once upon a time, there was a farmer with a farm.
One day, the animals on the farm started feeling a bit trapped, and started bumping against the fence to get out.
The farmer, however, was smart, and told the animals:
Careful! There is a wolf outside! If you go out, you will be eaten by the wolf!
The animals, were not that smart, and listened to the farmer, they were afraid!
From time to time, one of the animals would disappear (and without their knowledge, reappear on the farmer's dinner table).
But the farmer kept giving the animals delicious food without them making any effort, so they decided to believe the farmer's explanation that animal had escaped and been eaten by the wolf.
Maybe, there was actually a wolf outside. But if they had escaped, only some of the animals would have been eaten by that wolf.
But by staying on the farm, all the animals were, sooner or later, eaten one by one.
TODO source.
This theme is also highlighted in many well known works/events.
North Korea for example, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_North_Korea[China's good and trusty friend], is just a caricatural level of this, since it manages to be more a <<dictatorship,dictatorship>> than even China itself!
In fiction, <<nineteen-eighty-four>> is undoubtedly the most prominent example, in which the Party constantly switches from being at <<war,war>> with one country to the other in a never ending https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_war[perpetual war] (exactly like North Korea vs South Korea, or China vs <<taiwan>>).
One of the best related quotes comes in Part Two, Chapter 9 when Winston reads Emmanuel Goldstein's subversive text, one of the chapters contains (emphasis by Ciro):
[[nineteen-eighty-four-war-is-peace]]
The war, therefore, if we judge it by the standards of previous wars, is merely an imposture. It is like the battles between certain ruminant animals whose horns are set at such an angle that they are incapable of hurting one another. But though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs. **War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal affair**. In the past, the ruling groups of all countries, although they might recognize their common interest and therefore limit the destructiveness of war, did fight against one another, and the victor always plundered the vanquished. In our own day they are not fighting against one another at all. The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact. The very word 'war', therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist. The peculiar pressure that it exerted on human beings between the Neolithic Age and the early twentieth century has disappeared and been replaced by something quite different. The effect would be much the same if the three super-states, instead of fighting one another, should agree to live in perpetual peace, each inviolate within its own boundaries. For in that case each would still be a self-contained universe, freed for ever from the sobering influence of external danger. A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war. This--although the vast majority of Party members understand it only in a shallower sense--is the inner meaning of the Party slogan: WAR IS PEACE.
This is also the first line of the party slogan, which perfectly resonates with the CCP:
WAR IS PEACE +
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY +
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
or in Part One, Chapter 3:
Since about that time, war had been literally continuous, though strictly speaking it had not always been the same war. For several months during his childhood there had been confused street fighting in London itself, some of which he remembered vividly. But to trace out the history of the whole period, to say who was fighting whom at any given moment, would have been utterly impossible, since no written record, and no spoken word, ever made mention of any other alignment than the existing one. At this moment, for example, in 1984 (if it was 1984), Oceania was at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia. In no public or private utterance was it ever admitted that the three powers had at any time been grouped along different lines. Actually, as Winston well knew, it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and in alliance with Eurasia. But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess because his memory was not satisfactorily under control. Officially the change of partners had never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement with him was impossible.
The theme is also mentioned in <<v-for-vendetta>>, where a <<covid,viral outbreak>> is used by governments to increase their power over the people.
https://youtu.be/74Mw3N6WxG0?t=174 Cant Get You Out of My Head S01E05 Part Five The Lordly Ones also (2021, BBC) mentions that a huge propaganda machinery was created to spread the fake news that <<tiananmen>> was an evil western plot.
Duplicate pool: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Aevil-west+
* https://github.com/dessalines/essays/blob/master/us_atrocities.md
[[friendly-west-china-moments]]
===== Friendly West-China moments (中西友好时刻)
====== United China Relief
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettis_Garside
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/葛思德
United China Relief was the largest humanitarian effort in the United States to aid the Chinese people up to that time. The organization, which was renamed United Service to China (USC) after the Second World War, raised over US$50 million in donations over ten ten years.
.1942 billboard by United China Relief that reads "3,000,000 Chinese have given their lives for democracy. What have you given?"
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/United_China_Relief_3_million_Chinese.jpg[height=400]
[[bias]]
=== Ciro Santilli and this page are completely biased against the Chinese Government! (三西猴和本页完全对中国政府有偏见!)
<<ciro-santilli>> prefers the term focused :-)
That being said, <<ciro-santilli>> takes the agenda of information sources very seriously.
E.g. he tries to clearly classify <<biased-media,Communist Party, Falun Gong, and Western government-linked information sources>>.
If we had more <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect>> content, then maybe this repository would be considered a more reputable source by Chinese people.
However, there are a few practical problems to that:
* there is freedom of speech in the West and people can already see that information on newspapers who have a million times more viewers than this repo (and still obviously no conclusion was reached), there's no need to repeat that here
Conversely, bad China news are always OK because, because those are all censored in China and help Chinese people learn about it.
* flooding <<evil-west>> posts is a primary <<wumao>> tactic
* <<evil-west>> information is already abundantly accessible to Chinese people in Chinese via any CCP media: <<chinese-government-media>>.
* <<preconceived,people's minds cannot be changed>>, and notably <<effective,not in a language that most people of a country don't understand>>. This is why the primary goal of this repo is the <<keyword-attack>>: it does not require changing people's opinions.
For those reasons, we currently forbid, posting several evil-West news without explaining why dictatorships handle it better. It would just generates more noise than signal.
If you do explain however why dictatorships/China handle it better, then the post is welcome.
Any political material that is censored by any country besides China, will also be readily accepted.
Any evidence of positive political progress towards freedom will also be added to this repo, e.g. people openly discussing politics online, human rights activists doing political stuff and not being put into jail, etc.
* <<flg-bias>>
* <<radical>>
[[throne]]
==== Ciro Santilli's claim to the Qing Dynasty throne (三西猴清朝皇帝觊觎)
Ciro Santilli's <<wife>>, her mother, and paternal cousin, believe that Ciro's wife is the descendant of the brother of a recent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qing_dynasty[Qing emperor] through her father's family.
Although they have not been able to produce concrete evidence, which could be explained by the endless political turmoils in 20th century China, Ciro decided that this would be a good bet to take, and married her anyway.
If anyone is able to provide further evidence of this relationship, please, please, please get in touch.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Qing dynasty, like the previous Ming dynasty, used https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_name[Generation names] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/行辈[行辈]), such that the first character of the given name is the same for all people in a given generation (counted directly from the first emperor that adopted the rule.
For example, this wiki page contains a good family tree of the most important Qing people: link:++https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_tree_of_Chinese_monarchs_(late)#Qing_dynasty++[] and we see that many important people around 1861 were Zai 載something, e.g.: Zaichun, Zaiyi, Zaitian, etc.
The last emperor was Puyi, so Pu is the last well known mark. But there were others planned that never got used for after him as shown at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisin_Gioro#List_of_generation_prefixes[].
* Zai (before Pu)
* Pu (wife's great-grandfather)
* Yu (wife's grandfather)
* Heng (wife's father)
* Qi (wife)
* Dao (wife's children). At least one thing is decided from this: Ciro's children Chinese names will all be Ai Dao Something.
The family tree that Ciro has reconstructed orally from his mother-in-law is:
* Ciro's wife:
** Father: Ai Dayi (艾大义) born: 1932 in Shenyang, see also: <<ciro-santilli-s-father-in-law>>
*** Father: Ai Xikang (艾锡康) So why did he not use Yu?
**** Father: Ai Pushan (艾溥?), so the Pu character is presumed from the generation name, to be the same generation as Puyi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaitao has a Pushen (溥伸), but he died at 13 years old in 1928, so its not the one.
**** Younger brother 2: Ai Xiyuan (艾锡?) Professor at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_University_(China) Apparently had no Children.
**** Younger brother 3: Ai Xicong (艾锡?) Graduated in law in Japan in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waseda_University[Waseda University] Was the top official of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Police_Agency_(Japan) in China when it was occupied by Japan (警察廳长) Passed first by Taiwan.
**** Younger brother 4: Ai Xiying (艾锡?)
**** Younger brother 5: Ai Xifu (艾锡?) Together with Ai Xiying, they were went to the Republic of China Military Academy and were high ranking officials in the war against the Japanese in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Sino-Japanese_War[] (八年抗战). Later was a congressman in Taiwan.
** Younger sister: Ai Shiping (艾世?)
** Older brother: Zhao Yingjie. Studied law in Japan also at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waseda_University[Waseda University].
Many of them have had different names in different places/countries, notably many used the name 肇(Zhao) rather than 艾.
Further anecdotal indicators follow.
Ciro's wife and family are clearly of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchu_people[Manchu ethnicity] just by looking at them, and they originally lived in the North East of China
His wife's family name is the very unusual 艾, pronounced "ai4", which she claims is a reference to the 愛(also pronounced ai4) in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisin_Gioro[愛新覺羅], which is the name of the Manchu ruling clan of the Qing dynasty.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_of_the_House_of_Aisin_Gioro
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/34813921 现在清朝皇室的后代现状如何? What is the current status of the descendants of the Qing royal family?
* https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-descendants-of-the-Qing-Dynasty-left-currently
* https://arxiv.org/pdf/1412.6274.pdf "Y Chromosome of Aisin Gioro, the Imperial House of Qing Dynasty" unknown year. Unfortunately Ciro's wife does not have an Y chromosome like her father. This does however mention the book used as a genealogy reference: https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/愛新覺羅宗譜.html?id=Pj4EAQAAIAAJ 愛新覺羅宗譜 On Douban: https://book.douban.com/subject/4162448/ gives ISBN 9787507713428 On Amazon unavailable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/7507713423[]. Lol this makes this repo show up at: https://paperswithcode.com/paper/y-chromosome-of-aisin-gioro-the-imperial
[[ciro-santilli-as-qing-emperor]]
.Ciro Santilli's portrait as Qing emperor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:清_郎世宁绘《清高宗乾隆帝朝服像》.jpg[Original image].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Ciro_Santilli_portrait_as_Qing_emperor.jpg[height=600]
[[ciro-santilli-s-father-in-law]]
==== Ciro Santilli's father-in-law (三西猴的)
Ciro's father-in-law, who he barely met, was very old when he had Ciro's wife, and passed away before Ciro could talk a lot with him, they only saw each other once or twice over Skype, he died soon afterwards.
Having a child late which is consistent with the claims that he spent several years in jail during <<mao-zedong,Mao's>> purges, see also: <<wife>>. Being an educated person was a crime in those days, and he was a chemical engineer.
His brother and sister both managed to escape to the USA and Japan, but he took his grandma's advice and stayed in China.
Ciro's wife adores her father, who she strongly resembles, and it is a huge shame Ciro didn't manage to meet him better.
Like his daughter, he was a bibliophile, foodie, Buddhist and incredibly morally upright.
The fact that he survived so many years in prison also attests to his incredible hopefulness and mental health: <<ciro-santilli-s-mother-in-law>> always tells how many other prisoners killed themselves in those days out of hopelessness. Ciro's wife shares that amazing quality, which Ciro also believes is compatible with the Royalty theory.
After jail, he actually stayed in the same shitty city where he had been imprisoned, and continued to work as a chemical engineer to make a living and try and improve the country that had so badly betrayed him a few years back.
He also seemed to be an amazing story teller, of which he knew many. At one point, a jail cook took him under his wing, even tough he did not know how to cook too well yet, just to hear his stores. Being highly intelligent, the father-in-law man learned to cook too of course.
Another remarkable episode is when he was working in the prison kitchen, and some man was starving and asked for food. He told the man to come later during the evening. The man came, and he gave him a bowl that seemed to be full of cooked vegetables (likely 白菜). The next day, the man came back, and kowtowed him. Beneath the vegetables, he had hidden some good chunks of then very precious meat!! This story https://cirosantilli.com/ciro-santilli-s-self-perceived-compassionate-personality[makes Ciro cry].
[[preconceived]]
==== Ciro Santilli has a preconceived opinion about China that cannot be changed (三西猴对中国成见很深,无法改变)
<<ciro-santilli>> tries to justify why he think China would be <<richer,better with democracy>>, but I know that ultimately all of this is useless.
Everyone's opinions are all determined genetically and by <<brainwashed-by-usa,bring-up>>, and there is nothing he can do to change yours, or you change his.
From that point of view, all of this is just a cold blooded political game, in which Ciro tries to force the CCP to take down the Firewall: <<why-keyword-attack>>.
Ciro never gets mad about China, even if your opinion is contrary to his, and therefore wrong.
Using the <<reply-policy,reply policy>> is one of the reasons why Ciro never gets mad.
Ciro also has doubts about the efficiency of certain things I do as expressed throughout this FAQ, e.g. <<embargo>>.
Also, Ciro have never said that anyone else is wrong.
In the end, he just end up thinking about new replies to things people say to him, and add them to this FAQ so that future replies will be faster to copy paste. See also: <<better-to-do>>.
The real goal of any online discussion, is not to convince people, but rather to determine who is an ally and who is not, and get those allies together to defeat the commies.
[[flg-bias]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli support Falun Gong just because his wife and mother-in-law do it? (三西猴是否仅仅因为他的妻子和岳母就支持法轮功?)
Not consciously, Ciro thinks would likely support them even if I didn't have family ties to <<falun-gong>>.
Likely he wouldn't have started this campaign if he didn't know them of course.
But of course, this is impossible to answer objectively.
Wouldn't you be rather upset if your <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,mother in law were put into jail unfairly for 15 days>>?
But don't you think that <<flg-important,**70 million** people (6% of the total population in 2000!)>> getting completely squashed by the Party illustrates extremely well the dangers of the dictatorship?
Or if a <<nazi,Jew has escaped a concentration camp>> and told the world about its horrors, would you just dismiss their claims due to their biased opinion?
With that in mind, Ciro tries his best to give FLG only the right level of exposure I think it deserves relative to other events, according to these guidelines: <<keyword-choice>>.
If more recent events of mass human rights violations happen, especially affecting in the order of tens of million people, I will probably rank higher than Falun Gong, this was the case for <<xinjiang,Xinjiang in 2019>> for example, even though it only affected a measly million.
[[why-did-ciro-santilli-start-his-keyword-attack]]
==== Why did Ciro Santilli start his keyword attack? (为什么三西猴开始他的关键字攻击?)
The last straw that led <<ciro-santilli>> to start the <<keyword-attack>> on <<stack-overflow>> was when on March 2015 his girlfriend's mother was arbitrarily kept 15 days in jail for doing <<falun-gong>>. He posted about this at:
* https://twitter.com/cirosantilli/status/579270450984984576
* https://www.facebook.com/cirosantilli/posts/952661734753174
He then continued because he hate political <<censorship,censorship>>, and because <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,I love China>>.
Every time Ciro thinks about this, he notices how stupid humans are. We see the forest fire smoke, and just never think that it will ever reach your home on the border of the forest.
Until it actually does, and then you are really fucked.
So in a sense it was a good thing that Ciro had this little backyard fire with this mother-in-law, as it woke him up further to how serious the CCP thread was, and led him to action.
Because before that, he was one of the majority who just constantly hears about the increasing mountain of evidence of human rights violations, and does nothing about it.
The https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkest_Hour_(film)[Darkest Hour (2017) film] comes to mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA1Uz_TMzhs[]. The movie shows that Britain was truly hesitant whether to negotiate or fight Hitler, even after the Nazis had already started invading other European countries, and would clearly not stop. Luckily, we are not at a position of war yet, and might never be due to nuclear weapons. But still, a similar blindness applies. <<covid>> woke up many people, but even then some haven't faced it.
[[ciro-santilli-s-mother-in-law]]
===== Ciro Santilli's mother-in-law (三西猴的岳母)
Put in jail for 15 days for doing Falun Gong in 2015: <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail>>.
Some related remarks: <<flg-daily>>.
[[ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail]]
===== Ciro Santilli's post when his mother-in-law was put into jail for doing Falun Gong (岳母因修炼法轮功入狱时的帖子)
Maybe some people would be happy if their mother-in-law were put into jail. But unfortunately, this wasn't the case for <<ciro-santilli>>.
.<<ciro-santilli>> with his soon-to-be mother-in-law before his wedding in 2017. Annoying? Sometimes. But threat to the fucking Chinese State? How fucked does your political system have to be for the answer to be a "yes"?
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Ciro_Santilli_with_his_mother_in_law_during_his_wedding_in_2017.jpg[height=600]
====== Jail post en
My girlfriend's mother, a 63 year old lady, was kept 15 days inside a Chinese "correctional facility" because she does Falun Gong.
She had to stay all the time in a small room with a bed and a toilet, under video surveillance, being fed three meager meals a day.
I see Falun Gong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong as just another <<flg-religion,moderate religion>> which causes no harm to its believers. The only reason that it is unofficially outlawed in China is because the communists fear it as a political competitor.
There was no trial and no explanation. She was going to take a train to visit her sister. But she didn't know that there was an important political event happening in the capital: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_National_People's_Congress So the police at the station, who already knew she did Falun Gong, took her away.
When she came back home, the house had been searched and was all messed up. Her religious books and computer were missing.
I'm glad she was not physically harmed. I find it fascinating how even well educated Chinese support a government which simply does not represent some of its people. How will you feel <<intolerance,when something like that happens to your own family, and there is nothing you can do about it>>?
====== Jail post zh
Translation by <<why-does-ciro-santilli-love-china-so-much,my wife>>:
我女朋友的母亲,一位63岁的女士被监禁在一个中国的"劳教所",只因为她炼法轮功。
她被迫待在一个小屋子里面,只有一张床和一个排泄的地方,一直处在监视器下,每天两个窝头一碗只有几个白菜叶的汤。
我看过法轮功https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong 只是一个和平的信仰,对相信它的人没有任何坏处。它在中国被非官方的定为违法(其实没有一项明确法律禁止),唯一的原因就是工产党害怕它是一个政治竞争对手。
没有审讯没有任何解释。她正准备坐火车去看她的姐姐。但是她并不知道那个时候有重要的政治会议正在首都进行:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_National_People's_Congress
所以那些知道她炼法轮功的铁路警察把她带走了。
当她回到家中时,房子被搜查过了,四处一切混乱。她的信仰书籍和电脑都没有了。
我很庆幸的是她身体并没有受到伤害。我觉得很意思的是一些受过良好教育的中国人怎么能够迫害一部分它的人民的政府呢?如果这样的事情发生在你的家庭,而你什么都不能做,你会怎么想?
====== Jail post pt
Translation by myself:
A mãe da minha namorada ficou 15 dias num "centro de correção" chines porque ela faz Falun Gong.
Ela ficou o tempo todo num quarto pequeno com uma cama e banheiro, sobe videovigilância, recebendo 3 refeições pequenas por dia.
Para mim, o Falun Gong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong é apenas mais uma religião moderada que não causa nenhum problema para seus crentes. A única razão pela qual ele é proibido na China é porque os comunistas tem medo dele como competidor politico.
Não houve julgamento nem explicação. Ela ia pegar um trem para ver sua irmã, mas ela não sabia que teria um evento político importante na capital: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_National_People's_Congress Então a polícia da estação, que já sabia que ela faz Falun Gong pegou ela.
Quando ela voltou pra casa, a casa tinha sido procurada pela polícia e estava uma bagunça. Os livros religiosos e seu computador foram confiscados.
Eu fico feliz apenas que ela não sofreu abuso físico. Eu acho fascinante como mesmo muitos chineses educados apoiam ainda um governo que não representa parte do povo. Como você vai se sentir quando algo do tipo acontecerá com a sua família, e você não pode fazer nada sobre isso?
[[further-details-about-ciro-santilli-s-mother-in-law-s-persecution]]
===== Further details about Ciro Santilli's mother-in-law's persecution (三西猴岳母受迫害的更多细节)
March 2015: 15 days in jail for no reason: https://www.facebook.com/cirosantilli/posts/952661734753174[]. They took her computer. When she left jail, she asked to get it back, and a cop said they would only give it back if she paid 10,000 yuan for it.
June 2017: 3 cops came to her house. She was there. They asked if she still did Falun Gong. She said yes. They took photos of her Falun Gong books/posters. They were polite.
October 2017: 7 - 8 cops came to her house _at 11PM_. They knocked the door strongly and made noise, and questioned neighbours of her whereabouts. Luckily she was not there.
===== In the Tweet about his mother in law, Ciro Santilli says "correctional facility", but reeducation through labour has been abolished
He was not very precise https://twitter.com/cirosantilli/status/579270450984984576[here], the precise term is "jail". He was _not_ talking about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re-education_through_labor Unfortunately it is not possible to edit a Tweet.
[[china-is-fine-as-it-is-stop-making-it-worse]]
=== China is fine as it is, stop making it worse (中国很好,别让它变得更糟)
Welcome to the wonderful world of democracy, a world where people can have different political opinions than you :-)
If you are so fine, why are you reading this at all? Go back to being fine.
* <<why-end-dictatorship>>
* <<preconceived>>
[[i-like-my-dictatorship]]
==== I like my Dictatorship (我喜欢我的独裁统治)
Ciro Santilli can understand that.
It must feel good to have <<li-hongzhi,absolute truth>> in the <<ccp-cult,Cult of Xi>>, and let the black police <<against-censorship-and-flg,get rid of weirdos for you>>.
But when the dictatorship turns again you our your family, will you fight, or will you just let them do whatever they want because they can never be wrong? See also: <<intolerance>>.
And when your son <<man-in-the-high-castle,betrays you or sacrifices himself for the Dictator>>, will you just smile and accept it?
See: <<seventeen-moments-of-spring>>
[[seventeen-moments-of-spring]]
===== Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973, 春天的十七个瞬间, Soviet series about a Soviet spy against the Nazis, 关于苏联间谍反对纳粹的苏联系列)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeen_Moments_of_Spring
* https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Семнадцать_мгновений_весны_(телефильм)
<<russia,Soviet>> mini-series about about Stierlitz, who is an undercover Soviet spy acting as a Nazi officer in <<nazi,Nazi Germany during WW2>>.
As a fun note, it seems that <<putin>> is a Stierlitz fan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stierlitz#cite_note-Sakwa-5[], and Putin also served in Germany like Stierlitz, but in Dresden, which was in East Germany.
A scene from the awesome mini-series comes to mind when thinking about <<i-like-my-dictatorship>>.
In Episode 7, Stierlitz travels on a train with a Nazi officer.
The war is almost over, and the desolate officer tells Stierlitz:
I told my children: I hate any democracy!
No democracy in our Reich!
Any democracy in our country is doomed to end up with one thing: the dictatorship of small shopkeepers.
The more freedom we have, the sooner we want to be controlled by SS troops again.
And then we want our the secret police back, and concentration death camps again, and the universal fear everywhere! Only then we feel calm and secure.
No need to prove your point of view in defending the fate of the homeland.
No responsibility.
Just raise your hand in honor of him, <<xi-jinping,who will take care of everything for you>>,
Just shout out "Hail Hitler!" and everything will become understandable.
No more worries.
.https://youtu.be/pc6DP1jNEec?list=PLHiAMOiVIvsD2u8g0RLwvdRScEe9yiUr5&t=1527 Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973), Episode 7, general confession scene.
video::pc6DP1jNEec[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=2086]
It is amusing to see Soviet series criticizing dictatorships, given that the Soviet Union was itself a major dictatorship!
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xoM6-1SWl4&t=191 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Living_Dead_(TV_series)[The Living Dead] Episode 1: On the Desperate Edge of Now by Adam Curtis (1995) describes how the <<nazi,Nazis>>, disilusioned by both <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect,democracy>> and communism, built Nationalism by creating a mythical past. In Nationalism, the individuals would <<flg-cult,surrenders themselves to the State>>.
video::4xoM6-1SWl4[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=191]
[[most-chinese-people-like-their-dictatorship]]
===== Most Chinese people like their dictatorship (中国大众支持他们的独裁)
It is easy to reach an agreement, when <<chinese-dissidents,everyone who disagrees>> goes to jail or gets killed for to <<inciting-subversion>> or <<picking-quarrels>>.
This is exactly <<goring-nuremberg,Herman Goring said in his appearances on the Nuremberg trials>> to justify <<nazi,the atrocities of Nazism>>.
Also ask the millions of people who were affected by <<tiananmen>>, <<falun-gong>>, <<xinjiang>> or <<dissidents>>.
One is reminded of the game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Happy_Few["We Happy Few" (2018)], which which people are forced to be happy. <<nineteen-eighty-four>> also comes to mind of course.
The interesting thing, is that even those pro-CCP are much more likely to stay anonymous because:
* you never know when something you said will become a sin against some new trend of the dictatorship
* when the dictatorship inevitably falls, you would be persecuted by the victorious freedom fighters
.Westerner: "How is life in China?" Chinese: "Oh, we can't complain." Westerner: "That's awesome." Chinese: "No, seriously... we can't." is a word play between the more common "we can't complain because everything is great" and "we can't complain because <<xi-jinping,Xi>> will <<censorship,make us disappear>>". https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3933168[Source]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/We_cant_complain.jpg[height=600]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/We_cant_complain_zh.jpg[height=600]
[[scarfolk-public-displays-of-personal-distress-are-unpatriotic]]
."Public displays of personal distress are unpatriotic" spoof poster by <<scarfolk-council>> (2017). https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/2017/10/illegal-public-displays-of-emotion.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Scarfolk_public_displays_of_personal_distress_are_unpatriotic.jpg[height=500]
[[goring-nuremberg]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xoM6-1SWl4&t=1606 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Living_Dead_(TV_series)[The Living Dead] Episode 1: On the Desperate Edge of Now by Adam Curtis (1995) comments on how interviews with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Göring[Hermann Goring] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/赫尔曼·戈林[赫尔曼·戈林]) during the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_trials[Nuremberg trials] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/纽伦堡审判[纽伦堡审判]) went: "Again and again, Jackson accused Goring of corruptly using his powers to commit crimes. Each time, Goring replied that such acts might be considered crimes in a democratic state, but that in Germany, democracy had failed. Eliminating the political opposition was necessary, to fulfill a higher principle: that of the Nation. And that it had worked, Goring insisted. It had brought order and prosperity to Germany". Jackson asks: "Well, if you wanted a certain people killed, you would have to have some organization that would kill them didn't you?". Goring replies: "This was the only possible form of government at the time and it proved that Germany could be pulled out of the abyss of misery, poverty and unemployment and withing a short space of time be made flourish and bloom." This is _exactly_ the justification given by the <<ccp,CCP>> for oppressing minorities and <<censorship,freedom of speech>>: the CCP is indistinguishable from the <<nazi,Nazis>>.
video::4xoM6-1SWl4[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=1606]
[[anonymous-middle-fingers]]
.Presumed Chinese people giving the middle finger (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/豎中指[竖中指]) to various <<ccp>> symbols, most notably <<xi-jinping>>. Even if this was made by the CIA, it perfectly illustrates the point that obviously no one speaks against the CCP because otherwise they will be put in jail. If you are going to do this, for Fuck's Sake please cover your fingers, like the ones using gloves, or the banknotes, because if the photo resolution is good enough, you could be identified by your fingerprint. A <<reddit,r/China>> https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/obmgdh/not_all_of_us_are_brainwashed_沉默的大多数/[repost]. This photo seems to be the result of a campaign started by <<gfwfrog>> in response to the 100th anniversary of the Party in 2021. This was also explained at: https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/667778.html[] on <<china-digital-times>>. Related: <<anonymous-account-ban>>. https://twitter.com/GFWfrog/status/1410927334719430662[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Anonymous_middle_fingers.jpg[height=800]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y2FIqfIpiw (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/409[GitHub reupload]) Give <<xi-jinping>> the middle finger silly GIF by <<gfwfrog>> 给习近平竖中指由墙国蛙蛤蛤傻逼视频. https://twitter.com/GFWfrog/status/1408805483679469579[Source].
video::_y2FIqfIpiw[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zndzntIDLFE IGN review of the "We Happy Few" (2018) game.
video::zndzntIDLFE[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[chilling-effect]]
====== Chilling effect (寒蝉效应)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/寒蟬效應_(法律)
It is really interesting to see how many people star the <<mirrors,GitHub repository>>, and then a few minutes later they think about how they might get put in jail, and then unstar it.
Unstarring events are exceedingly rare in Ciro's other repositories.
The expression https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-expression-two-steps-forward-one-step-back-mean[two steps forward, one step back] comes to mind.
Luckily in this case, it does not seem possible to view who unstarred a repository after the fact:
* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51072418/how-can-i-determine-when-a-user-unstarred-a-repo-using-the-github-graphql-api
[[my-paranoia-as-a-russian-youtuber]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-hCdbsyWw0 "my paranoia as a Russian YouTuber" by <<nfkrz>> (2020) talks about the <<chilling-effect>>
video::_-hCdbsyWw0[youtube,height=400,width=600]
====== View all users who starred a repository on GitHub including those who unstarred
The <<chilling-effect>> is extremelly visible on GitHub.
<<ciro-santilli>> is able to see this easily because the star notification remains in the GitHub dashboard even after unstarring.
However, star events are also publicly visible permanently on events API under the WatchEvent: https://docs.github.com/en/developers/webhooks-and-events/events/github-event-types#watchevent
This appears to get them all from https://www.gharchive.org/[GitHub Archive]'s Google BigQuery up to the last whole month:
SELECT actor.login, MAX(created_at)
FROM `githubarchive.month.*`
WHERE type = 'WatchEvent'
AND repo.name = 'cirosantilli/china-dictatorship'
GROUP BY actor.login
ORDER BY MAX(created_at) DESC
Ciro verified that does include people who unstarred.
That one exceeds the free data limits as of December 2021 however, so you need to select more specific months/years at a time. Note that year data is only released once every year.
The following ranges manage to get all data as December 2021 for free:
FROM `githubarchive.year.201*`
FROM `githubarchive.month.2021*`
supposing that unique starrers
You can then "Save results" as CSV to view all users.
There don't appear to be unstar events however. You can see single people star multiple times, which means that each new star gives a new row, which is why we do the `GROUP BY`.
[[intolerance]]
===== Most Chinese people don't care about the minorities (大多数中国人不关心少数民族)
How can you be that certain that your children won't have dissident ideas and be punished unfairly for them?
Intolerance is a risky way to live. Everyone is part of one minority in one way. If all minorities were oppressed, everyone would be oppressed.
Dictatorships crush minorities much more than democracies.
Do think the majority of the Chinese people would vote to put 50 year old <<falun-gong>> meditating <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,aunties in jail>>, if the CCP hadn't made a huge propaganda campaign and used an iron fist?
Are the Chinese really that selfish to vote for this oppression, even as the <<censorship,free media>> would show videos of meditating old ladies in jail on national television? <<ciro-santilli>> does not believe this.
Minorities are put in jail because the CCP fears them. Dictatorships can only survive if there is zero difference in opinion in the population.
The famous quote from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Beatrice_Hall[Evelyn Beatrice Hall] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/伊夫林·比阿特丽斯·霍尔[伊夫林·比阿特丽斯·霍尔]) comes to mind:
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. +
我不同意你的意见,但我以死捍卫你说话的权利"
* <<first-they-came>>
* <<rule-of-law>>
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intolerance_(film)[Intolerance (1916) film]
[[first-they-came]]
====== First they came (起初他們)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/起初他們……
This text comes in relation to the <<intolerance>> shown by <<stupid,brainwashed>> Chinese to the oppression of minrities. In it, <<nazi,the priest Martin Niemöller regrets not having supported the rights of his opponents that were unfairly treated by the Nazi Government>>:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out +
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out +
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out +
Then they came for me +
and there was no one left to speak for me.
A translation from Wikipedia:
起初,纳粹抓共产党人的时候,
我沉默,因为我不是共产党人。
当他们抓社会民主主义者的时候,
我沉默,因为我不是社会民主主义者。
当他们抓工会成员的时候,
我沉默,因为我不是工会成员。
当他们抓犹太人的时候,
我沉默,因为我不是犹太人。
最后当他们来抓我时,
再也没有人站起来为我说话了。
[[it-is-fine-for-the-ccp-to-treat-some-of-its-citizens-unfairly-if-the-majority-is-better-off]]
====== It is fine for the CCP to treat some of its citizens unfairly if the majority is better off (如果大多数人过得更好,那么中共不公平地对待一些公民是可以的)
* <<intolerance>>
* <<uneducated-masses>>
[[this-is-ciro-santilli-s-personal-problem-we-have-nothing-to-do-with-it-stop-punishing-us-for-it]]
====== This is Ciro Santilli's personal problem, we have nothing to do with it, stop punishing us for it (这是三西猴的个人问题,我们与此无关,不要因此而惩罚我们)
We have to fight for justice for our fellows, or else when injustice happens to us, no one will fight for use either: <<intolerance>>.
Every form of protest incurs some damage. E.g., if we manifest on the street, it generates a traffic jam.
<<ciro-santilli>> doesn't like it, but he thinks it is worth it.
If you just work to make money and have a good life, without any plans to improve the government, you are just making the economy of the dictatorship stronger, then when they start a <<war,war>> or kill yet another minority, blood will also be on your hands. See also: <<what-should-western-countries-do-about-china>>.
[[stability]]
====== If anyone disagrees with the government they must be punished to keep the stability of the country (如果有人不同意政府,他们必须受到惩罚以保持国家的稳定)
Destroying diversity is the best way to reach a point where everyone can agree to start <<war,a new big war and destroy everything>>.
The CCP thrives on the excessive <<evil-west,fear it instigates into its own people>>.
How can society improve, if we are never allowed to try new things out?
Change in democracies does not require <<violence,violence>>. Violence happens because the government punishes any dissidence, even if pacific, to retain its own power.
In democracies, radical policy changes happen without dropping a single drop of blood. People vote, and policies change, end of the story. In https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy[JFK's] words:
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_revolution#As_it_relates_to_democracy
* https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Address_on_the_First_Anniversary_of_the_Alliance_for_Progress
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXRG7yiqR3I Passage of Kennedy's discourse that contains the quote "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable".
[[why-china]]
=== There are bad things happening all over the world, why doesn't Ciro Santilli fight for those causes as well/instead? (世界各地都有不好的事情发生,为什么三西猴不为这些原因而战/相反?)
We have to choose the one we think is the worst, and focus on it.
What is worse is a subjective choice. For <<ciro-santilli>>:
* he <<why-does-ciro-santilli-love-china-so-much,loves China and Ciro's Chinese wife>>, see also: <<bias>>, and doesn't want it to get fucked further by the CCP
* he hates dictatorships, and China is the largest one by population/GDP/link:https://www.ploughshares.org/world-nuclear-stockpile-report[nuclear stockpile], and therefore <<war,the most dangerous>>
Ciro <<keyword-choice,SO username>> and <<better-to-do,protest time>> are not infinite.
However, it is good that different people have different interests, and someone will surely be fighting for whatever cause you care about.
* <<russia>>
* <<thailand>>
* <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect>>
[[western-democracies-are-not-perfect]]
==== Western democracies are not perfect (西方的民主有很多缺点)
That is definitely true.
Nothing is perfect in this world.
<<ciro-santilli>> just believes that they are way better than a <<dictatorship>> like China, and that the Chinese government <<evil-west,brainwashes its people to think that the West is evil to stay in power>>.
As link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority[Churchill] once brilliantly link:https://richardlangworth.com/worst-form-of-government[put it]:
Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
However, this is all obviously subjective, and believing that dictatorship is a better form of government is also a valid belief, e.g. <<dictatorship-variability>>.
If you find an event on a Western democracy that you would like to highlight, send a pull request.
We will not however include events that are not currently censored.
Every country did fucked-up things in the past, the question is if they currently allow discussion about it or not.
Posts that only mention <<evil-west,"evil West">> non-censored events without adding anything to the discussion will be marked as <<shitpost>> and treated as such, since spamming those is the primary <<wumao>> technique to stop intelligent discussion.
The reason why "Evil China" posts are not shitposts in general on the other hand, is that they have one specific purpose: <<why-keyword-attack, to destroy censorship>>.
This "Western censorship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copypasta[copypasta] string" https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/gct0ox/all_moderation_services_suspended_for_the_next_24/fpeends/[was posted automatically] by a bot during <<anti-ccp-info-sources,r/China>> purge day:
North Dakota Access Pipeline Protests 北达科他州接入管道抗议 +
Ferguson Riots 弗格森暴动 +
2017 St. Louis protests2017 年圣路易斯抗议活动 +
Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll 比基尼环礁的核试验 +
Unite the Right rally 团结右集会 +
Charlotte riots 夏洛特暴动 +
Attack on the Sui-ho Dam 袭击穗河水坝 +
Milwaukee riots 密尔沃基骚乱 +
Shooting of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile 奥尔顿·斯特林和菲兰多·卡斯蒂利亚的射击 +
Occupation of the Malheur NationalWildlife Refuge Malheur国家野生动物保护区的占领 +
death of Freddie Gray 弗雷迪·格雷的死 +
Shooting of Michael Brown迈克尔·布朗的拍摄 +
death of Eric Garner, Oakland California 奥克兰奥克兰市埃里克·加纳(Eric Garner)逝世 +
Operation Condor 神鹰行动 +
Occupy WallStreet 占领华尔街 +
My Lai Massacre 我的大屠杀 +
St. Petersburg, Florida 佛罗里达州圣彼得堡 +
Kandahar Massacre 坎大哈屠杀 +
1992 Washington Heights riots 1992年华盛顿高地暴动 +
No Gun Ri Massacre 无枪杀案 +
L.A. Rodney King riots 洛杉矶罗德尼·金暴动 +
1979 Greensboro Massacre 1979年格林斯伯勒大屠杀 +
Vietnam War 越南战争 +
Kent State shootings肯特州枪击案 +
Bombing of Tokyo 轰炸东京 +
San Francisco Police Department Park Station bombing 旧金山警察局公园站爆炸案 +
Assassination of MartinLuther King, Jr. 小马丁·路德·金遭暗杀。 +
Long Hot Summer of 1967 1967年炎热的夏天 +
Bagram 巴格拉姆 +
Selma to Montgomery marches 塞尔玛到蒙哥马利游行 +
Highway of Death 死亡之路 +
Ax Handle Saturday 星期六斧头 +
Battle of Evarts 埃瓦茨战役 +
Battle ofBlair Mountain 布莱尔山战役 +
McCarthyism 麦卡锡主义 +
Red Summer 红色夏天 +
Rock Springs massacre 岩泉大屠杀 +
Pottawatomie massacre 盆大屠杀 +
Jeju uprising 济州起义 +
Colfaxmassacre 科尔法克斯大屠杀 +
Reading Railroad massacre 阅读铁路大屠杀 +
Bay viewMassacre 湾景大屠杀 +
Lattimer massacre 拉蒂默大屠杀 +
Ludlow massacre 拉德洛屠杀 +
Everett massacre 埃弗里特屠杀Centralia Massacre 中部大屠杀 +
Ocoee massacre Ocoee大屠杀 +
Herrin Massacre 赫林大屠杀 +
Redwood Massacre红木大屠杀 +
Columbine Mine Massacre 哥伦拜恩矿难 +
Guantanamo Bay 关塔那摩湾 +
extraordinary rendition 非凡的演绎 +
Abu Ghraib torture and prison abuse 阿布格莱布的酷刑和监狱虐待 +
Henry Kissinger 亨利·基辛格
<<iranian-coup-1953>> +
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-Nation_Alliance[Eight-Nation Alliance] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/八國聯軍[八國聯軍]) (1900) +
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unequal_treaty[Unequal treaty] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/不平等条约[不平等条约]) (1842-1933) +
* <<richer>>
* <<bias>>
* <<the-united-states-has-recently-started-several-wars-and-killed-millions>>
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_imperialism
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signe_Wilkinson[Signe Wilkinson] 2017 Free Speech "Can you just move it so it doesn't cover them?" (TODO proper translation, with a quickly fixed up Google Translate: 你可以移动雨伞以使其不会遮盖住他们吗?) umbrella cartoon. Ciro once saw a <<wumao>> post this. It made him smile. If the cartoon were about <<dictatorship,dictatorships>>, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam[Uncle Sam] would be instead <<intolerance,decapitating and raping the people on one half of the umbrella>>. Of course humans are <<flg-intolerance,shit in democracies as well>>, but at least that system makes it harder for them to oppress each other. http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=161799[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Free_speech_umbrella.jpg[height=400]
.At https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/260 ((https://archive.ph/mtZeM[archive])a <<wumao>> posted this image of <<amnesty-international>> protesters outside the American embassy in London in September 2008 protesting against the Guantanamo Bay camps. The wumao used this to criticize Guantanamo bay, saying that it was like <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>> but in the USA, apparently unaware that this was a staged protest. So it actually has the exact opposite effect than intended: because there is no <<censorship>>, here people in the West can together to denounce something they don't like. Imagine if a crowd of 100 people in China got together to denounce the Xinjiang camps! They'd go to jail immediately. Furthermore as Ciro repeated a million times: Guantanamo bay detainees are not American citizens, and democracies cannot fully protect people who can't vote. In China however, no one can vote, so everyone can be oppressed. https://kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/171145[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Guantanamo_bay_protest_London_2008.jpg[height=600]
[[henri-meyer]]
.French political cartoon from 1898 by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Meyer[Henri Meyer] showing leaders of Western powers, Russia and Japan splitting up China between them. The CCP would arguably <<not-chinese,not have raised to power if not due to Japanese interference>>. Maybe the West deserves the <<nazi,Nazi>> CCP they helped create, much like post World War I treaties helped create Nazi Germany. Colonialism was horrendous. As a Brazillian, <<ciro-santilli>> knows this all too well. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:China_imperialism_cartoon.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/China_imperialism_cartoon.jpg[height=500]
<span id="the-west-is-racist-against-black-people">
[[two-wrongs]]
===== Two wrongs don't make a right (积非成是)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_wrongs_don%27t_make_a_right
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/積非成是
[[racist-west]]
===== The West is racist against black people (西方人对黑人有种族主义)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_the_United_States
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/美国种族主义
Label: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3Aracist-west[racist-west]
<<wumao,wumaos>> notably mention:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_George_Floyd[George Floyd]
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/乔治·弗洛伊德之死[乔治·弗洛伊德之死]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_can%27t_breathe
<<wumao>>'s started posting "I can't breathe" everywhere, to which some people on Twitter replied "I can't tweet" and <<rebel-pepper>> made a cartoon: https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/twitter-china-cartoon-06052020164712.html
The murder video went viral and was not taken down (would have been in China), all four officers were charged, and the event sparked nation wide protests:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter (黑人的命也是命)
Of course there is racism in the West. And we must recognize that, and fight it.
But <<ciro-santilli>> feels strongly that the Chinese are also obviously at least as racist against blacks, if not more, based on conversations he's had/overheard, and other circumstantial indications:
* https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/25/coronavirus-exposed-china-history-racism-africans-guangzhou
Oh, and the USA, and other Western countries besides Germany, were also racist against Jews, e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman[Richard Feynman] could not be admitted in certain universities due to a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_quota[Jewish quota], even though he was not a believer himself, therefore based on race alone!
.Racism in the West vs racism in China. Of course there is racism in the West against black people. But the people have the choice to speak up against it to try and change things. In China however, speaking up against Muslim racism, means going to jail. Image sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:George_Floyd_neck_knelt_on_by_police_officer.png[murder of George Floyd], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:George_Floyd_protests_in_Philadelphia_02.jpg[George Floyd protests in Philadelphia], https://mvslim.com/re-education-camps-for-muslims-chinas-muslim-community-the-uyghurs-are-facing-a-new-level-of-oppression[Xinjiang prisoners], https://www.reuters.com/world/china/what-people-said-hong-kong-tiananmen-anniversary-2021-06-04/[Tiananmen Square on 2021-06-03], the anniversary of <<tiananmen>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Racism_in_the_West_vs_China_George_Floyd_vs_Xinjiang.jpg[height=700]
[[we-dont-hire-blacks-by-aaron-dewitt-2020]]
====== We Don't Hire Blacks by Aaron Dewitt (我们不雇用黑人, 2020)
This amazing video was originally uploaded to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d81mEbL8Yw8 by <<aaron-dewitt>> on 2020-09-21 but it was down as of 2021-06-21. Last <<wayback-machine>> archive as of that date: 2020-11-03.
The video description was:
This is an exposé of racist companies that I worked for, some of which operate in the United States and Canada, all of which are headquartered in China.
In it, Aaron describes his experiences with the recruitment team of one of his former employers, an unnamed "Chinese ed-tech company in Beijing", for which he worked in human resources. In another also deleted video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uFGGunRxc he mentions that he cannot mention the name of the company because he was under NDA.
Notably, in that video, he gives several screenshots of Google Sheets spreadsheets with explicitly racist reasons why people were not hired, one of which is <<we-dont-hire-blacks-screenshot,reproduced here>>. Examples of such reasons include:
* "Skin color"
* "Non-Caucasian"
* "62-years old"
* "elderly"
* "Hispanic"
He mentions:
On the first day at this company, I had an orientation with my supervisor Ng, who is the head of the training department. She told me:
"We hire blacks. Obama black is OK. But no darker, or they'll scare the kids. The kids will think they're some kind of monster!"
which would lead parents to just go to a competitor instead. Then he mentions about the Google Sheets documents that:
They shared this document with the entire management team in Beijing, and everyone not only knew, but expected this discrimination to take place.
In the video he also explains how he once went to a 2 week holiday to Bali, and when he came back with his skin darker due to the tanning, he was reprimanded by a manager, who said that he could not work looking like that.
He explicitly mentions later the video that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIPKid[VIPKid], for which he did not work, is a similar company in nature, but not the one he is talking about.
Wikipedia mentions about VIPKid
Its online-classroom portal enables students to receive 25-minute English language lessons from fluent English-speaking teachers.
In March 2019, VIPKid fired two American teachers for discussing the 1989 <<tiananmen>> and <<taiwan>> with their students in China. Teachers have also reported witnessing child abuse when teaching lessons, but they found little recourse to report such issues.
As of 2021-05-05, the banner image of VIPKid's website explicitly includes a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokenism[token black person]: https://web.archive.org/web/20210505045920/https://www.vipkid.com/[], so their PR department clearly caught air of this. This is however only a frontend for hiring American teachers. The real Chinese client website https://www.vipkid.com.cn/[], rest assured, contains no black people: (https://web.archive.org/web/20210424032446/https://www.vipkid.com.cn/[archive])
VIPKids had a 3 billion valuation in https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/chinas-vipkid-which-links-native-english-speakers-with-online-learners-raises-another-500m-reportedly-at-3b-valuation/
Wikipedia links as one of its sources to this 2019 article https://www.wired.com/story/when-online-teaching-job-becomes-window-child-abuse/[] which mentions:
Of the dozens of companies vying to cash in on the tutoring business, it is by far the largest, having raised $825 million in investment capital since its founding. Other major players include Qkids, Magic Ears, DaDa, and Gogokid, all based in China.
so it is overwhelmingly likely that one of those is the one mentioned Aaron is talking about:
* Qkids
* Magic Ears
* DaDa
* Gogokid
Later in the video Aaron mentions that the company in question "basically went bankrupt".
He also mentions that he later worked for https://www.forbes.com/companies/offcn-education-technology/?sh=6d49822b4e45[offcn], which is run by the Chinese Government, and they would absolutely not hire black people.
[[we-dont-hire-blacks-screenshot]]
.Screenshot of the video <<we-dont-hire-blacks-by-aaron-dewitt-2020>> showing a list racist job interview candidate rejection reasons.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/We_don_t_hire_blacks_by_Aaron_DeWitt_2020.jpg[height=500]
[[western-democracies-have-invaded-other-countries-and-crushed-separatism]]
===== Western democracies have invaded other countries and crushed separatism (西方民主国家侵略别国粉碎分裂主义)
Yes, <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect,Western democracies are not perfect>>.
What matters is that citizens can disagree with those actions, publicly say it, vote accordingly, and not go to jail, so that policy will be changed if the majority so wants.
In China, the minority controls the majority, and the majority cannot say anything even if they disagree.
If the majority wants to do evil however, evil will get done, it is impossible to prevent that.
People from other countries don't vote for your politicians in democracy. Therefore, democracies cannot protect them.
What democracy does do well is to <<brainwashed-by-usa,reduce the chance that enough of the population will be brainwashed>> into <<war,starting war with other superpowers and destroy the world>>.
Do you really think <<chinese-politicians-really-care-about-the-chinese-citizens,China wouldn't invade a country they need resources from because they are more humane>>?
<<too-young-too-naive>>. China is already invading its own citizens right now as of 2020 to obtain resources! <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>>. And it is using the exact same excuse as the American politicians: terrorism!
Even when the US invades another country, the people who support the US enemy can still pick up arms and fight. And Russia can send help if they want to annoy the Americans, making local resistance stand an actual chance. But when you oppress your own people, they are completely defenseless, and 100% certain to be fully oppressed, since no foreign country would risk world war 3 by sending help.
Do you really think that the CCP would give a fuck about invading other countries? And furthermore, China is specifically oppressing Islamic people in Xinjiang, exactly the same religion of people who live where? In the Middle East.
Xinjiang _is_ China's Middle East.
The reason the USA has invaded countries in the Middle east and China hasn't yet is a mixture of:
* the USA is more developed, and has greater fuel needs, and greater capacity to carry such a war.
Although as we've seen, they've been essentially losing those wars quite often now, by not saying long enough to establish a new stable government.
Part of their defeat is also due to <<russia>>, and increasingly China, helping the other side however.
* the Middle East is full of dictatorships, and <<dictatorships-tend-to-work-together,dictatorships are natural allies of other dictatorships>> therefore it is more likely that they won't invade one another.
* the Cold War is still fresh in the American mind. Oil is crucial to fight a war. Countries will do anything to survive, even if it means killing others.
<<ciro-santilli>> is not saying that any of this justifies the actions of the Western powers in the Middle East. But simply that it has nothing to do with democracy or non-democracy.
* <<separatism>>
[[hate-speech]]
===== Western democracies also censor subjects such as child porn and hate speech (西方民主国家也审查儿童色情和仇恨言论等主题)
First, child porn and hate speech are also banned in China, so shut up. <<china-has-more-freedom-of-speech-than-the-usa,every type of speech>> is less free in <<dictatorship>>.
Second, if you don't think child porn should be banned, there isn't much point in arguing with you.
Now, hate speech is a very complex subject. <<ciro-santilli>> does feel that we should be very careful when banning hate speech, and he is not sure if it should be banned at all, as perhaps it might just make matters worse.
But of course, there is also censorship in Western democracies, and there is a gray area between what should be censored or not.
<<ciro-santilli>> only argues that there is on type of speech that must never ever be <<censorship,censored>>: political speech.
This way, the majority can always discuss and vote to change what can be censored or not.
In China, however, trying to discuss such changes in laws <<internal-censorship,puts you in jail>>, so bad laws cannot be changed. This lack of freedom <<most-chinese-people-like-their-dictatorship,also gives the impression to many brainwashed Chinese>> that dicatorships are better because you see less conflict online. Which is great, until your human rights are violated, and you've got no one to talk to.
The lack of ability to discuss political problems leads to extremely serious problems:
* <<corruption>>: politicians can <<internal-censorship,censor>> anything bad that they did to stay in power
* <<war>>: if the CCP leaders decide that a war must be made, everyone who opposes it will go to jail, and the war will be made
* <<intolerance>>: if the CCP decides that <<xinjiang,some minority>> is <<falun-gong,a danger to their power>>, this minority gets fucked
Deciding on hate speech, means having to decide what level of hardcoreness we are willing to accept, and there is no clear right or wrong answer.
For example, which of the following do you think should be banned:
* This scientific study suggests that white people do less well in IQ tests.
* This scientific study suggests that black people do less well in IQ tests.
* I'm an idiotic irrational racist and I dislike white/black people. I won't kill them, but I dislike them, and I can't change that, I'm really sorry.
* Let's all gather together and kill our black/white/gay/straight/Muslim/Christian neighbours tomorrow.
* Let's all gather together and kill our oppressive dictator/president tomorrow.
Ciro believes that none of the above should ever be censored, because any form of "hate-speech censorship" immediately opens a precedent for political censorship.
If someone is idiotic enough to organize illegal acts like hurting someone publicly before doing it, it will just make it easier for them to get caught.
And if its just empty words, just block those idiots to not see their posts, or downvotes their posts to reduce their impact.
And if the majority supports idiotic acts like killing someone because of their race, it will get done in a democracy regardless, because that's what democracies do: they cater to what the majority wants.
There's not point in censoring them. Such censorship only makes things worse, as the perpetrators will use that as publicity for their cause.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window[Overton window]
[[fake-news]]
====== Fake news (假新闻)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_news
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/假新聞
When a government controls all information to make it look good, and no one can challenge it, you cannot trust _any_ of the news produced by that country, as anything could be fake.
It is much better to have some fake news, but also few sources that are likely telling the truth.
<<ciro-santilli>> is also extremely critical of Western social media companies such as <<twitter>> and Facebook which have censored "fake news" from real legitimate accounts or real people, which is a point that Trump has justly criticized in Ciro's opinion.
If it is from a Chinese/Russian botnet, sure, destroy those accounts.
But from legitimate accounts of citizens? The people have to decide for themselves what is fake or real, not you, Twitter and Facebook. If the majority is made of idiots who believe in fake news, then so be it, that's how democracy works.
Censoring any citizen, no matter how stupid you think they are, creates a precedent for dictatorship, and even an <<luxor,incentive to terrorism>>.
More interesting case is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_First_Amendment_Institute_v._Trump[]. Ciro feels strongly that people who try to have meaningful discussions on Twitter should automatically lose a lawsuit, and that people should be able to block whoever they want from their personal controlled accounts or forums. It is only the companies who provide the forum service that must be neutral.
[[unjust-social-media-censorship-in-the-west]]
====== Unjust social media censorship in the West (西方不公正的社交媒体审查)
* Trump social media bans:
** 2021-03-31 https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/03/31/conservatives-blast-facebook-for-removing-trump-interview-with-daughter-in-law/ "Conservatives Blast Facebook For Removing Trump Interview With Daughter-In-Law". This perfectly illustrates why it is unreasonable to ban someone from social media. You end up having to ban anyone who supports them as well.
** 2021-01-09 https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/09/the-deplatforming-of-a-president/ "The deplatforming of President Trump" has an overview: Twitter permaban, Facebook indefinite time, Google store removed Parler from App Store, Apple store soon followed: https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/09/apple-suspend-parler-from-app-store/ <<tiktok>> censorehttps://techcrunch.com/2021/01/07/tiktok-bans-videos-of-trump-inciting-mob-blocks-stormthecapital-and-other-hashtags/ And Amazon announced a Parler block with 24 hours advance: https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/09/amazon-web-services-gives-parler-24-hour-notice-that-it-will-suspend-services-to-the-company/
All of those banning should not be done. If the people want to rebel, they must be allowed to communicate and rebel.
* 2020-10-12 https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/12/facebook-in-a-reversal-will-now-ban-holocaust-denial-content-under-its-hate-speech-policy/
* 2020 https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/06/20/trump-says-he-wants-to-punish-flag-burning-with-a-year-in-prison/#4d00781b3404 "Trump Says He Wants To Punish Flag Burning With A Year In Prison". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_desecration#United_States[]. If this were to pass, Ciro would be very temped to upload a GIF. Flag dessacration laws are bullshit.
* 2020-08 Kevin Cernekee fired from Google for conservative views
** 2020-08-27 https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/google-whistleblower-cernekee-pushed-alt-right-views-former-colleague.html "Internal Google memo claimed conservative whistleblower promoted alt-right views"
** It appears to be legal in the US for companies to fire employees based on political beliefs:
*** https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-employers-discriminate-based-on-political-beliefs-or-affiliation.html
<<ciro-santilli>> however believes that discussing politics at work is not an efficient way to go about it, because you will be discussion amongst a small group of people since companies are opaque to the outside. Unless maybe if you feel that you employee is directly attempting to influence politics in a way that you feel is unfair.
Ciro believes without evidence that unfortunately anti-discrimination-hiring laws are likely inefficient, as it is too hard to convict anyone. And that providing equal education through scholarships to unprivileged groups and university entry selection where examiners cannot see the applicant's race is the only way.
* YouTube
** 2020-12-09 https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/9/22165355/youtube-biden-election-victory-misinformation-rules-remove-content-oan "YouTube will now remove videos disputing Joe Biden's election victory".
*** YouTube's announcement: https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/supporting-the-2020-us-election
** 2020-11-24 https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/24/youtube-suspends-and-demonetizes-one-america-news-network-over-covid-19-video/ "YouTube suspends and demonetizes One America News Network over COVID-19 video"
** 2020-11-10 https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/09/parler-app-store-facebook/ "'Free speech' social network Parler tops app store rankings following Biden's election win"
* <<twitter>>
** 2021-01-08 https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension.html "Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump" Archive of suspended account: https://archive.vn/SSHX6
** 2020-10-06 https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/28/21273241/section-230-explained-trump-social-media-twitter-facebook "Section 230, the internet free speech law Trump wants to repeal, explained". While repealing the law entirely would be stupid, Trump is right that it has given platforms too much control over the media. <<mark-government-controlled-social-media,Except for dictatorial foreign governments>>, or explicitly illegal material, social media platforms should never remove or comment on any content.
** 2020-05-29 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52846679 Twitter "hides Trump tweet for 'glorifying violence'". The people elected that idiot, Twitter leftists have to swallow that.
** 2021-01-11 https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40204808.html "Angela Merkel sees Twitter's cancelling of Donald Trump as 'problematic'"
* Amazon
** Twitch 2021-04-07 https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/07/twitch-off-platform-harassment-policy/
Minor:
* https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/30/basecamp-employees-quit-ceo-letter/ 2021-04-31 Basecamp sees mass employee exodus after CEO bans political discussions
* 2021-10-07 https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/07/google-youtube-climate-change-denial-ban/ Google and YouTube say they won't allow ads or monetized content pushing climate denial
* 2021-09-29 https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/29/youtube-will-now-ban-content-with-vaccine-misinformation/ YouTube will now ban content with vaccine misinformation
[[politically-incorrect]]
====== Censorship of "politically incorrect speech" (审查政治不正确言论)
<<ciro-santilli>> strongly believes that this is a problem with Wester social media. For example in <<stack-overflow-forbids-criticizing-the-character-of-genocidal-political-leaders-like-xi-jinping>> Stack Overflow forbade Ciro from saying:
I think Trump is disgusting as a person
because they thought Trump would become sad and cry.
Western governments should pass laws that prevent this kind of arbitrary political censorship by companies.
But of course as usual: <<censorship,censorship in a dictatorship like China is always a million times worse>>.
[[please-enjoy-this-politically-correct-cartoon]]
."Please enjoy this culturally ethnically religiously and politically correct cartoon responsibly" cartoon by Michael Shaw from the New Yorker (2006) makes a reference to the fact that all humour is a criticism of something, and that excessive political correctness can be used as a way to limit free speech.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Please_enjoy_this_politically_correct_cartoon.jpg[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiqDZlAZygU Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) defending freedom of speech in the context of the http://reformsection5.org.uk/[Reform Section 5] campaign to remove all criminalization of insults. The campaigns slogan was "Feel free to insult me!". He then quotes: "The strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech" from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/25/remarks-president-un-general-assembly[an Obama speech].
video::BiqDZlAZygU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNjYSns0op0 Munk Debate on Political Correctness (2018) features Stephen Fry and Jordan Peterson speaking against political correctness. Those dudes are awesome. https://youtu.be/rJOMYEXK6cs?t=150 summarizes it well.
video::MNjYSns0op0[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[western-society-is-extremely-unequal]]
===== Western society is extremely unequal (西方社会极度不平等)
Exactly! And this is something <<ciro-santilli>> fights daily against through his open source contributions.
And politicians don't really care enough. Partially because:
* the poor don't have access to proper education and vote less often
* corporations pay for their election campaigns
* many of the politicians are rich themselves
But do you really think that further increasing the power concentration as done is China is going to help reduce inequality?
If so, you have been <<stupid,brainwashed beyond reason>>. Increasing the concentration of power <<chinese-politicians-really-care-about-the-chinese-citizens,will obviously make society even more unequal>> and <<corruption,corrupt>>, never less.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHFrhIAj0ME Can't get you out of my head - Part 1 (2021) documentary by Adam Curtis for the BBC. This awesome documentary suggests and explains why Western politicians care less and less about the people, and why Western companies have gained more and more power. It also mentions how after China gave up on communism and became a capitalist country, it completely lost any guiding ideal. The West still had the ideal of democracy. But for China, there was only one thing left: money. Our dear <<xi-jinping>> is of course doing his best to instill nationalism into China to fill that void. What could <<war,possible go wrong with that>>?
video::MHFrhIAj0ME[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[life-of-brian-1979]]
===== Life of Brian (布莱恩的一生, 1979)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python%27s_Life_of_Brian
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/蒙提·派森之布莱恩的一生
This movie was almost banned in Britain at the time due to lobbying by Christian groups as shown in <<the-secret-life-of-brian-2007>>.
Key scenes:
* <<life-of-brian-nazi-jew,Nazi Jew scene from The Life of Brian>>
====== The secret Life of Brian (2007)
Documentary about <<life-of-brian-1979>>.
* <<sacred-cows>>
video::hdU_6jUQI9s[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[snowden]]
===== Snowden (斯诺登)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/爱德华·斯诺登
Censoring anyone who says "my president is shit", which is what China does, is much, much more serious than censoring intelligence leaks.
The problem with dictatorships, is that they make _every_ information that makes them look bad a "state secret". Including any information that hundreds of thousands of people have witnessed, or economic performance metrics! See also: <<internal-censorship>>.
The level of unknown surveillance that Snowden uncovered is a bad thing about the US.
Snowden's prosecution was inevitable. Countries need secret services. Secret services need laws that prevent leaking classified information that was produced by government officials.
<<ciro-santilli>> has never and will never criticize China or any other country for spying or prosecuting spies.
If Snowden were Chinese, the Chinese government would ban talking about him or anything he uncovered. A <<keyword-attack,keyword attack>> with "Snowden" in the West has no effect.
It is obvious that the level of surveillance in any dictatorship will be infinitely higher, since the Government has much more power and no-one can criticize.
On the West however, the debate Snowden sparked cannot be censored, and has helped to control excessive and secret state power.
Ultimately, Ciro thinks camera surveillance is somewhat inevitable, because people will always want to fight crime and terrorism and surveillance technology keeps getting cheaper and cheaper.
He is however strictly against the ban of cryptography.
He also believes that a good solution to balance out government power is the <<second-amendment>>. It is better to have more school shootings and less full-blown dictatorship led genocides / mass human rights violations.
In 2019 China amusingly censored passages Snowden's "Permanent Record" autobiography book, which Snowden then published on Twitter:
* https://twitter.com/snowden/status/1194092273170038784 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191112083232/https://twitter.com/snowden/status/1194092273170038784[archive])
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/dv5q8o/china_censors_edward_snowdens_new_book_he/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20191112083147/https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/dv5q8o/china_censors_edward_snowdens_new_book_he/[archive]).
As a https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/dv5q8o/china_censors_edward_snowdens_new_book_he/f7axckl/[Redditor put it]:
I don't think they understand that what Snowden stands for is completely the opposite of what the Chinese gov is lol
Snowden then later released the entire Chinese version of the book for free online with the censored parts underlined: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/10/snowden_china_censorship (https://web.archive.org/web/20200213001653/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/10/snowden_china_censorship[archive]), link to the book: link:++https://a.temporaryrecord.com/Permanent_Record_-_CN_edition_with_underlined_redactions.pdf++[] (https://web.archive.org/web/20200212144108/https://a.temporaryrecord.com/Permanent_Record_-_CN_edition_with_underlined_redactions.pdf[archive]). One wonders why he didn't just do that in the first place for all versions, maybe he needed to pay the writer that helped him?
.Snowden highlighted defects on abuses of power in a Western democracy, and the discussion he sparked helped to control such abuses. <<to-obey-is-to-betray,To obey is to betray>> comes to mind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_Snowden-2.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Snowden.jpg[height=500]
https://youtu.be/MhJldILZhJ8?t=138 "A matter of internal security: the age old cry of the oppressor". Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation s03e11 "The Hunted".
video::MhJldILZhJ8[youtube,height=400,width=600,time=138]
[[bad-things-have-been-done-in-the-name-of-freedom]]
===== Bad things have been done in the name of freedom (以自由的名义人做过很多坏事)
E.g.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks[September 11th].
Bad things have been done in the name of anything.
It's just that <<war,much>>, <<xinjiang,worse>> <<tiananmen,things>> are done without freedom than with it.
Democracies cannot necessarily protect weak countries from powerful ones either. No political system can do that, because humans are trash essentially.
What democracy do is to protect its own people against its own government. Because when the government turns against part of the population in a dictatorship, that part of the population gets crushed entirely, without any chance to fight, because they don't have an army or ally countries like other countries do.
Here are some images that <<wumao>>'s like to post:
* Left Right Slaughterhouse comic: https://9gag.com/gag/ayn7KmW?ref=fbp
[[ccp-evil]]
=== Is the Chinese government evil? (中国共产党是邪恶的吗?)
Obviously not, just <<richer,inefficient>> and <<war,dangerous>>.
It is just another non-democratic empire like the Qing Dynasty, we might as well cal it:
共产朝 +
The Communist Dynasty
Expression previously mentioned at: https://web.archive.org/web/20161025220242/http://tieba.baidu.com/p/752094668
Like any other organization and individual everywhere in the entire world, they are just doing everything that they can to maintain their own power.
It just happens that China's the current is political system allows the CCP to do really bad things.
And it should also be noted that <<henri-meyer,it is in part the West's fault>> that China currently has this shitty system.
<<falun-gong>> thinks otherwise of course, they think the CCP is actually made up of real actual devils in some dimension: <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong>>. E.g. on the https://endccp.com/ Falun Gong lead campaign:
The demon CCP has plundered the ancient land of China
[[chinese-politicians-really-care-about-the-chinese-citizens]]
==== Chinese politicians really care about the Chinese citizens (中国政客真正关心中国公民)
Sometimes people say Ciro Santilli is naive.
Politicians are the same all over the world.
Some might have good intentions, but most don't give a shit about anyone else.
But all must play a careful political game, and sometimes betray their own beliefs to not lose power entirely.
Even those that genuinely care might have to play such political games.
China's problem is not its politicians.
It's the current shitty political organization, which allows/convinces those politicians to do really bad things: <<richer>>, <<war>> and <<corruption>>.
Western politicians don't care about the people either: <<western-society-is-extremely-unequal>>. But at least they have to pretend a little.
By John Kenneth Galbraith, possibly based on an earlier <<soviet-union>> joke https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ocasio-cortez-capitalism-quote/[]:
Under capitalism, man oppresses man. Under socialism, it's just the opposite.
[[is-chinese-politician-x-evil]]
==== Is Chinese politician X evil? (中国政客X邪恶吗?)
The term evil does not make sense unless you are <<falun-gong,religious>>.
The best definition of evil is a psychopath with zero empathy for anyone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy although this can be better characterized as a disease or extreme personality trait.
The huge majority of those politicians are just regular dudes with a knack for politics but brought up in a fucked up political situation.
Just like you, Ciro Santilli and other politicians in any country.
See also: <<politicians>>.
[[nazi]]
=== Comparisons between the CCP and Nazi Germany (纳粹德国和中共长得很想)
The more <<ciro-santilli>> learns about the Nazis, the more similar they CCP looks to them. As of 2020, the <<ccp>> is much more like Nazi Germany than it is like the <<soviet-union>>.
Both CCP and Nazis share the same basic core ideology: capitalism, <<little-pink-american-dream-vs-chinese-dream,love your country/leader mindlessly>>, work hard, <<most-chinese-people-like-their-dictatorship,throw any dissidents under the bus>>, and <<overlook-human-rights-for-profit,everyone will become richer>> (except the dissidents who will be in jail or dead).
Thankfully, the CCP is possibly less bad as of 2020 it has less of "this minority (Jews) is the cause of all our problems/racial supremacy approach". But everything else, and arguably the key points that got most German people on-board in the first place, are so similar, that it has to raise huge red flags.
We must however be careful not to demonize the Nazis, as that is not a helpful way to learn from the past.
The Nazis were also people like us, and that is the scary thing we must never forget, thus we should never fall for:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_Hitlerum[Reductio ad Hitlerum]
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/希特勒歸謬法[希特勒归谬法]
Notably, it can be argued that the Nazis did bring economic growth and stability to Germany, which the people desperately needed, see also <<goring-nuremberg,Goring's appearance on the Nuremberg trials>>.
* Xitler (习特勒). 习 "xi2" is very close in sound to the Chinese name of Hitler: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/阿道夫·希特勒[希特勒] (xi1 te4 le4)
* Chinazi (赤纳粹 Chi Na Cui). TODO why 赤. Means Red, which is a reference to Communism, although red was of course it was also the color of the original Nazis. But where else is it used? Chi is also chosen to achieve the sound "Chi Na" as a variant of <<shina>>
* <<young-pioneers-vs-hitler-youth,Young Pioneers vs Hitler Youth>>.
* http://yashalong.blog.caixin.com/archives/188877 这么好的人民,不倒点霉都对不起他们 "These are such good people, if they have a bit of bad luck, excuse them." article by yashalong 押沙龙 published on <<caixin>>. The article discusses how Nazi Germany propaganda worked, without mention to the CCP, but it was still apparently https://www.bannedbook.org/bnews/baitai/20190816/1175647.html[banned in China].
https://www.southbankresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/01/ZHA-issue-2510-free.pdf has a good quote:
Would you have stood up to Hitler when he came to power? Or would you have been an appeaser, like Chamberlain? Or perhaps even a supporter of fascism, like the Daily Mail's owner at the time?
We all like to imagine we're courageous enough to stand up to tyranny and persecution. That we would have stood up to the villains of the past. Seen them for what they really were, even helped rescue their victims from danger. We certainly don't like to think we would have bought their goods or funded, invested in their economies...
Well today, you're going to find out what you're made of.
TODO some failed attempts at ASCII art flags:
卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐卐
卐                                              卐
卐                  卐                          卐
卐        卐卐                                  卐
卐    卐  卐            卐                      卐
卐    卐卐卐卐卐                                卐
卐        卐 卐         卐                      卐
卐    卐卐卐                                    卐
.Photoshopped <<xi-jinping>> with raised fist with Nazi uniform and flag on the background. https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/comments/cuf3p7/chinazi_xitler/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Nazi_war_flag.jpg[height=400]
.Likely original or similar image of <<xi-jinping>> with raised fist as he took oath when coming into or renewing office. http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2018-03/19/content_50723040.htm[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_raised_fist.jpg[height=400]
.German's 1938-1945 war flag called the "War Ensign of Germany" in English or "Reichskriegsflagge" in German. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichskriegsflagge[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Nazi_war_flag.png[height=400]
.Hitler has of course a few raised fists on Google Images, but they tend to be more aggressive, and less compatible with Xi's apathic poker face. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/adolf-hitler-practised-his-body-language-assessing-hitlers-bizarre-gestures-and-postures/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Hitler_angry_rehearsal.jpg[height=400]
.Photoshopped cover of Mein Kampf with Xi's face on top of Hitler's and other modifications such as Mian instead of Mein, likely the same 面 (mian4, face) as the Chinese character at the bottom right. <<xi-jinping-thought>> also comes to mind. https://foreignerinformosa.typepad.com/the_foreigner_in_formosa/2017/07/president-xitler-of-china-murders-political-dissident-liu-xiaobo.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_mein_kampf.jpg[height=400]
.Original cover of Mein Kampf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QERDzr6HSQ How Rich Was Hitler? by Mark Felton Productions (2021) mentions that the success of the book helped Hitler a financially a lot when he was in great need. Ciro speculates that the same applies to <<li-hongzhi>>, which has retained copyright of <<flg-canon,all his works>> (despite them being the truth of the universe, a natural force essentially), as can be seen by the copyright notice on https://en.falundafa.org/[]. link:++https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adolf_Hitler_-_Mein_Kampf_(855._Auflage,_1943).pdf++[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Mein_kampf.jpg[height=400]
.Photoshopped photo of Hitler giving the Nazi salute from a car with Himmler on the background with Xi's face on top of Hitler's. https://chinhdangvu1.blogspot.com/2017/09/xitler-chinazism.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Nazi_car_salute_photoshop.jpg[height=400]
.Original photo of Hitler giving the Nazi salute from a car with Himmler on the background. This photo shows them reviewing SS troops during a Reichsparteitag (Reich Party Day) parade in Nuremberg (1938-09-05 - 1938-09-12). https://aboutholocaust.org/en/facts/who-was-adolf-hitler[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Hitler_Himmler_salute.jpg[height=400]
.Chinazi flag (赤纳粹旗) by <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019,Hong Kong protesters>>. Seen https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2019/08/【盛世一景】赤纳粹旗(chinazi-flag)/[on streets]. https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/comments/dbrken/google_bomb_china_flag_search_query_into_chinazi/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Chinazi_flag.png[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD53MEbLDIE <<serpentza-laowhy86,laowhy86>> video "Can We Compare China to Nazi Germany?" published on 2020-04-29. Good side-by-side video comparisons. Says that China is more like Nazi than <<russia>>, but Ciro disagrees, all three are <<is-chinese-politician-x-evil,evil dictatorships>>.
video::wD53MEbLDIE[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1VxaMEjRU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_and_Webb[Mitchell and Webb] "Are we the Baddies?" Nazi Sketch. In this sketch, Mitchel, a cute self-conscious Nazi, starts to wonder with Webber, his Nazi friend, if they aren't on the side of evil, particularly due to the usage of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf[Nazi skulls (Totenkopf)] on their uniforms. This echoes <<goring-nuremberg,Goring's appearance on the Nuremberg trials>>. Like the CCP, many Nazis thought of course that they were doing great things.
video::hn1VxaMEjRU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[hitler-has-only-got-one-ball]]
==== Hitler Has Only Got One Ball (希特勒只有一个蛋, 1939)
We have to make a <<xi-jinping>> version of this!!!
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Has_Only_Got_One_Ball[Hitler Has Only Got One Ball]
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/希特勒只有一个蛋[希特勒只有一个蛋小平]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possible_monorchism_of_Adolf_Hitler[Possible monorchism of Adolf Hitler]
There's even an https://en.uncyclopedia.co/wiki/Hitler_Has_Only_Got_One_Ball[Uncencyclopedia page for it].
We have to do a Chinese version. A starting point:
近平,只  有一只蛋
泽东,还好有一个半
泽民,
.http://bodylanguageproject.com/xarticles/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Hitler-8.jpg[Left source], https://en.uncyclopedia.co/wiki/Hitler_Has_Only_Got_One_Ball[right source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Hitler_has_only_got_one_ball.jpg[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1tF-Yrwe3U A version of the "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" song.
video::w1tF-Yrwe3U[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1DWJQkOJew The Armstrong and Miller Show "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" sketch depicts in a funny way the imaginary creation of  the song.
video::Y1DWJQkOJew[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[thousand-year-reich]]
==== Thousand-Year Reich (中华人民共和国万岁)
As mentioned at https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reich&oldid=1054809270#During_the_Nazi_period a popular way of referring to the Nazi rule was as the:
Thousand-Year Reich
In China, a popoular expression for "Long Live" is "万岁", which means "live for ten thousand years".
This comes from old Imperial times, but applies perfectly to the Nazi/CCP analogy.
[[borg]]
==== China is like the Borg from Star Trek (博格 (星际旅行和中共长得很想)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borg
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/博格_(星际旅行)
TODO memes?? Only one image here: https://www.techinasia.com/qihoo-acquistion-updates-sogou-talks-confirmed-chukong-rumors-denied but we need more, e.g. several top commies with Borg photoshop, or even better something showing the people as borgs as well.
Notable mentions:
* 2019 https://ihare.org/2019/08/07/when-will-the-borg-assimilate-hong-kong-is-resistance-futile/ When Will the Borg Assimilate Hong Kong?: Is Resistance Futile?
* 2018 https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/a-real-borg-collective-xi-jinpings-china-is-americas-defining-challenge-in-2019 A real Borg collective, Xi Jinping's China is America's defining challenge in 2019
[[contributing-guidelines]]
=== Contributing guidelines (贡献指南)
[[shitpost]]
==== I want to take my chances and make a shitpost in cirosantilli/china-dictatorship (屎帖子)
So, have you reached the conclusion that your https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitposting[shitpost] is link:CONTRIBUTING.md[worth the risk of getting blocked]?
Remember that shitposts can also be creative: if you are going to insult Ciro Santilli, at least do it in a creative way, or else you look like an even bigger idiot than you really are.
A collection of shitposts for you to take inspiration from can be found at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Ashitpost+
Also, when opening a shitpost you may mark it clearly such with the shitpost issue template which automatically assigns the shitpost label. Doing so will make you look like less of an idiot.
While we require polite replies to polite posts, no matter what which side they are defending, if a post is marked as a shitpost, things are much more relaxed and fun, and you can generally get away with telling the OP to fuck themselves link:CONTRIBUTING.md[without getting blocked].
.Real shit photos may be posted in reply to shitposts. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_Feces_(cropped).jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Shit.jpg[height=400]
.Amazing shitposts may recieve a Golden Shit award and the https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/labels/golden-shit[golden-shit label]. The image is from a Japanese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kin_no_unko[Kin no unko (金のうんこ)], which is likely inspired by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sycee[golden Sycees]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kin_no_unko.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Kin_no_unko.jpg[height=500]
.To <<censorship,censor>> or not to censor good shitposts: that is not the question, <<ciro-santilli>> will never censor them! https://imgur.com/gallery/rA0K90g[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Like_shitposts.jpg[height=600]
[[caonima]]
.The legendary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_Mud_Horse[Grass Mud Horse (草泥马, caonima)] is also said to appear in shitposts from time to time.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Caonima.jpg[height=600]
==== I am going to write a huge wall of text to prove my point
Feel free to do that, but no one will ever read most of it.
If you want your comment to be read, choose your key point well, and deliver it.
It is a shame that most people who are ever able to do that are <<shitpost,shitposters>>, but credit where credit is due.
==== Can I contact Ciro Santilli in Chinese? (我可以用中文联系三西猴吗?)
If you don't know English well enough, that's fine though, go for Chinese, Ciro Santilli will likely understand it: <<does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese>>.
But if you do, use English.
Ciro is not going to learn Chinese because of your message.
It is more productive for you to write in English, so that the rest of the West can also learn something new.
Especially since it seems that most Chinese already know what you are talking about, so you are better off teaching Western people about it.
[[slang]]
===== I am going to use a bunch of Chinese slangs because it makes me feel smart (我知道网络语言,我很聪明)
Obviously, if you want to be understood, use simple and standard Chinese, since as Ciro has already stated clearly, his Chinese sucks: <<does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese>>.
Avoid slangs, otherwise Ciro might not have patience to Google your useless slangs down <<zhihu,Zhihu>> questions.
Of course, if you have to read this, you likely are not going to say anything useful in the first place, so not reading your post is likely fine, just make sure to mark it as a <<shitpost>> if you don't want Ciro to think you are a complete idiot.
Using slangs makes some people feel smart due their advanced knowledge of a specific subculture, or makes them feel part of that subculture to gather allies. I.e., it is a form of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth[shibboleth]. It mainly comes down to a way of avoiding any rational conversation about China's obvious problems by highlighting <<not-chinese>>.
Or maybe they just want to waste Ciro's time.
Such idiots don't see however that every major slang is Googleable, and that every overly obscure slang is already not understandable by a large part of the Chinese population, and won't be understood by anybody in 5 years, so that you are wasting your time writing this gibberish. But since you are an idiot, it's not like you have anything better to do with your time, so maybe it doesn't matter.
If you want to efficiently prevent anyone from understanding your stuff, Ciro recommends that you just use SHA-256 instead:
$ printf 'heil xi' | sha256sum
286b183bf41d6c9de5315bbd64f1ca35a58157ae2e7f38086978c108e67c4882  -
A Chinese insult tip 101, avoid similar sound euphemisms. If you are going to say shit at least grow some balls or tits and use the proper characters, Ciro will respect you more for it:
* 屄 cunt, most often for https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/傻屄[傻屄]
** 逼
*** "sb"
*** "B": https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/105
*** "BB" TODO https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/37819380.html
* 肏 fuck: 操
* 傻 idiot: 沙
* 屌 dick: 屌
Places to try and decrypt Internet slang when you feel like wasting your time:
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国大陆网络用语列表
** "网络用语" is the most common word for "Internet Slang", so also useful for Google searches
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Internet_slang
Random slangs of interest and related concepts:
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/火星文[火星文] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_language[Martian language]). This figures for example in the language rules of the <<ptt>> joke board: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/joke/M.1602005687.A.E4D.html (禁止使用簡體字、注音文、火星文、外國語言或其他無法直觀理解之內容作為文章主體).
Some useful slangs seen on the wild:
* 敏感瓷: 敏感词 sensitive words, phonetic approximation
* "emm" https://www.zhihu.com/question/288002941
GitHub issue label: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Ai-know-slangs-i-smart+
[[vagina]]
.A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagina[Vagina] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/阴道[阴道]) also known as cunt (屄), is the female reproductive organ, including the naturally occurring black hole that appears in front of it whenever a picture is taken to prevent <<github>> from taking down this page. Even though <<porn,you've never seen one>>, there's no need to be afraid of it, and refer to it in euphemisms like "SB". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rugae_vaginales.jpg[Background source] and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Hole_Milkyway.jpg[black hole source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Rugae_vaginales_with_black_hole.jpg[height=400]
[[ruhua]]
====== Ruhua (to disgrace china, 辱华, 乳华)
Basically a 2 character slang for <<hurt-the-feelings-of-the-chinese-people>> which cool people in the web use:
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/75717383 天天辱华,辱华的到底是谁? on <<zhihu>>
* https://www.dw.com/zh/一系列国际大牌纷纷陷入辱华风波/a-49994530 on <<dw>>
* https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-46314935 on <<bbc>>
The pardox is: as soon as you start talking about ruhua, you start to risk getting banned in China, because most of ruhua is banned in China itself.
In this project for example: https://github.com/leiroc/insults the author is aiming to create a list of such insults. So someone came and suggested adding this project to the list at: https://github.com/leiroc/insults/issues/4[], which is obviouly censored in China, as an example. They even have an <<icp-license>> at https://insults.cn/[], isn't that cute?
To which the repo owner replied:
感谢提交,这个人有点疯狂了。我就不给加到记录里面了,因为加进去,看到的人就会更加多。对于这些信息不是所有人都有分别真伪的能力。害怕有些人信了他的,或者被他诱导。所以还是让他消声少曝光的好,这些人国家肯定一直在监控的,我们可以放心。
Thanks for submitting, this person is a bit crazy. I won't add it to the record, because if you add it, you will see more people. Not everyone has the ability to distinguish between authenticity and falsehood for this information. I'm afraid that some people will believe him or be induced by him. Therefore, it is better to silence him and reduce exposure. These people and countries must have been monitoring them, so we can rest assured.
This perfecly shows the ruhua paradox. In the end, you are only allowed to talk about the most idiotic and insipid events, while censoring any serious self criticism.
<<uneducated-masses>> also comes to mind.
TODO the README says that it is a static blog, but I can't find the source on GitHub anywhere, that repo contains almost nothing.
The large majority of posts are about <<western-companies-that-comply-with-chinese-censorship-requests>>, because those cowards retract their claims afterwards.
Some sample posts that are not about Western companies:
* https://insults.cn/posts/4747/ NBA辱华事件是怎么回事?NBA莫雷辱华事件! (What happened to the NBA insult to China? NBA Morey insulting China incident!) about <<lebron-james-opposes-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>
* https://insults.cn/posts/60695/ 如何判断一个老外夸中国,是发自真心,还是财富密码? (How to judge whether a foreigner praises China from his sincerity or the code of wealth?) is about <<ccp-apologists>>
* https://insults.cn/posts/64035/ 卖国求荣许秀中个人简历:留学生中的败类!汉奸中的"佼佼者"!西方媒体眼中的"宝藏女孩"! is about <<vicky-xu>>
* https://insults.cn/posts/65025/ notepad{plus}{plus}辱华事件:作者Don HO在推特上公开发表辱华言论 (Notepad{plus}{plus} insulting China incident: author Don HO publicly published insulting remarks on Twitter) about <<notepad>>
* https://insults.cn/posts/64915/ 无脑黑中国,孙向文漫画辱华是为了自己要入日本籍,但他至今仍没有如愿 is about <<sun-xiangwen>>
[[shina]]
====== Shina (zhina, 支那)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shina_(word)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/支那
Derogatory or humorous way to refer China. Occurrences:
* <<zhina-wiki>>
A variant sound "Chi Na" is also seen at Chinazi (赤纳粹) from <<nazi>>.
[[internet-number-slang]]
====== Internet number slang (网络数字语言)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Internet_slang#Numeronyms
* https://baike.baidu.com/item/网络数字语言#2 on <<baidu>>
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeronym
https://newrepublic.com/article/117608/chinese-number-websites-secret-meaning-urls highlights how numeric emails and URLs are especially popular in China, in part due to the ASCII/West-centrism of web standards: https://www.quora.com/What-is-126-com-and-why-are-they-the-owner-of-millions-of-good-domain-names/answer/Ciro-Santilli
Examples in this page:
* <<nine-nine-six-icu>> is an example that is not phonetic, but just about meaning
* 六四 used to refer to <<tiananmen>>
* https://www.12321.cn/web and http://12377.cn from <<cac-report-website>> are likely examples where older well known official phone numbers were just directly converted to URLs
* https://www.fluentu.com/blog/chinese/2017/10/16/chinese-number-slang/
* https://www.quora.com/What-does-126-and-163-mean-in-Chinese-language
[[personal-questions-about-ciro-santilli]]
=== Personal questions about Ciro Santilli (关于三西猴的问题)
[[has-ciro-santilli-you-ever-lived-in-china]]
==== Has Ciro Santilli you ever lived in China? (三西猴住过中国吗?)
Not as of 2019, he has only visited once in 2012, and it was <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,amazingly beautiful>>.
.Ciro Santilli with a stone carved https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budai[Budai (布袋和尚)] in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maitreya_and_disciples_carving_in_Feilai_Feng_Caves.jpg[Feilai Feng caves (飞来峰)] near the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingyin_Temple[Lingyin Temple (灵隐寺)] in Hangzhou taken during his legendary 2012 touristic trip to China. Will he ever be able to go to China again to re-experience such marvelous locations? If the CCP falls before he dies, and if the statue hasn't been destroyed by the commies, Ciro will return to that exact spot and take a second picture. How will he look like?
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Ciro_Santilli_with_a_stone_carved_Budai_in_the_Feilai_Feng_caves_near_the_Lingyin_Temple_in_Hangzhou_in_2012.jpg[height=500]
But he doesn't think it is a good idea for him to do that now, in case his Visa got accepted, because he is not interested in learning about the Chinese jail system! :-)
He knows that if you don't mind contributing to making <<war,WW3>> deadlier and shut up and obey the CCP, China is already a fine place to live as much as any other developing country.
[[would-ciro-santilli-like-to-live-in-china]]
===== Would Ciro Santilli like to live in China? (三西猴想住在中国吗?)
If the dictatorship ends, <<ciro-santilli>> would like to <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,migrate to China>> if given a decent job to help China develop and become awesomer.
Before the Dictatorship, Ciro likely won't be able to enter/it wouldn't be a good idea: <<would-ciro-santilli-be-able-to-visit-china-before-the-ccp-ends>>.
And it is immoral to help make dictatorships richer by working for their companies: <<what-should-western-countries-do-about-china>>.
[[would-ciro-santilli-be-able-to-visit-china-before-the-ccp-ends]]
===== Would Ciro Santilli be able to visit China before the CCP ends? (三西猴能否在中共结束之前访问中国?)
It would be interesting to apply for a VISA to find out.
But Ciro won't do it because it is too risky that it would be a waste of Ciro's precious <<better-to-do,time and money>>.
Firstly, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45812399[Jamal Khashoggi] taught us that walking into enemy into consulates of enemy countries is a bad idea.
Then, even if the VISA were accepted, Ciro could still be turned back on entering the country, thus wasting the flight time and money. This could either be a genius plot to waste the money of enemies of the state, or due to a crappy divided IT system between the border control and the VISA people.
Finally, even after the border, there is still the possibility that Ciro could be stopped in the country half-way through the visit and sent back, or be interrogated for a few days, or less likely murdered with poison.
Therefore, if you think that living in China is fundamental to understand it, please just explain what you think one can learn from the experience instead. Do you really need to live there to see its censorship machine working? It would arguably be harder to see it from the inside.
See also: <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship>>.
Bibliography: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/93
[[is-ciro-santilli-chinese]]
==== Is Ciro Santilli Chinese? (三西猴是中国人吗?)
See: https://cirosantilli.com/ciro-santilli
It makes Ciro smile when <<wumao,wumaos>> consider he might be Chinese.
Does "<<ciro-santilli,Ciro Santilli>>" sound like a Chinese name?
Would a Chinese person write this tutorial primarly in English?
Would a Chinese person <<does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese,speak such obviously shit Chinese>>?
Think, wumao, think!!!
And it does not matter: <<not-chinese>>.
But <<why-does-ciro-santilli-love-china-so-much,his wife is>>.
[[does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli speak Chinese? (三西猴会说中文吗?)
As of 2019, oral enough for daily things, but not understand most natural casual dinner conversation or watch TV series, because they go too quickly into vocabulary subject areas that he doesn't know. And obviously, using <<slang,slangs>> just makes things really hard.
When it matters, and with some patience, he can make himself understood though with https://xkcd.com/thing-explainer/[some analogies] (https://web.archive.org/web/20190908144612/https://xkcd.com/thing-explainer/[archive]) and a dictionary.
From the HSK vocabulary list, he estimates that he is definitely HSK 3, but not quite HSK 4. This would likely equate A2/B1 in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages[European system].
Phonetics wise, Ciro can't distinguish or produce a few sounds, notably `-ing` vs `-in` and his off-tone rate is high, but it tends to not matter at all compared to his lack of vocabulary. Except for his <<wife,mother-in-law>>, who sometimes does not understand it at all without correct tones!
Ciro reads with https://github.com/cschiller/zhongwen[] after link:https://www.perapera.org/[Perapera] died when he wants to learn new words/has patience/something is very important, and can basically understand everything in that way. TODO perapera support stopped in 2021: https://www.perapera.org/plugins/ and since browsers don't have stable API's it very quickly stopped working for everyone. Alternatives asked at: https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/78268/on-mouse-hover-pop-up-chinese-dictionary-browser-extension-alternative-to-perape/ https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zhongwen-chinese-english/kkmlkkjojmombglmlpbpapmhcaljjkde[Zhongwen] worked, source at https://github.com/cschiller/zhongwen
When he has no patience or for larger not very important chunks of text though, he reads with Google Translate as it tends to work, and then if there is an important sentence that was translated to garbage with Perapera.
Ciro writes with a mixture of link:https://www.pleco.com/[Pleco], Google translate and Googling to see if Chinese actually say the sentences that way, never Google translate alone as it would be too imprecise.
Ciro really wishes he could learn more Chinese. Ciro really loves the Chinese language. But he has other more important endeavors at the moment. There simply aren't enough hours in a day.
Spoken Chinese is in Ciro's opinion a relatively easy language to learn from scratch, because word formation is so often logical:, e.g.:
* volcano = fire + mountain: 火山(huo shan)
* train = fire + car: 火车 (huo che), a reference to old https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive[steam locomotives]
and there is no useless crap like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_conjugation[verb grammatical conjugation], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_gender[grammatical gender], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plural[plural inflection], capitalization, etc. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino_sine_flexione[latino sine flexione] anyone?)
Ciro <<characters,hasn't tried to learn characters>> because <<chinese-characters-are-insane,too much effort>>, but he did learn some of the most common ones without trying.
Ciro initially learnt from book that come with audio recordings in the first 6-months to 1 year in 2010, but that got impossibly boring afterward, so he later moved to just basically talking as much as possible non-important things to <<why-does-ciro-santilli-love-china-so-much,his wife in Chinese>>, and whenever he reaches one that he doesn't know that seems useful, he Plecos it up or just 怎么说 to his <<wife>> and then Pleco.
It should also be mentioned that Ciro also feels that it would be better if all countries more officially adopted English as an international language that everyone should learn for reasons explained at: https://cirosantilli.com/#having-more-than-one-natural-language-is-bad-for-the-world
[[chinese-characters-are-insane]]
===== Chinese characters are insane (汉字是疯狂的)
Maybe the commies for once <<richer,did something good>> by introducing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_Chinese_characters[simplified Chinese characters (简化字)]?
But they should have gone further and reduced it to pinyin like the Korean and Vietnamese did, this will make your culture much easier to export.
No foreign adult will every learn to read and write Chinese unless they are completely obsessed by the culture or need it as part of their jobs. And even then, they will avoid it at all costs, because life is just too short!
Japanese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furigana[furigana] also comes to mind. The characters are so insane that you need a well specified and widely used phonetic reading aid!
Yes, ideograms are:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calligraphy[beautiful]
* https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/2003/can-chinese-readers-scan-large-amounts-of-text-faster-more-accurately-than-their[maybe you can read faster]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_and_vertical_writing_in_East_Asian_scripts[vertical text (纵排)] is beautiful.
** the top to bottom aspect is obviously due to the binding of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips[bamboo and wooden slips] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/简牍[简牍])
** TODO but why right to left? Left to right makes more sense as you don't put your hand on top of the most recent ink: https://www.quora.com/Why-are-Chinese-characters-individually-written-from-left-to-right-yet-in-ancient-times-sentences-of-Chinese-characters-were-written-and-read-from-right-to-left
** but is it more efficient? https://www.zhihu.com/question/22104723[Zhihu], https://www.quora.com/Can-literate-Chinese-people-easily-read-vertical-writing[Quora]).
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_and_vertical_writing_in_East_Asian_scripts#Right-to-left_horizontal_writing also clarifies that traditional shop signs are also right to left, and it is just a sub-case of the usual right to left script, but with a single row
* more historically stable, and you can still read/learn more or less quickly to read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Chinese_language[texts written more than two thousand years ago]
* it takes up way less horizontal space as Ciro noticed while adding bilingual captions to some of the images under https://gitlab.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media see e.g.: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-media/master/Xidan_Wall.jpg
** on the other hand, you have to use slightly larger fonts for Chinese, because the characters are so dense that if they are not tall enough they become unreadable. Still, the area is much smaller without a doubt.
* single character emoticons like "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiong[囧]", before the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticons_(Unicode_block)[Emoticons Unicode block]! Yes, when your language has a character so useless that it becomes an emoticon, maybe you should start to worry that something went wrong somewhere... See also <<tank-man-emoticon>>.
but they just take too much time for any sane person adult to learn, it's harder than {cpp}!
<<ciro-santilli>> smirked when he came across the character "蒄" in Pleco, and the translation was: "meaning unknown (herb mentioned in old books)". Yes, at the word level, the same like exists in phonetic systems, but that it takes up a modern dictionary and Unicode slot is still funny.
Posts that express similar ideas:
* <<evil-chinese-characters-by-ted-chiang>>
.The "fictional" Chinese character "Dou" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncyclopedia[Uncyclopedia] is roughly translated as "Impossibly complex pictogram-based writing system that takes a person a thousand thousand years to learn." and illustrates well why pictograms are a bad idea. https://uncyclopedia.ca/wiki/File:Chinese_character_extreme.svg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Chinese_character_extreme.svg[height=400]
.The Sweet Brown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_Nobody_Got_Time_for_That[Ain't Nobody Got Time for That] meme (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sweet-brown-aint-nobody-got-time-for-that[knowyourmeme]) fits perfectly into how Ciro feels about learning Chinese characters.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Sweet_brown_chinese_characters_meme.jpg[height=500]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Sweet_brown_chinese_characters_meme_zh.jpg[height=500]
.Chinese typewriter. As you would expect, it is insanely complex, and slow to type with. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinese_typewriter_at_Deutsche_Technikmuseum.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Chinese_typewriter.jpg[height=500]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZcui85b4EE RARE Japanese Toshiba Typewriter. Types in Japanese, Chinese + English. Toshiba Typewriter Model BW-2112.
video::JZcui85b4EE[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNUEUth7qjc Commercial for IBM's Selectric Typewriter 1960's Contrast with the above.
video::vNUEUth7qjc[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_cbW5JK9WM "The most complex Chinese character" by Vladimir Skultety does a reasonable analysis of which Chinese character is the most complex
video::t_cbW5JK9WM[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[seal]]
====== Seal (印章)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(East_Asia)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/印章_(東亞)
Seals are also of course top to bottom right to left as in the traditional texts.
[[evil-chinese-characters-by-ted-chiang]]
====== Evil Chinese Characters by Ted Chiang (坏汉字由Ted Chiang)
https://www.douban.com/group/topic/162835411/
Ciro's <<does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese>> was mentioned in a related Zhihu answer: <<zhihu-ted-chiang-answer>>.
[[radical]]
==== Is Ciro Santilli a radical? (三西猴是激进分子吗?)
Saying that someone is a radical is useless <<brainwashed-by-usa,ad hominem>>.
If you want to say something useful, give specific reasons why you think one specific thing that <<ciro-santilli>> said is incorrect.
Do you consider him a radical because it is unthinkable that China is not perfect?
Or just because he's trying to <<keyword-attack,take down>> some more websites that your dictatorship still does not dislike enough to block: <<china-is-fine-as-it-is-stop-making-it-worse>>?
Don't you think that it is much more radical to <<intolerance,be put in jail for your beliefs>> and <<censorship,silenced if you disagree with anything the government says>>?
Ciro doesn't think either China or West is perfect: <<western-media-has-exaggerated-reports-on-falun-gong-for-propaganda-reasons>>.
He's just listing arguments why he thinks democracy is better, e.g.: <<richer>>, <<war>>.
And Ciro never gets mad. Only a slightly sad or annoyed sometimes.
But maybe no radical ever considers themselves a radical? Hmmm...
Or maybe: link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efHCdKb5UWc[The Dark Knight - Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn]?
[[ciro-santilli-is-stupid]]
==== Ciro Santilli is stupid (三西猴是个傻瓜)
D E E P: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/labels/you-are-stupid-argument
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/訴諸人身
Feel free to publish any proof of your own incredible intelligence.
==== Is Ciro Santilli a SJW?
SJW: there is a seed of SJW in <<ciro-santilli>>.
One major difference between Ciro and the stereotypical SJW is that he never engage in lengthy discussions as per <<reply-policy>>.
He limits himself to listening as much as he can to learn new arguments.
So the rationale of his actions is no_ to convince anyone, but rather:
* increase the monetary cost of censorship by binding politics to tech with <<keyword-attack>>
* group up like-minded people who don't like <<censorship>>
See also: <<preconceived>>
===== Are you a SJW?
Moved to <<is-ciro-santilli-a-sjw>>.
[[china-watcher]]
===== Is Ciro Santilli a China watcher? (Pekingologist, 三西猴是中国观察者吗?, Intelligence Analyst)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_watcher
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_analysis
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/情报分析
Yup. https://twitter.com/BadChinaTake/status/1291401838022012931/photo/1[Nope]? Well, Ciro's what you'll get on <<github>> until someone better comes along.
[[does-ciro-santilli-hate-china]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli hate China? (三西猴讨厌中国吗?)
On the contrary. China has his favorite:
* <<restaurants,food>>
* <<does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese,language>>
* <<music>>
* history
* nature
* culture, notably:
** intense respect for older people. Whenever Ciro was with his <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,mother-in-law>> and asked for help from young Chinese people, they were extremely nice.
It is hard to understand how the same people have not managed to speak up when <<flg-persecution,70 million old ladies were put into jail when Falun Gong was banned>>. Only the extreme fear of also going to jail could explain it. Living in China is living in constant fear if you can think for yourself.
** enormous importance given to education. One must not forget however: grades are useless, and all that matters is how much you improve society
And because of that: <<would-ciro-santilli-like-to-live-in-china>>.
As link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bjarne_Stroustrup[Bjarne] said:
There are only two kinds of programming languages: those people always bitch about and those nobody uses
Ciro only focus here on negative things to provide content that will <<keyword-attack,activate the Great Firewall>>.
A small poem:
持华反党 +
爱国恨党 +
Support the Chinese people, oppose the Party +
Love the country, hate the Party +
The second sentence well known: https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/comments/e8g3qv/爱国恨党love_china_hate_ccp/
[[yuyuan-garden]]
.Round gate at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Garden[Yu Garden] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/豫园[豫园]) in Shanghai. The large characters on top read (<<chinese-characters-are-insane,left to right>>) "流翠" TODO not sure about the second character, understand reference. <<ciro-santilli>> thinks that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_garden[Chinese gardens] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中國園林[中国园林]) are amazing!!! link:++https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghai_-_YuYuan_Gardens_and_Old_Town_(584867794).jpg++[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Yuyuan_garden_door.jpg[height=600]
[[if-you-are-against-the-ccp-then-you-are-against-china]]
===== If you are against the CCP, then you are against China (如果你反对中共,那么你就是反对中国)
This is actually a key <<flg-cult,cult>> characteristic: <<the-group-is-the-only-way>>.
Do all Chinese citizens support the CCP?
* <<most-chinese-people-like-their-dictatorship>>
* <<dissidents>>
* <<chilling-effect>>
If you are against Trump or Biden, does it mean that you are against the USA? So every American is against the USA?
This is what <<dictatorship,dictatorships>> want you to believe.
[[chinese-traditional-painting]]
===== Chinese traditional painting (中国传统绘画)
See also: <<museum>>.
Some free online collections:
* Smithsonian collection at a search for Paintings before 1800. Drill down further by "topic" e.g. "Mountains" or "scholar"
** https://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=&fq=online_visual_material%3Atrue&fq=online_media_type%3A%22Images%22&fq=culture%3A%22Chinese%22&fq=object_type%3A%22Paintings%22&view=list&date.slider=300s%2C1800s
."Plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum" (梅兰竹菊) painting by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zheng_Xie[Zheng Xie (郑燮)] representing the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Gentlemen[four gentlemen] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/花中四君子[花中四君子]). Ciro is a big fan of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird-and-flower_painting[traditional Chinese bird-and-flower painting (花鸟画)] like this. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/315744623848820315/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Four_gentlemen.jpg[height=600]
[[why-does-ciro-santilli-love-china-so-much]]
===== Why does Ciro Santilli love China so much? (为什么三西猴喜欢中国那么多?)
<<ciro-santilli>> does not <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong,believe in reincarnation>>, but sometimes he's tempted to.
It is interesting how different people get <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,different impressions>>!
Of course, the fact that his wife is Chinese and <<flg-bias,does Falun Gong>> may or may not have played a role in it :-)
It was like this: Ciro started getting interested in Chinese culture, then he started hanging out with Chinese people, and then he started hanging out with his wife!
So yes, it is a chicken and egg type of thing. The fact that she is one of the most intelligent, morally upright, cute, and "never give up" person I know may have helped me choose too.
[[selfish]]
==== Ciro Santilli's China freedom campaign is selfish (三西猴是自私的)
* <<throne>>
* <<harm-programmers>>
[[famous]]
===== Ciro Santilli is doing his China freedom campaign to become famous (三西猴正在做他的中国自由运动以成名)
No, he am a selfless human being, only concerned with the greater well being of humankind.
More serious answer:
* he believes in this. As evidence, it has limiting effects on his technological career: <<does-your-employer-support-this>>, and he doesn't think he can/wants to become a politician in China if the CCP ever falls
* the more famous Ciro is, the more impact he will have in the future
* the more famous Ciro is, the more feedback he have that what he's been doing has been working
Keyword: attention whore.
Duplicate pool:
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/5
[[ciro-santilli-is-doing-his-china-freedom-campaign-because-it-makes-him-feel-important-c]]
====== Ciro Santilli is doing his China freedom campaign because it makes him feel important (C三西猴正在进行他的中国自由运动,因为这让他觉得自己很重要)
See: <<famous>>.
[[ciro-santilli-is-doing-his-china-freedom-campaign-to-vent-off-his-anger]]
===== Ciro Santilli is doing his China freedom campaign to vent off his anger (三西猴正在进行他的中国自由运动以发泄他的愤怒)
No, he is not angry at all, see also: <<harm-programmers>>.
<span id="cia-funding">
[[funded-by-cia]]
===== Is Ciro Santilli's china-dictatorship campaign funded or otherwise supported by some organization? 谁收买三西猴散布关于中国的谣言?
Sure, the CIA sends Ciro 10 thousand USD checks from time to time, but that doesn't change at all what he would be doing.
And sometimes the NSA, FBI, MI6, MI5, Mossad, Al-Qaeda and ISIS also pitch in a bit depending on their needs.
https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/labels/funded-by-cia-argument
A shady supporting organization might require that he does not disclose their support, so maybe the best answer is that you will never know for sure.
Of course, a hidden support would represent a reputation hit for both such organizations and for me, which makes it less likely that I would have accepted or had such an offer.
Also consider Ciro's motivation. If your <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,mother in law were put into jail unfairly for 15 days>>, for following the same religion that <<flg-bias,your wife follows>>, and if you had a social media presence, wouldn't you be tempted to do the same?
What about you, are you funded by the CCP?
See also: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/48a95bf57a16b85619a6ae68702d18c9a5078797/FAQ.md#flg-has-been-funded-by-the-us-government-at-least-once-therefore-it-is-evil
Label: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/labels/funded-by-cia-argument
[[would-ciro-santilli-be-doing-his-china-freedom-campaign-if-he-was-in-china]]
==== Would Ciro Santilli be doing his China freedom campaign if he was in China? (如果他在中国,三西猴会做他的中国自由运动吗?)
Not with his real name attached to it, see also:
* <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship>>
* <<not-chinese>>
[[does-your-employer-support-this]]
===== Does your employer support this project? (你的雇主支持此项目吗?)
My employer has nothing to do with this.
He doesn't approve or disapprove of the Chinese government or of my private actions.
The only thing that my employer _does_ believe in is that employees can have their own political opinions, and that this should not affect hiring decisions.
Obviously, this action limits my ability to lead high profile deals with China.
Also I'm quite curious if this would limit my ability to go to China for business, but I haven't applied for a visa since I've started this. It likely wouldn't be a good idea for me to go to China :-)
But my employer believes that inclusion and non-discrimination are more valuable.
I will always do my best to not let my personal opinions affect my professional decisions, as that would be unfair to my employer.
[[better-to-do]]
==== Doesn't Ciro Santilli have anything better to do than pissing off China? (除了反对中共以外,三西猴有没有别的更好的事儿要作吗?)
In 1989, besides <<tiananmen>> and <<ciro-santilli>>'s birth, a beautiful thing called the World Wide Web was invented!
The Internet gives everyone the magic power of writing something, and having million people read it for free!
This is how much time Ciro spends on this project to give you an idea:
* every week or two, someone sends me a message, he reply with "read the FAQ", and usually update
* Ciro https://www.reddit.com/r/China amongst many other programming subs, and all major bad news show up there. See also: <<anti-ccp-info-sources>>
* when something bad enough comes up, Ciro go to https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/sensitive-words-series/ by <<china-digital-times>>and update <<keyword-attack,his keyword attack>>. He's only been updating it on Stack Overflow and GitHub these days.
Then Ciro just contributes to programming websites exactly as he would if he weren't making this campaign, and voila.
Edit: to be fair, the end of 2019 and start of 2020 was such as hot year with <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>> and <<covid>> that Ciro might have spent a tiny little bit more ;-)
But Ciro did it only when his brain was too tired of technical stuff and unable to do more, or as a brain warm up routine in the morning.
Telling the CCP to fuck off is surprisingly relaxing, you should try it some time too. It uses a different part of your brain other than the programming one. It is, one could say, an art form.
[[is-ciro-anti-communism]]
==== Is Ciro Santilli against Communism/Socialism in general or just against the Chinese Communist Party specifically?
Anti-dictatorship and censorship, not anti-communist in general. In this project, <<ciro-santilli>> has sometimes used the word "communist/commie" loosely as a shortcut for "supporter of the CCP", but it does not extend by default to communism in general.
Classify Ciro's techno-political goals as you will:
* endgame: https://cirosantilli.com/unconditional-basic-income
* very conservative and clearly sustainable neargame: https://cirosantilli.com/free-gifted-education
A possible way to get closer to either: https://cirosantilli.com/electronic-voting
Anything in between however, he's not sure about.
All he has is a fundamental and irrational belief that we should not <<overlook-human-rights-for-profit,violate human rights to reach those goals>>, which is why he opposes the CCP (and others who violate human rights).
[[people-in-china-have-already-considered-democracy-and-rejected-it]]
=== People in China have already considered democracy, and rejected it (中国人已经考虑要不要民主, 到底决定不要了)
OK, shall we put that to an anonymous vote just to make sure?
Dear sir or madam: do you want more control over your government? y/n
Oops, I forgot that <<most-chinese-people-like-their-dictatorship,proposing such a vote would put in you jail>>, never mind.
[[violence]]
=== Would it be right to use violence to overthrow the CCP? (用暴力推翻中共正确吗?)
In an ideal world, Ciro Santilli is of course "against violence".
But what if you could prevent a lot of future violence with some violence today?
Ah, the eternal question which only God can answer:
* https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-origin-of-the-quote-The-end-justifies-the-means "What is the origin of the quote 'The end justifies the means?'"
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequentialism[Consequentialism]
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem[Trolley problem]
* link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_resistance[Nonviolent-resistance]
Do you really think that the communists will step down if you ask them nicely enough? Even after <<tiananmen>>?
A quote from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta_(film)[V for Vendetta (2005)] comes to mind:
Q: If they do, what do you think will happen [the people protest against their Government]?
A: What usually happens when people <<second-amendment,without guns>> stand up to people with guns.
[[v-for-vendetta]]
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=TcoBv6ibh8M V for Vendetta (2005) "What you think will happen" scene.
video::TcoBv6ibh8M[youtube,height=400,width=600]
How do you think the CCP or any other party got into power and maintained that power in the first place? Obviously https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Communist_Revolution[through violence]. And likely due to earlier <<not-chinese,Japanese invasions which weakened the Guomindang>>.
And the CCP actually uses "the ends justify the means" as an argument to justify its own actions: <<overlook-human-rights-for-profit>>.
The question of if anything is morally right or wrong makes no sense. All that matters is: what is the government that maximizes the happines of its own people, and who has the power to do what? <<richer,Getting richer,>> is part of the equation, but so is <<rule-of-law,not being constantly affraid that you will be randomly put in jail for no good reason>>.
If you do decide to strike though, <<what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship,stay safe, gather your forces on the Internet, and only strike when victory seems certain>>.
For "violence is illegal" arguments, see also: <<follow-the-law>>.
.One baby <<nazi,Hitler>> or 5 Million Jews https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem[trolley problem] illustrates well the moral dilemma of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequentialism["the ends justify the means"].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Baby_Hitler_vs_5_million_Jews_trolley_problem.jpg[height=400]
.Translation: What women think men want (a kiss). What men actually want (decapitating <<xi-jinping>>). The image from the left comes from the Japanese manga https://mangakakalot.com/manga/vm922794[Okaeri Alice] according to Reddit comments. The image to the right is based on an illustration of the decapitation of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI[Louis XVI] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/路易十六[路易十六]) during the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution[French Revolution] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/法国大革命[法国大革命]), but with Louis' head replaced by Xi Jinping's head. An original can be found at: https://castinet.castilleja.org/users/pmckee/frenchrev/violentphase.html[]. https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/m8qwz4/真正的需要/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/What_Chinese_men_really_want.jpg[height=400]
[[second-amendment]]
==== Second amendment (美國憲法第二修正案)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/美國憲法第二修正案
If China had the second amendment in 1989, the <<ccp>> would not be in power in 1990.
<<dictatorship-variability,It is better to have a bit of random shootings every day, than to have a full scale revolution every 20 years>>.
The availability of guns however only explains part of the problem of gun violence in the USA: the other huge thing that must be addressed is to <<western-society-is-extremely-unequal,reduce inequality>>.
A somewhat popular <<wumao>> criticism of gun violence in the USA (+ other problems) in song/poem form was brought up at https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/215
歌颂美国
自由美利坚, +
枪击每一天; +
白恨黑卑微, +
黑仇黄有钱。 +
世界第一强, +
川普再号强; +
新冠启示录, +
群体免疫法; +
比强还更强, +
世界一病夫。 +
如今五十万, +
耶稣爱美国, +
与民天国欢。 +
人命如草芥, +
不及股市贵; +
战火连中东, +
此乃真民主。
Related discussions:
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/346383581
TODO origin?
[[dictatorship]]
=== Why does Ciro Santilli say that China is a dictatorship? (中国不是独裁!)
Ciro is using the word in an slightly extended/joking sense.
Maybe "authoritarian" is a more precise term, but it is just too much of a mouthful.
In particular, dictatorships are harder to sustain than authoritarianism, since it generally implies even less freedom, and a single leader whose death can destabilize everything.
The CCP is more like a social class with a large number of members and various sub-layers, and it is therefore much harder to take down on the other hand.
Dictatorship is becoming link:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-party-term-limit.html[more and more precise under Xi] however.
Even <<mao-zedong>> admits it and put it into the constitution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_democratic_dictatorship[People's democratic dictatorship 人民民主专政], so funny.
Well known <<evil-west,Evil Western media>> that also call China a dictatorship:
* 2020-01-29 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/opinion/coronavirus-china-government.html "Coronavirus Spreads, and the World Pays for China's Dictatorship"
* 2018-03-04 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/04/xi-jinping-from-president-to-china-new-dictator "Xi Jinping's power play: from president to China's new dictator?"
* 2017-10-11 https://www.ft.com/content/cb2c8578-adb4-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e130 "Under Xi Jinping, China is turning back to dictatorship"
Further discussions about this useless terminology question:
* https://www.quora.com/Is-China-a-dictatorship
[[where-can-i-find-good-words-for-a-keyword-attack]]
==== Where can I find good words for a keyword attack? (我在哪里可以找到关键字攻击的好词?)
* List of blacklisted keywords in China
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blacklisted_keywords_in_China
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华人民共和国网络审查
* https://github.com/jasonqng/chinese-keywords
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/media/raw/master/complete-gfw-rulebook-for-wikipedia-v3.0.pdf[Complete GFW Rulebook for Wikipedia v3.0]
* <<china-digital-times>> This is was an amazing source, extremely comprehensive and up-to-date, but the series was stopped in September 2018:
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/word-of-the-week/?view=all word of the week, ran from Mar 7, 2012 to Sep 20, 2018
*** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/cdt-censorship-digest/ "CDT CENSORSHIP DIGEST", monthly version of Word of the week started on Feb 10, 2020
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/directives-from-the-ministry-of-truth/?view=all censorship directive reports
*** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/category/有关部门/真理部指令/?view=all chinese version
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/space/Main_Page a wiki version of the censored word lists, the ,"<<caonima,Grass-mud horse>> index" (cao3n2ma3 草泥马), with a censored term of the week section.
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/china/sensitive-words-series/?view=all sensitive words list
** Fun 2015 ebook: https://github.com/cirosantilli/decoding-chinese-internet-pdf-download
** Has received funding from US Government to some extent: https://www.ned.org/china-digital-times-provides-crucial-insight-and-information-about-china-and-the-covid-19/
* <<censorship-monitoring>>
* <<tiananmen-square-protests-keywords>>
[[keyword-choice]]
===== How does Ciro Santilli choose keywords for the keyword attack? (三西猴如何为关键词攻击选择关键词?)
I haven't counted, but the limit for Stack Overflow is quite low, and I'm always almost at the maximum, which is about "Ciro Santilli" + 3 3-4 Chinese character events with a separator.
These are some of my prioritization guidelines:
* recent cases receive a large prime over the raw death toll, because older cases can always be attributed to other people.
E.g., I've heard there is even some opening towards acknowledging the Great Famine, thus 烏坎事件 (and others from my previous profile names)
* words must refer to a precise event, and must be clearly summarizable in very few chars, for increased impact, and profile name length limitations.
E.g. "High <<corruption,corruption>> rates, high pollution", although very serious, feel too generic.
* events that relate directly to freedom of speech receive a prime, since they can only happen in China and very few other countries.
E.g.: <<falun-gong>>, <<tiananmen>>.
Non e.g.: corruption and pollution. Those are hard to quantify, and there is always an immediate reply: china GDP per capita is low, same happens in India, Brazil, etc.
Freedom of speech however, is immediately verifiable (e.g. "my <<weibo,Weibo>> was taken down"), and undeniably caused by the current central government.
* the more people affected, and the more deeply they have been affected, the more important obviously
I am currently trying to maintain in my Stack Overflow Location a ranking of events in a single string, so that it can be easily copy pasted around. The location appears on every page if you hover over my account name, so it is likely in the HTML at least.
If you think that this list can be improved, please open an issue explaining how and why.
[[other-notable-keyword-attacks]]
==== Other notable keyword attacks (其他值得注意的关键字攻击)
[[notepad]]
===== Notepad++
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notepad++
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notepad++
It might be a newbie text editors for newbie Windows users, but at least they use it to good use by doing keyword attacks:
* 2019-10: "In October 2019 Notepad{plus}{plus}'s GitHub issue tracker was flooded with pro-Chinese and anti-western messages after a version codenamed "Free Uyghur" (v7.8.1) was released"
** https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/31/notepad_china_spam/
** https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/dp3icm/notepad_after_voicing_their_support_for_the/ "Notepad{plus}{plus}, after voicing their support for the Uyghurs, is now being bombarded by Chinese nationalists on Github." See e.g.: https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/issues/7489 and earlier issues
* 2008-03: "In March 2008 the "Boycott Beijing 2008" banner was placed on Notepad{plus}{plus}'s SourceForge.net homepage": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_over_the_2008_Summer_Olympics#Boycotts
The creator appears to be a Vietnamese immigrant or descendant living in France. There are many such immigrants due to Vietnam being an ex-colony: https://github.com/donho Also he must have good reason to dislike the commies due to similar commit bullshit in Vietnam. He was at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Diderot_University[Paris Diderot] in 2000: https://donho.github.io/#education (https://web.archive.org/web/20190424004100/https://donho.github.io/#education[archive]).
====== Notepad++ Chinese browsers block (2020)
https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/17/notepad-plus-plus-blocked-in-china/ "Text editor Notepad{plus}{plus} banned in China after 'Stand With Hong Kong' update" where "banned" means "the download page where they keywords are shown is now blocked in Chinese browsers". The rest of the website is still up. So no domain block due to HTTPS, browser only action for now.
This is an example of <<chinese-web-browser-censorship>>.
[[what-should-all-pro-democracy-people-do-about-china]]
=== What should all pro-democracy people do about China? (所有的民主派人士应该干什么?)
A propaganda slogan from a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Resistance[French Resistance] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/法國抵抗運動[法国抵抗运动]) flyer (see also <<nazi>>):
To obey is to betray. +
To disobey is to serve.
服从就是背叛 +
违抗就是服务
Obéir c'est trahir. +
Désobéir c'est servir.
[[to-obey-is-to-betray]]
.To obey is to betray. To disobey is to server ("Obéir c'est trahir. Désobéir c'est servir" in French) flyer featuring the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Lorraine[cross of Lorraine] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/洛林十字[洛林十字]). <<snowden>> comes to mind. https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/images/Obéir_cest_trahir_Désobéir_cest_servir/1314227[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/To_obey_is_to_betray.jpg[height=400]
[[civil-disobedience]]
==== Civil disobedience (公民不服從)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/公民不服從
[[lie-flat-movement]]
===== Lie Flat movement (躺平主义)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_ping
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/躺平
The movement notably contradicts one of the <<core-socialist-values>>: dedication (敬业).
* 2021-07-04 https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3139558/what-chinas-lie-flat-youth-and-global-climate-strikers-have-common What China's 'lie flat' youth and global climate strikers have in common by <<scmp>>
Good cat lying down meme: https://www.marxist.com/china-lie-flat.htm
[[little-girl-has-ho-hopes-for-school-video-2021]]
====== Little girl has ho hopes for school video (2021, 小姑娘对学校没有希望)
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/pgrei5/so_much_lying_flat_sass_translation_in_comments/ on <<r-china>>
* Original poster:
** username: 11223344zslk
** profile page: https://www.douyin.com/user/MS4wLjABAAAA0HYKMT79Af9VeCnrjZ7m_9XrbzSR9IHG_08Cdeo5LMnbNYANllleThIZlY3BFpgC
* original video <<censorship,censored>>
** short URL: https://v.douyin.com/d2Dq1bb/
** full URL: https://www.douyin.com/video/7002895023582874915
Transcript and translation:
你害怕开学吗? +
随便。 +
对这个学校有什么期待吗? +
没有。 +
为什么呢? +
不知道。 +
新学期有什么新的愿望吗? +
呵? +
没有望阿。 +
你一点心愿都没吗? 有没有小心愿阿? +
希望怎么样有没有? +
没有希望。 +
Are you afraid of starting school? +
Whatever. +
What are you looking forward in this school? +
Nothing. +
Why? +
I don't know. +
What hopes do you have for new school term? +
Huh? +
None. +
Hmmm, you don't have any hopes. +
You don't have any small wishes? +
What about hopes? +
I have no hope. +
Note: 没有希望。 would likely more accurately be translated as "I have no hopes for school". But the same sentence also means "I have no hope", and it was too tempting to recast it in terms of the Lie Flat movement.
On the background sign, we read:
二中青龙湾小学校师阳光台
Sunshine Terrace (? announcement board) of the teachers of the Qinglongwan Elementary School No. 2
The school is mentioned in a news report from 2020 at: https://moment.rednet.cn/pc/content/2020/08/24/8249389.html 市二中青龙湾小学9月1日将迎来首批学生 (City No. 2 Middle School Qinglongwan Primary School will welcome its first batch of students on September 1st) which says it is located at Qinglongwan Town, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukou_District[Lukou District] in <<hunan>> (青龙湾小镇, 株洲县,)
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zasx2iTeOX0 (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/629[GitHub reupload])
video::zasx2iTeOX0[youtube,height=400,width=600]
==== Photobombing-like attacks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photobombing
Explicitly forbidden in China by the law: <<real-username-law>>.
See also: <<keyword-attack>>.
===== Appropriation attack
An appropriation attack is one where the attackers attempt to associate an existing symbol to their cause.
For example during the <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>> attackers attempted to use this technique to associate a generic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chun-Li[Chinese Chun-Li-like] character Mei from Blizzard's link:++https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overwatch_(video_game)++[Overwatch game] to try and get it blocked in China after the gaming company punished a pro gamer for defending the Hong Kong protests. Coverage https://www.businessinsider.com/blizzard-fans-overwatch-mei-hong-kong-protests-memes-2019-10 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094950/https://www.businessinsider.com/blizzard-fans-overwatch-mei-hong-kong-protests-memes-2019-10[archive]).
[[mei-with-hong-kong]]
.Mei from Blizzard's Overwatch was used in an attempted <<appropriation-attack>> during the <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>. https://twitter.com/marnofavonlea/status/1182557311539150849[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Mei_with_Hong_kong.jpg[height=600]
[[sport-event-live-broadcast-image-attacks]]
===== Sport event live broadcast image attacks (体育赛事直播图片攻击)
NBA in particular is super popular in China, and people sitting at the front row can easily bomb emissions due to the small court size:
* China's <<tencent>> halts NBA live broadcast over <<taiwan,Taiwanese>> flag
* https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3813842
Started in particular due to the <<lebron-james-opposes-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>
[[enes-kanter-s-shoes]]
====== Enes Kanter's shoes (埃内斯·坎特, NBA)
TODO any good shots of him wearing the shoes while playing?
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enes_Kanter
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/埃内斯·坎特
* https://twitter.com/EnesKanter/status/1453059299056422912
* https://www.scmp.com/sport/basketball/article/3153120/nba-player-enes-kanter-launches-withering-social-media-attack-xi
[[what-should-western-countries-do-about-china]]
==== What should Western countries do about China? (西方国家应该怎么对待中国?)
Force all their Western servers to accept <<ensi>> connections only: <<ensi>>.
Western governments must reciprocate unfair Chinese practices: https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/18508/why-dont-western-countries-penalize-chinese-companies-in-the-same-way-that-chin
Companies only care about money and have no long term view, the following must be imposed by governments on Western companies.
Serious sanctions must be pot on companies that sell sensitive things to dictatorships:
* <<western-companies-that-sell-censorship-technology-to-dictatorships,censorship or anti-privacy software>>
Related approaches taken by the CCP that should also be stopped dead by strict enforcement of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Agents_Registration_Act[Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)]:
* <<chinese-interference-in-western-media>>, notably <<china-watch>>, must
* <<ccp-apologists>>
Physical presence influence must be completely blocked, e.g. cultural centers that report directly to the CCP such as <<confucius-institute>> and <<cssa>> must be banned.
News about Chinese state media using Western social media:
* 2016 https://qz.com/671211/chinas-propaganda-outlets-have-leaped-the-top-of-facebook-even-though-it-banned-at-home/ "China's propaganda news outlets are absolutely crushing it on Facebook"
Accounts that are not labelled as being from the Chinese government, but which support the CCP, must be investigated to determine if they are actually funded by the Chinese government.
TODO what to do with websites of: <<chinese-government-media>>? Blocking them has the downsides that:
* it would be harder to monitor what crazy shit the commies are doing
* those censorship mechanisms could be reused to block good websites by Western governments that are becoming Evil
Let's just leave them up to start with, who gives a fuck about them? :-) If they are getting too many page views, we can make search engines add the disclaimer too.
Chinese social media such as <<wechat>> and <<tiktok>> must be banned. This is less serious than regular websites, because you can always repost on Western social media but without getting spied on:
* 2020-08-07 https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-wechat-executive-order-014615752.html "Trump executive order seeks to ban <<tiktok,TikTok>>, <<wechat>> 'transactions' in 45 days"
Whenever China kicks out a western journalist who is in China and reports there, the Western country must do the same and kick out a Chinese journalists for a Chinese media.
An upside of restricting Chinese servies is that it would hugely bolster <<censorship-circumvention>> technologies, as every Chinese expat would need to buy a VPN.
* https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/18508/why-dont-western-countries-penalize-chinese-companies-in-the-same-way-that-chin
Western governments must identify raw material dependencies on China, and reduce them, while at the same time forbidding technology transfer to China. China has been trading cheap resources for technology, and we must stop that now.
Unfair Chinese commercial practices must be reciprocated. Chinese companies should be forced to open joint ventures to operate outside of China, which is a trick China uses to control profits and more easily steal IP from Western companies:
* https://www.msn.com/zh-hk/news/other/us-entrepreneurs-make-a-choice-rewards-of-doing-business-in-china-often-outweigh-risks-of-losing-trade-secrets/ar-BBSPC69 (https://web.archive.org/web/20190905071456/https://www.msn.com/zh-hk/news/other/us-entrepreneurs-make-a-choice-rewards-of-doing-business-in-china-often-outweigh-risks-of-losing-trade-secrets/ar-BBSPC69:[archive])
* https://www.chinalawblog.com/2019/02/china-joint-ventures-the-long-version.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20190905071738/https://www.chinalawblog.com/2019/02/china-joint-ventures-the-long-version.html:[archive])
Sanctions must be imposed directly on Chinese officials. They must not be allowed to "escape to a better life or have investments in the West":
* 2020-08-08 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53699084 "Hong Kong: US imposes sanctions on chief executive Carrie Lam"
.<<rebel-pepper>> 2016-09-07 cartoon entitled "宽衣<<xi-jinping-memes,撒币>>" depicting <<xi-jinping>> as a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_dance[pole dancer] and throwing money at other world leaders during the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_G20_Hangzhou_summit[2016 G20 Hangzhou summit] is a reference to how China buys political influence in other countries by promising profitable trade deals with those countries. https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/biantailajiaomanhua/biantailajiaomanhua-09072016131637.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_pole.jpg[height=400]
[[mark-government-controlled-social-media]]
===== Mark government controlled social media (将政府控制的社交媒体帐户标记为此类)
All posts of all state-sponsored social media accounts must be clearly marked as such.
This should be done not only for China, but of all countries, including Western democracies.
Even better, they should add funny censored images on top of those that are from dictatorship countries.
Furthermore, marked media from dictatorships must be forbidden to both monetize and pay to promote its content.
Any outlets that do not announce themselves as state sponsored but are, must be banned forever when they are found out.
What to do about personal accounts is much harder to decide however, and especially so in the case of <<ccp-apologists>>, where they might really not be state sponsored, and the creator's nationality won't help make the decision either.
Some websites have started marking such accounts, which is a great start.
* YouTube in 2018: https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/2/16964190/youtube-state-funded-broadcasters
* Facebook in 2020: https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/04/facebook-adds-labels-identifying-state-controlled-media/
* Twitter in 2020:
** report https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3096380/twitter-begin-labelling-state-affiliated-media
** example from https://twitter.com/PDChina <<peoples-daily>> marked as "China state-affiliated media" and links to https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/state-affiliated-china
Reports of Chinese influence on social media:
* 2020-06 Twitter has also implicated in receiving advertising money from <<china-daily>>, see also: <<china-watch>>
** 2020-06-12 https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/information-operations-june-2020.html
** 2020-06-12 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jun/12/twitter-deletes-170000-accounts-linked-to-china-influence-campaign "Twitter deletes 170,000 accounts linked to China influence campaign"
** The Chinese government later contested this decision: https://variety.com/2020/digital/asia/china-victim-wants-twitter-to-delete-attackers-1234633860/
* 2020-04-07 https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/9397v8/chinas-been-flooding-facebook-with-shady-ads-blaming-trump-for-the-coronavirus-crisis "China's Been Flooding Facebook With Shady Ads Blaming Trump for the Coronavirus Crisis"
[[spy]]
===== China spy stories (中国间谍故事)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_intelligence_activity_abroad
Do not underestimate the CCP and its control over every Chinese companies and people. Every Chinese company and person is a potential spy.
This is <<evil-west,true for all countries however>>, and <<ciro-santilli>> does not not reproach China specifically for its secret service, e.g. <<snowden>> used https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden#NSA_sub-contractee_as_an_employee_for_Dell[Dell] as an NSA front-end.
The point is just that the West should not underestimate this menace that comes from a <<dictatorship>>.
For university espionage in particular see: <<university-espionage>>.
Some Chinese spy stories:
* 2020-03-20 Tarmo Kõuts from Estonia
** https://news.err.ee/1608148489/court-sentences-estonian-marine-scientist-to-prison-for-spying-for-china "Court sentences Estonian marine scientist to prison for spying for China"
* 2020-12-25 https://in.news.yahoo.com/detention-10-chinese-spies-afghanistan-040901520.html "Detention of 10 Chinese spies in Afghanistan leaves Beijing red-faced" TODO better source.
* 2020-12-09 Christine Fang https://www.axios.com/china-spy-california-politicians-9d2dfb99-f839-4e00-8bd8-59dec0daf589.html "Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians". In 2015, she was fucking some politicians and infiltrating parties, but as suspicions arose, Beijing likely called her back.
* 2020-09-21 Baimadajie Angwang
** https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/09/21/nypd-cop-charged-with-acting-as-china-agent.html "New York City police officer spied on fellow Tibetans for China, prosecutors charge"
* 2020-08-21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3hwdsbh6-M "I worked for the Chinese State Department – 中公教育党委 – offcn CCP Committee" more info at <<aaron-dewitt>>
* 2019-01-15 Kevin Mallory
** 2019-01-15 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46557096 "Kevin Mallory: The churchgoing patriot who spied for China"
Good profile. He was first approached via LinkedIn. As a related case, Jun Wei Yeo was arrested as LinkedIn spy recruiter in 2020: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-53544505
And those stupid Chines handlers gave him a phone that was supposed to be encrypted, but it crashed and then rebooted unencrypted, right when the FBI agents were around.
But after the 2008 real estate crash, his fortunes changed. His house plummeted in value, and later he lost his job.
** 2019-04-04 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/how-230-000-debt-linkedin-message-led-ex-cia-officer-n990691 "How a $230,000 debt and a LinkedIn message led an ex-CIA officer to spy for China"
Good profile, gives important points: he was 230k in debt, and "Mallory began reaching out to former CIA colleagues in an apparent effort to pump them for information. The ex-colleagues grew suspicious and contacted the CIA, prosecutors say."
** 2019-05-18 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48319058 "Kevin Mallory: Ex-CIA agent jailed for spying for China".
The article also contains a good summary section "CIA spy operation in China: Key dates".
* 2019-11: Wang Liqiang spy defection to Australia
** https://www.smh.com.au/national/defecting-chinese-spy-offers-information-trove-to-australian-government-20191122-p53d1l.html
* 2019-11: Jerry Chun Shing Lee, naturalized American, convicted for being double agent while working at CIA after being in custody for 2 years
** https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/former-cia-officer-sentenced-19-years-conspiring-chinese-spies-n1089341
* 2018-06-05 Ron Rockwell Hansen
** https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44364437
[[2010-dismantling-of-cia-s-network-in-china-2010]]
====== 2010 dismantling of CIA's network in China (2010 拆除中情局在华网络)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_activities_in_China#2010
Around2010-2012 about 20 CIA spies in China were killed. One was shot right in the courtyard of a government building as a message to others.
After identifying some of the websites, possibly with a double agent, Iran was able to reach the rest through Google searches for similar sites.
The trouble started in when the CIA was investigating nuclear weapons in Iran in 2009.
The fact that China soon followed could indicate that Iran sold the secret to China.
TODO do we have any such sample websites or screenshots of them? https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/167
https://news.yahoo.com/cias-communications-suffered-catastrophic-compromise-started-iran-090018710.html mentions that:
A 2011 Iranian television broadcast that touted the government's destruction of the CIA network said U.S. intelligence operatives had created websites for fake companies to recruit agents in Iran by promising them jobs, visas and education abroad. Iranians who initially thought they were responding to legitimate opportunities would end up meeting with CIA officers in places like Dubai or Istanbul for recruitment, according to the broadcast.
therefore the websites might not have been in English.
TODO find that broadcast. News broke 2019-06-22[] apparently:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMilJGTIvkI "US calls for Iran to free alleged CIA spy" by euronews (in English) (2011-12-20) shows a forced confession on state television by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amir_Mirza_Hekmati[]. He claims to have been tortured with forced drug withdrawal. Given that Iran is in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Crescent[Golden Crescent], Ciro would guess they gave him heroin, see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_in_Iran[] "Opium in Iran is widely available, and the country was thought to have the highest per capita number of opiate addicts in the world[1][2] at a rate of 2.8% of Iranians over age 15."
Iran claims to have captured spies working for CIA
* 2017-05-20 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-espionage-idUSKCN18G0UM "China killed CIA sources, hobbled U.S. spying from 2010 to 2012: NYT"
* 2018-10-02 https://news.yahoo.com/cias-communications-suffered-catastrophic-compromise-started-iran-090018710.html "The CIA's communications suffered a catastrophic compromise. It started in Iran."
[[ministry-of-state-security]]
====== Ministry of State Security (MSS, Guoanbu, 国安部)
* link:++https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_State_Security_(China)++
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华人民共和国国家安全部
The Chinese <<snowden,counterintelligence>> organ.
Report website launched in 2018 https://www.12339.gov.cn/[], some coverage:
* https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2141910/china-launches-website-report-foreign-spies-corrupt
[[pla]]
====== People's Liberation Army (PLA, 中国人民解放军)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Army
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国人民解放军
The Chinese army, and also one of the central intelligence agencies, notably on cyberattacks.
.A Chinese soldier smashes bricks on a colleague's head during joint Chinese-<<india>> anti-terrorism exercises in Kunming in 2007. http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2014-02-26/0954766058.html from <<sina>> give the Chinese term "油锤贯顶". https://nastyhobbit.org/details.php?image_id=370[Source]. https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/military-brick-breaking-demonstrations-face-the-chop/[Better source with worse image quality].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/PLA_soldier_breaking_bricks_on_head.jpg[height=400]
[[the-west-must-ban-the-chinese-telecommunications-software-and-hardware]]
===== The West must ban the Chinese telecommunications software and hardware (西方必须禁止中国电信软件和硬件)
They are an entry point to spying, censorship and <<fake-news>>. Notable companies that should be banned:
* <<huawei>>
* <<tiktok>>
* <<zoom>>
* <<alibaba>>
* 2020-02 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-media/u-s-imposes-new-rules-on-state-owned-chinese-media-over-propaganda-concerns-idUSKBN20C2G1 U.S. imposes new rules on state-owned Chinese media over propaganda concerns, the companies are: Xinhua News Agency, China Global Television Network, China Radio International, China Daily Distribution Corp. and Hai Tian Development USA, Inc. See also: <<chinese-government-media>>.
** 2020-04-03 https://theintercept.com/2020/04/03/zooms-encryption-is-not-suited-for-secrets-and-has-surprising-links-to-china-researchers-discover/ 'Zoom's encryption is "not suited for secrets" and has surprising links to china, researchers discover"
[[what-should-western-media-do-about-china]]
===== What should Western media do about China? (西方媒体应该怎么对待中国?)
When you report something about a person, for fuck's sake include the person's name in the title of the article, at the very least the pinyin.
Then, in the body, also add the corresponding Chinese characters on the first mention. This is how you do it: "San Xihou (三西猴)"
Yes, Chinese people also have names. And yes, pinyin has infinitely more homonyms than characters.
In the body of the article, notably in photos, include the exact location of the event if applicable.
City at the very least, but if recognizable, where withing the city.
Yes, China is big! There are many different places in China.
[[western-companies-that-comply-with-chinese-censorship-requests]]
==== Western companies that comply with Chinese censorship requests (遵守中国审查要求的西方公司)
Western governments should prevent companies from complying to Chinese censorship requests, or at least impose fines and sanctions on them.
Citizens should boycott such companies and require them to be punished.
See also: <<western-companies-that-sell-censorship-technology-to-dictatorships>>
Some hell known companies and events:
* 2022 https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/intel-deletes-reference-to-xinjiang-after-backlash-in-china Intel deletes reference to Xinjiang after backlash in China
* 2020 <<hololive>>
* 2020 Outfront Media, see: <<lebron-james-opposes-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSBC[HSBC]
** 2020-06 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSBC#Support_for_China's_Security_Law_for_Hong_Kong_(2020)[Support for China's Security Law for Hong Kong (2020)]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_L.P.[Bloomberg L.P.]
** 2020-02 https://theintercept.com/2020/02/18/mike-bloomberg-lp-nda-china/ "When Bloomberg News's Reporting on China Was Challenged, Bloomberg Tried to Ruin Me for Speaking Out"
* 2019-12 Shutterstock implements censorship for searches from China https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/08/in-wake-of-shutterstocks-chinese-censorship-american-companies-need-to-relearn-american-values/
* JPMorgan
** 2016-11 "Sons and Daughters" corruption hiring program for chidren of government officials: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2016/11/17/jpmorgan-agrees-to-pay-264-million-fine-for-sons-and-daughters-hiring-program-in-china/#46746e305688
.2019 summary of companies that kowtow to China. https://twitter.com/hoho90272496/status/1182669015937966080[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Brand_censorship_chart.jpg[height=600]
.<<rebel-pepper>> 2019-10 carton showing several brands kowtowing to <<xi-jinping>>, while South Park alone gives the middle finger. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/china-hongkong-us-10102019153228.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_bat.jpg[height=400]
.<<rebel-pepper>> 2017-07 showing <<xi-jinping>> eating an Apple Inc. logo referring to the many events where Apple gave in to Chinese demands to have access to the Chinese market. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/China-Apple-cartoon-08242017103540.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Apple.jpg[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4WBsahU3X4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert[Stephen Colbert] comments in 2015 on how American films make a good image of China to be allowed in China by censors to increase sales.
video::V4WBsahU3X4[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[apple]]
===== Apple (苹果)
Summaries:
* https://applecensorship.com App Store monitoring by <<greatfire>>, source: https://github.com/greatfire/applecensorship
* 2021-06-08 https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/07/apple-private-relay-unavailable-in-china/ Apple's new encrypted browsing feature won't be available in China, Saudi Arabia and more: report
* 2020-03-01 https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/01/china-roundup-apple-closes-app-store-loophole/ "China Roundup: Apple closes a 4-year-old App Store loophole"
* 2020-02-25 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/25/apple-censorship-requests-china-shareholder-groups-proposal
* 2019-04-12 https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/12/18305087/congress-apple-criticism-china-communist-tiananmen-pro-democracy "Lawmakers lash out at Apple for censoring a song about <<tiananmen,Tiananmen Square protests>>"
.Chinese flag with Apple characteristics. https://techcrunch.com/2015/08/11/apple-shares-tumble-5-amidst-china-concerns/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Apple_China_flag.png[height=400]
* 1999 https://www.lionsroar.com/apple-thinks-different-about-the-dalai-lama-in-china-2/ Apple censors <<dalai-lama>> for China
[[linkedin]]
===== LinkedIn (领英)
Immediately censors anything that the Chinese government asks to censor in China.
3 days after <<ciro-santilli>> put up anti-CCP messages on his LinkedIn, the account was banned in China, with a message under https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/cases/36977487[]:
Hi Ciro,
Your LinkedIn profile is an integral part of how you present your professional self to the world. That's why we believe it's important to inform you that due to the presence of prohibited content located in the headline, background image and volunteer experience sections of your LinkedIn profile, your profile and your public activity, such as your comments and items you share with your network, will not be made viewable in China. Your profile and activity continues to remain viewable throughout the rest of the countries in which LinkedIn is available.  We will work with you to minimize the impact and can review your profile's accessibility within China if you update the headline, background image and volunteer experience sections of your profile.  But the decision whether to update your profile is yours.
In February 2014, we began offering a localized version of LinkedIn in China. We believe that people everywhere can benefit from Chinese individuals connecting with each other and LinkedIn members in other parts of the world, and that the creation of economic opportunity can have a profound impact on their lives and the lives of their families and communities.
While we strongly support freedom of expression, we recognized when we launched that we would need to adhere to the requirements of the Chinese government in order to operate in China.  As a reminder, your profile will remain viewable throughout the rest of the countries in which LinkedIn is available.
If you have any questions, please contact Customer Service.
LinkedIn Support Team
2021-10-14 https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/14/microsoft-to-pull-linkedin-from-chinese-market/ Microsoft to pull LinkedIn from Chinese market
The leading Chinese clone appear to be MaiMai (脉脉):
* https://maimai.cn/
* https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/maimai
300M investment and not even an English Wikipedia page, we live on different planets: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/脉脉
Interestingly however, Ciro still received some profile views from Chinese profiles from time to time, he wonders why, do they have a permit of some sort? E.g.:
* 2021-12-30 someone from 红山区公安分局 from Hongshan Public Security sub-department in Hongshan, Inner Mongolia
* 2021-09-29 someone from 北京云中融信网络科技有限公司 https://baike.baidu.com/item/北京云中融信网络科技有限公司/17048165[], an instant messaging services company.
* 2021-09-17 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weber_Shandwick[Weber Shandwick]
** https://www.webershandwick.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2021-Geopolitical-Risk-Report.pdf 2021 REPORT ON GEOPOLITICAL RISKS TO BUSINESS REPUTATION by Weber Shandwick's geopolitical Risk & Reputation Advisory Group
* 2021-08-09 https://www.linkedin.com/in/嘉伟-闫-bbbb60218/ 闫嘉伟 领英中国 - 内容审核 (Yan Jiawei), LinkedIn China, content audit based in Beijing. One of the censors mistakently viewed Ciro's profile without premium or internal tools! Hello. Started working there June 2021, no further personal information available.
* 2021-07-29:
** custommer service person from <<huawei>>
** financial consultant from Beijing
* 2021-05-23 LinkedIn profile view from https://www.linkedin.com/company/circussocial/ Circus Social https://www.circussocial.com/[]. Some of their China stuff: https://www.circussocial.com/blog/tag/china-social-media/
* 2021-03-23 https://my.cscglobal.com/ to cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship another compliance company, previous https://cms.securimate.com hits come to mind. China related articles:
** https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200728005641/en/CSC-Becomes-First-Foreign-Owned-Company-to-Receive-Domain-Registrar-License-in-China this company has some serious weight with Chinese regulators!
** https://www.cscglobal.com/service/webinar/china-web-policies/ talks mostly about ICP licenses
** https://www.cscglobal.com/service/webinar/china-ngo-law/
** https://www.cscglobal.com/cscglobal/pdfs/DBS/CSC-Your-Brand-Secured.pdf features Jayce Yeo, and mentions social media management
** https://medium.com/@hackermaderas/the-beginning-of-one-hackers-thoroughly-referenced-evidenced-osint-investigation-of-clearview-ai-1aa2e9109492 has a technical analysis that points that CSC has links to Clearview AI, and seem to be front-companies
<<brave-new-world-books>> comes to mind.
They also have a <<anonymous-account-ban>> policy for all countries:
* https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/28422/names-allowed-on-profiles you have to use your real name
* https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/topics/6042/6059/430 you have to use your real photo
* 2021-09 Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian https://hongkongfp.com/2021/09/29/microsofts-linkedin-censors-us-journalist-over-china-content-makes-disturbing-offer-for-reinstatement/
** https://twitter.com/BethanyAllenEbr/status/1442838821339639819
* 2021-03-11 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/11/tech/linkedin-china-microsoft-intl-hnk/index.html "LinkedIn suspends new sign-ups in China":
We're a global platform with an obligation to respect the laws that apply to us, including adhering to Chinese government regulations for our localized version of LinkedIn in China," LinkedIn added. The company declined to elaborate on which local law it was examining.
* 2019-01-04 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2180620/linkedin-adhering-beijings-rules-censors-chinese-profile-page-us-based "LinkedIn reverses course after censoring Chinese profile page of US-based human rights activist Zhou Fengsuo", see also: <<zhou-fengsuo>>
* 2014-06-04 https://money.cnn.com/2014/06/04/technology/linkedin-china-censorship/ "LinkedIn draws fire for China censorship" mentions: "Some LinkedIn (LNKD) users have received emails from the company in recent days informing them that their posts will not be shown in mainland China."
.3 days after <<ciro-santilli>> put up anti-CCP messages on his LinkedIn, the account was banned in China. They are quite efficient. <<zhou-fengsuo>> had notably https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/china-linkedin-zhou-fengsuo[previously achieved this]. Another report by a https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/linkedin-censorship-peter-humphrey[Peter Humphrey].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Ciro_Santilli_LinkedIn_China_ban.png[height=600]
[[chinese-interference-in-western-media]]
===== Chinese interference in Western media (中国干预西方媒体)
This lists links between owners of several US media outlets and China: https://thefederalist.com/2020/05/04/has-china-compromised-every-major-mainstream-media-entity/[] "A Rundown Of Major U.S. Corporate Media's Business Ties To China". No direct evidence that this has affected the news however.
* 2021 Cinitalia <<china-radio-international>> offsohot publushing propaganda add-ons on the Italian newspaper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_Giornale[Il Giornale]
** https://www.reddit.com/r/ADVChina/comments/n9o2kp/italian_newspaper_controlled_by_chinese_news/
** Sample article: 2021-05-09 https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/mondo/report-che-confuta-teoria-genocidio-nello-xinjiang-1945268.html "Il report europeo che confuta il genocidio nello Xinjiang" (The European report that refutes the genocide in Xinjiang) about <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>>.
[[china-watch]]
====== China watch (2011-)
Campaign by <<china-daily>> to add paid articles/ads that read like news in/distributed with Western newspapers. They appeared to be marked as China watch ads, but still, they should be crushed.
* 2020-06: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post[Washington Post], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall_Street_Journal[Wall Street Journal] and others figure on official fillings of newspapers paid by China Daily: https://efile.fara.gov/docs/3457-Amendment-20200601-2.pdf[].
https://www.opindia.com/2020/06/china-propaganda-daily-washington-post-new-york-times-wall-street-journal-millions-dollars-justice-department-newspapers-paid-content/ summarizes:
As per the documents filed by China Daily with the Justice Department, the Communist party mouthpiece had paid over $6 million to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), $4.6 million to the Washington Post, $2,40,000 to Foreign Policy, $50,000 to the New York Times, $34,600 to The Des Moines Register and $76,000 to CQ-Roll Call.
Besides, spending $11 million in advertising on prominent US papers, China Daily shelled out an additional $7.6 million to The Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, and The Boston Globe for printing copies of its own paper. For instance, the Los Angeles Times reportedly received $657,523 for printing services. The Communist party-mouthpiece had also spent $2,65,822 on advertising on Twitter.
The Washington Post is the one that had received the most attention earlier on since 2011:
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post#China_Daily_advertising_supplements
** https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/02/official-chinese-propaganda-now-online-from-the-wapo/70690/ "Official Chinese Propaganda: Now Online from the WaPo!"
They even had online distribution channel: http://chinawatch.washingtonpost.com/ It is https://web.archive.org/web/20200708133054/http://chinawatch.washingtonpost.com/[dead as of 2020-07], but https://web.archive.org/web/20180330150602/http://chinawatch.washingtonpost.com/[was alive in 2018]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Telegraph[Daily Telegraph]: UK Daily Telegraph stops publishing section paid for by China[piece of shit] tabloid, it comes as no surprise that they would sell out to any dictatorship
2020-04-14 https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/14/daily-telegraph-stops-publishing-section-paid-for-by-china "Daily Telegraph stops publishing section paid for by China"
China Daily itself claims certain partnerships: <<china-daily>> https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/static_e/global.html[]:
China Daily has also developed diversified cooperation with over 40 media organizations around the world, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, etc.
===== bandinchina GitHub repository
https://github.com/caffeine-overload/bandinchina
Contains a "List of companies who have apologized to the Chinese government and implemented censorship requests".
It only lists companies that implemented censorship outside of China however (with Hong Kong, <<taiwan,Taiwan>> and Macau defined as outside of China), therefore it is basically a Taiwan flag takedown + Hong Kong / Taiwan censorship list:
* https://github.com/caffeine-overload/bandinchina/pull/56#issuecomment-541230090
* https://github.com/caffeine-overload/bandinchina/pull/84
[[western-companies-that-stood-up-against-the-ccp]]
===== Western companies that stood up against the CCP (反抗中共的西方企业)
* <<xinjiang-cotton>>
[[western-companies-that-supported-the-ccp]]
====== Western companies that supported the CCP (支持中共的西方企业)
* <<western-companies-that-comply-with-chinese-censorship-requests>>
[[entertainers-who-support-the-ccp]]
==== Entertainers who support the CCP (支持中共的艺人)
Western:
* 2021-05-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cena[] for <<one-china-policy>>
** https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/26/john-cena-very-sorry-for-saying-taiwan-is-a-country about
** https://twitter.com/tony_zy/status/1397188279322173442 Apology video with English subtitles. YouTube reupload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqjOrsMupgg
* <<lebron-james-opposes-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>
Chinese who are famous in the West:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Chan#Political_views_and_controversy[Jackie Chan 陳港生] even though he is born in Hong Kong
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3T_Dd3O1UM spoke against the <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>
** https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/fc/21/216376/Police-chief-says-Jackie-Chan-made-him
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Yifei#Controversy[Liu Yifei 刘亦菲] who starred in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulan_(2020_film)[Mulan 2020] Disney movie. To make matters more fun, some scenes were shot in <<xinjiang>>: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4004891
** https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/16/disneys-mulan-star-sparks-call-for-boycott-with-hong-kong-stance opposed the <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>, notably saying "What a shame for Hong Kong". The <<chinese-government-media,People's Daily>> later quoted her: https://web.archive.org/web/20190816162331/http://en.people.cn/n3/2019/0816/c90000-9606859.html[]
Chinese celebrities who opposed the CCP:
* <<hao-haidong>>
[[entertainers-who-oppose-the-ccp]]
==== Entertainers who oppose the CCP (反对中共的艺人)
* 2021 <<enes-kanter-s-shoes>> what a hero
** 2021 ranks China below F in a Country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tier_list[tier list] video: https://youtu.be/x1PjAhpUjYQ?t=198[], appears to be a rip of this members-only content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NCcFkuosfI[]. Reddit entry: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/ptzygj/pewdiepie_you_are_a_legend/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PewDiePie[PewpDiePie]
** 2019 on <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhWZavn2OvM Hong Kong vs Joker Ends Fortnite [MEME REVIEW]
[[chinese-interference-in-the-western-education-systems]]
=== Chinese Interference in the Western education systems (中共对西方教育体系的干预)
Related about university interference:
* 2021-08-04 https://www.nzz.ch/english/swiss-phd-students-dismissal-spotlights-chinas-influence-ld.1638771 | https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/hsg-und-china-kritik-auf-twitter-kostet-doktoranden-abschluss-ld.1637789 Swiss PHD under pseudonum Oliver Gerber kicked out of doctorate for criticizing China on Twitter. Real name, his Twitter, and advisors were not disclosed because his girlfriend lives in China. University name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_St._Gallen[University of St. Gallen] (HSG, it specialises in business administration, economics, law, and international affairs, HSG also has among the most billionaire alumni in the world). On <<r-china>>: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/duplicates/oxc9qk/phd_student_in_switzerland_expelled_from_his/
* 2020-12-05 https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN28F05U "U.S. ends exchange programs with China, calling them 'propaganda'". Only five of the programs were terminated:
** Policymakers Educational China Trip Program
** U.S.-China Friendship Program
** U.S.-China Leadership Exchange Program
** U.S.-China Transpacific Exchange Program
** Hong Kong Educational and Cultural Program
* 2020-06-17 https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/US-blacklists-China-s-MIT-as-tech-war-enters-new-phase Harbin Institute of Technology denied MATLAB support for being in the entity list, apparenty since may: https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2020/05/commerce-department-add-two-dozen-chinese-companies-ties-wmd-and
* 2020-05-28 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/motion-backing-hong-kong-blocked-after-campaign-by-chinese-students-at-warwick-fsdfphr26 "Motion backing Hong Kong blocked after campaign by Chinese students at Warwick". The article mentions that "Just under 1,000 students voted in favour of the motion. Turnout was three times higher than other votes and officials said that it was a new record for participation."
* 2020-08 https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/craven-cowardice-unsw-condemned-for-deleting-posts-critical-of-beijing-20200803-p55hy5.html "'Craven cowardice': UNSW condemned for deleting posts critical of Beijing" University of New South Wales
* 2020-05 Drew Pavlou 柏乐志
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Queensland[University of Queensland], Australia, was trying to get rid of him for anti-CCP campaign
** https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/24/how-a-20-year-old-student-put-the-spotlight-on-australian-universities-cosy-relationship-with-china
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o1sZefER0E <<china-uncensored,China Unscripted>> interview
China buying pre-University educational institutions:
* 2021-06-11 https://archive.ph/RkHjR Insider investigation reveals officials helped sell access to California public schools to Chinese elite
* 2021-02-21 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9282617/British-private-institutions-bought-Chinese-firms.html "The British schools selling out to Beijing: Not only are private institutions being bought by Chinese firms but some are giving communist-approved lessons that are a threat to free speech", gives list of 17 schools bought
** 2021-03-24 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/2021/03/24/chinese-buying-private-schools-should-grateful/ "The Chinese are buying into our private schools and we should be grateful" what, lady, are you nuts?
* 2019-07-10 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chinese-buy-up-more-of-england-s-private-schools-pjr6692bq "Chinese buy up more of England's private schools", "Chinese investors have secured another foothold in the English private school sector with the £150 million purchase of CATS colleges."
[[confucius-institute]]
==== Confucius institute (孔子学院)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius_Institute
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/孔子学院
News and reports:
* 2019-09 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-49511231 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191013185933/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-49511231[archive]) "Confucius Institutes: The growth of China's controversial cultural branch"
* 2019-01 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2019/01/11/u-s-universities-have-shut-down-confucius-institutes-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20190616134959/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2019/01/11/u-s-universities-have-shut-down-confucius-institutes-heres-what-you-need-to-know/[archive]) "Why U.S. universities are shutting down China-funded Confucius Institutes"
[[university-espionage]]
==== University espionage (大学间谍)
* 2021-02-08 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/8/uk-academics-investigated-over-china-military-research-report "Nearly 200 British academics at more than 12 universities in the United Kingdom are being investigated on suspicion of unwittingly helping the Chinese government build weapons of mass destruction"
* 2020-06-12 https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/fifty-four-scientists-have-lost-their-jobs-result-nih-probe-foreign-ties "Fifty-four scientists have lost their jobs as a result of NIH probe into foreign ties" and "In 93% of those cases, the hidden funding came from a Chinese institution." and "In the vast majority of cases, Lauer reported, the person being investigated has been an Asian man in his 50s."
* https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1262441045197049856.html List of professors around America caught selling secret research to the Chinese Communist Regime
* 2020-11-17 Song Guo Zheng, Ohio State University
** https://www.linkedin.com/in/song-guo-zheng-md-phd-48893641/
** https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MhjbiKIAAAAJ&hl=en
* 2020-09 Haizhou Hu from University of Virginia: https://www.cbs19news.com/story/42560934/uva-researcher-arrested-on-federal-charges
* 2020-07 Houston consulate closed due to alllegations of facilitating intellectual property theft without public proof
** https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/02/politics/us-chinese-diplomat-restrictions/index.html "US imposes new restrictions on Chinese diplomats" has been another direct effect of this most likely
* 2020-07 Juan Tang
** https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/23/chinese-researcher-wanted-by-fbi-flees-to-san-francisco-consulate-as-us-china-row-deepens "Chinese researcher wanted by FBI flees to San Francisco consulate as US-China row deepens"
** https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3094511/us-charges-four-scientists-hiding-ties-chinese-government has her PLA photos
* 2020 Hao Zhang: https://www.voanews.com/usa/chinese-professor-convicted-stealing-trade-secrets-china from Avago and Skyworks
* 2020 Charles Lieber
** https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00291-2
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_M._Lieber he had won a Wolf Prize in Chemistry
* 2019 Shih Yi-chi from UCLA
** https://www.linkedin.com/in/yi-chi-shih-9884bb20/
** https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3017017/us-federal-court-finds-chinese-american-engineer-shih-yi-chi-guilty
[[german-high-school-coordinator-2020]]
==== Chinese student coordinator in Germany tells exchange students not to support democracy (2020, 德国学校开班会4反对民主)
YET UNCONFIRMED VIDEO, we have to find who that person is exactly.
The video shows what seems to be Chinese a high school dorm coordinator saying that their Chinese exchange students must stay away from ideas <<democracy>> and freedom.
And remember that "democracy" and "freedom" are two of the <<core-socialist-values>>!
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOArB434ykU (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/508[GitHub reupload])
video::aOArB434ykU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
First ripped from uploader's <<tiktok,Douyin>> account named Michael_c118, who also appears to be the person on the video.
Original proeminent report on the West: 2020-10-04 https://twitter.com/SDeutschlands/status/1312682617888796673 by "Voice From Germany 德國之音"
https://m.yorkbbs.ca/forum/chat/5228712.aspx contains reported screenshots of the Douyin profile (no web interface it seems), include a clear face shot.
Video also commented at:
* 2020-10-31 https://forum.gamer.com.tw/C.php?bsn=60076&snA=5984833 from our friends from <<taiwan>>
* 2020-10-25 https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/jhx2mc/chinese_student_coordinator_in_germany_talking_to/ on <<reddit>>
* 2020-19-04 https://twitter.com/HKokbore/status/1312802503956848641
Key markings:
* "德国学校开班会4"
* "This man is a coordinator of Chinese high school students who study in Germany"
* "We have to say there's some problems in our dorm right now"
https://twitter.com/Hujo_DR/status/1312793758203748357/photo/1 is a screenshot of the Douyin profile showing a phone number, which looks like a Chinese number due to prefix 139: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_numbers_in_China#Mobile_phones
The screnshots posted on yorkbbs link him to "北京智享德意国际教育" (Beijing Zhixiang German/Italian International Education).
Googling "北京智享德意国际教育 linkedin" leads to UNCONFIRMED a Yun Xiao https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiaoyun79/ | https://archive.vn/CzZft which is not marked as working in the above organization, but could be the person in the video based on the profile picture (uncertain), and also works with education, thus the Google hit at his current organization (北京智晗未来教育咨询有限公司).
Searching for Google exact hits to "北京智享德意国际教育" leads to https://www.tianyancha.com/company/3283146644 which rejects foreign visits as of 2020-10-26, shows up on Google cache at https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:AihPPyAAZr8J:https://www.tianyancha.com/company/3283146644+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=ubuntu[on 2020-10-21] (https://archive.vn/xCfBQ[archive]).
[[thousand-talents-program]]
==== Thousand Talents Program (千人计划)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Talents_Plan
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/海外高层次人才引进计划
<<ciro-santilli>> believes that this is exactly the type of thing that poor countries need to do to get richer: https://cirosantilli.com/#what-poor-countries-have-to-do-to-get-richer[].
But we can't allow China to do it because China is a <<dictatorship,dictatorship>>.
[[cssa]]
==== Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA, 中国学生学者联合会)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Students_and_Scholars_Association
Abbreviation: CSSA.
* 2019-10-13 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-13/cssa-influence-australian-universities-documents-revealed/11587454 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191014032348/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-13/cssa-influence-australian-universities-documents-revealed/11587454[archive]) "Chinese Students and Scholars Association's deep links to the embassy revealed" in Australia.
* 2018-03-07 https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/07/chinas-long-arm-reaches-into-american-campuses-chinese-students-scholars-association-university-communist-party/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20191012103953/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/07/chinas-long-arm-reaches-into-american-campuses-chinese-students-scholars-association-university-communist-party/[archive])
[[ufwd]]
==== United Front Work Department (UFWD, 中共中央统一战线工作部)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Front_Work_Department
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中共中央统一战线工作部
China's "Diaspora management" organ.
The likely organizers behind <<confucius-institute>>, <<cssa>>, and likely several forms of <<astroturfing>>.
==== Astroturfing
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing
[[soft-power]]
===== Soft power (软实力)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_power
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/软实力
[[what-should-pro-democracy-chinese-living-in-china-do-about-the-dictatorship]]
=== What should pro-democracy Chinese living in China do about the dictatorship? 想要民主住在中国大陆的人应该干什么?
First of all, hide and stay safe, unless you can deal the final blow. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War[World at war, 1973], ep. 16:
A dictatorship is like a snake. If you put your foot on its tail as you do it, it will just bite you and nobody will be helped. You have to strike the head.
Once that is taken care of, a few good options are:
* hide your thoughts, manipulate your enemies, infiltrate the corporate, political and military power circles, and go up the ladder
* if you are an technological innovator, leave China and come work for the West. Don't strengthen commie power.
Alternatively, with technology you could also try the anonymous rebellion route, but the risk of getting caught is significant, leaving the country first is likely a good idea. See also:
** <<terminus2049>>
** <<programthink>>
If you don't manage to do either of the above, don't do any technological work. Go work on the fields or washing dishes. Working well for Chinese companies makes the Chinese <<dictatorship,Dictatorship>> stronger and <<war,more deadly>>. See also: <<embargo>>.
And regardless: remember your kids that the commies are bastards every day.
[[reply-policy]]
=== Ciro Santilli's reply policy (三西猴的回答政策)
People get kind of passionate sometimes about politics. And some of them might also be just malicious <<wumao,wumaos>>, although it is generally not possible to distinguish between them.
If you are not a wumao, consider this:
* Ciro Santilli is one, and antagonists are millions. It is therefore not possible to reply to all antagonists.
* Ciro has in the past tried to be nice to stupid people, and they gave nasty replies
* all discussion is useless, <<effective,only the keyword attack has any chance of having any effect, and even that is slim>>
In order to not waste too much time on those, Ciro Santilli uses the following strategy.
If the original thread post is not very interesting, try to parse it quickly and reply once, always <<better-to-do,linking to the FAQ>>, and then unfollow the thread. This shows that you're still alive, and takes little effort.
Always quote reply, and always write down the ID of the OP on your reply, because discussions like this lead to a large number of comment and account deletions, which could make your reply not make much sense without the context.
After the link addressing anything that they might have said, add three randomly selected images from this repository to it. This is fundamental because the average <<little-pink>> does not speak English. Therefore writing is pointless.
Meme images, however, cross the language barrier beautifully. It is even better if they have Chinese captions.
Another way to see it is that we are creating a harder to censor <<instagram>> channel.
You can think of them metaphorically as throwing hand grenades over the <<gfw>>. Ciro strives to add the following elements in the image itself where applicable:
* English explanation
* Chinese explanation
* date
Because the <<censorship,CCP censors politics>>, and the West does not, we can never "lose" a shitargument. Even if the <<wumao>> supports his country in a thread, just being in the same thread as the censored material could already be problematic for the wumao, as it is proof that they've seen something they should not have seen.
Therefore the only option for them is to run away.
Finally, also try to extract the email of the user from one of their repositories. When successful, Ciro takes a <<wayback-machine>> snapshot of the repository as proof of SHA, and then forks it to https://github.com/wumaoland to possibly keep their email safe in case of account deletion. You never know when this information might be useful.
Then, after replying, do your best never to read the inevitable reply again, and above all, never ever reply. An interesting reply never follows from a non-interesting original post. It is hard at first, but you will eventually get the hang of it.
If the user keeps generating notifications, block them as per link:CONTRIBUTING.md[], replying to a single person multiple times is useless.
Never block users for an initial <<shitpost,shitposts>>, just reply with a stupid joke instead. This approach creates more uncertainty and makes you look cooler. It also allows you to identify who the enemy is. Only block if the user is generating multiple notifications.
If a shitpost is made on most other social media except GitHub issues in this repository, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, immediately block the user on that website if you have the permission to do that, with a canned reply:
Hi <idiot's name>, I don't reply to China issues here, please open an issue at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues instead, cheers.
Note however that this is not possible on idiotic websites like <<quora>> where such comments may be deleted, possibly automatically, who the fuck knows, e.g. as done at: https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-if-I-walked-around-Beijing-with-a-t-shirt-that-said-freedom-of-speech-is-pretty-great/answer/Ciro-Santilli/comment/143227962 In that case just link to sections of the FAQ, or mute people, or maybe just block all comments on the post to not waste time with new useless notifications.
This is because it is not worth answering anywhere else where the information will be scattered and impossible to find later on, and especially on websites that are already blocked in China. Shitposts on Stack Overflow and other non-blocked websites are encouraged however, as they further help to get the website blocked in China.
For outbursts of activity from Chinese websites, usually programming (<<backlinks,v2ex, hacpai, pincong>>), only post the following canned answer and nothing else, because cowards/people who don't know English from the website might delete your posts, so you shouldn't waste time there with that shit:
大家你好
在我的GitHub中国FAQ repository我已经回答了好几个关于我常见的问题。
你们要是在那儿找不到一个回答,请在那个repository开一个issue,我马上就回答。
我不要再在这个网页评论。
Finally, don't forget the golden rule from https://biblehub.com/proverbs/26-4.htm[Proverbs 26:4]:
Don't answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.
which is now usually seen in the form https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/66460/origin-of-do-not-argue-with-idiots[of unclear attribution]:
Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Where basically idiot == someone who creates posts that obviously aren't teaching you any new useful thing, or that not praising you :-)
Alternatively, there is also the Chinese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengyu[chengyu] version:
对牛弹琴
which means:
Playing the <<music,qin>> to a cow.
which means to talk to someone who does not have intellectual conditions of understanding what you are trying to say, bibliography:
* https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-idiom-playing-the-qin-to-a-cow_766205.html
* https://baike.baidu.com/item/对牛弹琴/3490
More <<wumao,wumao>> focused strategies at: <<how-to-deal-with-wumaos>>.
.Chinese translation of the above.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Pokemon_political_meme_little_pink_super_effective_zh.png[height=1200]
.Cartoon depiction of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengyu[chengyu] "Playing the <<music,qin>> to a cow" 《对牛弹琴》. https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/438181067.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Play_qin_to_cow.png[height=600]
.XKCD 386 "Duty Calls" and the famous "Someone is wrong on the Internet" quote. It is a waste of time to be like that. https://xkcd.com/386/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Someone_is_wrong_on_the_Internet.png[height=400]
[[asymmetric-information-warfare]]
==== Asymmetric information warfare (不对称信息战)
This is a term "invented" by <<ciro-santilli>> to denote the type of <<dictatorships-tend-to-work-together,democracy vs dictatorship>> propaganda warfare that naturally emerges.
* the <<dictatorship,dictatorship>> has <<censorship>> and legions of possibly non-anonymous supporters. Although most supporters are <<anonymous-account-ban,actually anonymous anyways>>
* the anti-censorship democracy has memes, and a few anonymous supporters
This concept is a mixture of the concepts of:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_warfare[asymmetric warfare]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_warfare[information warfare]
.https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/its-super-effective[It's Super Effective!] meme by <<ciro-santilli>> describing how he deals with <<wumao,wumaos>> and <<little-pink,little pinks>>. Humour is the greatest weapon against dictators, and images help cross the language barrier. Composition CC BY-SA 2021, fair use on copyrighted individual elements.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Pokemon_political_meme_little_pink_super_effective.png[height=1200]
==== china-dictatorship reply bot
Due to the nature of <<asymmetric-information-warfare>>, Ciro has created a reply bot based on <<github>> Actions that does the above automatically, therefore handling 99% of the work, see:
* link:action.js[]
* link:.github/workflows/issue.yml[]
The bot works beautifully because it makes Ciro not feel the need to reply to every idiot <<wumao>> that comes along. Also Ciro can hide like a coward behind the bot by editing the bot's comment, which is perfect. This reminded Ciro from something that was said in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Call_Saul[Better Call Saul] S01 E01:
And they find themselves in a little room with a detective who acts like he's their best friend.
"Talk to me," he says. "Help me clear this thing up."
"You don't need a lawyer, only guilty people need lawyers."
And, boom, hey, that's when it all goes south.
That's when you want someone in your corner.
Someone who will fight tooth and nail.
Lawyers, we're like health insurance.
You hope you never need it, but, man, oh, man, not having it? No.
The bot is basically Ciro's lawyer, always loyally on his corner of the fighting ring.
There is only one bug with the bot as of 2021: if a <<wumao>> with unverified email makes several comments very fast, only the first one generates the reply, see e.g.:
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/cirosantilli/actions/runs/1097719382
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/cirosantilli/issues/52#issuecomment-892632342
Ciro is however curious how those unverified accounts can comment at all, as that seemd impossible when he last tried it with a dummy account, to be confirmed.
[[who-is-behind-this-amazing-faq]]
=== Who is behind this amazing FAQ? (谁是这个惊人的常见问题解答的幕后推手?)
[[ciro-santilli]]
==== Ciro Santilli (三西猴, anti-CCP fanatic, 反中共狂热, stupid cunt, 傻屄, CIA agent, CIA特工, 肏你妈的)
Original creator of https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship[]: https://cirosantilli.com/
.Ciro testing his webcam for https://askubuntu.com/questions/348838/how-to-check-available-webcams-from-the-command-line/848390#848390[an Ask Ubuntu answer].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Ciro_Santilli.png[height=400]
[[wife]]
===== Ciro Santilli's wife (三西猴的老婆)
Born and raised in China: <<why-does-ciro-santilli-love-china-so-much>>.
She and her mother do <<falun-gong>>, see also: <<flg-bias>>.
Believes to be descendant of the brother of a recent Qing emperor, see also: <<throne>>.
For this same reason, her father, who Ciro's wife worships, spent around 10 years in the 50's for being branded a counter revolutionary rightist (右派) during one of <<mao-zedong,Mao's>> purges, possibly:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_to_Suppress_Counterrevolutionaries https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/镇压反革命运动
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Rightist_Campaign https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/反右运动
It is also for this reason that many Manchu changed their names to hide their Manchu origins, which makes reconstructing their family tree much harder, as mentioned at: https://www.scmp.com/article/982136/proud-manchu-reclaims-his-rich-heritage for the purposes of <<throne>>.
Ciro's wife:
* studied in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Science_and_Technology_of_China[one of the best universities of China]
* met Ciro his wife when they were in possibly the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/École_Polytechnique[best engineering university in France] after she had refused opportunities to go to the USA
* obtained a PhD in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_theory[number theory] in one of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_and_Marie_Curie_University[best mathematics universities in the world]
and is way smarter than Ciro.
<<wumao,Wumaos>> can say many things about her, but claiming that she is not intelligent or has no culture or would have any difficulty in obtaining a qualified worker VISA without a marriage, is a lost argument from the start, she would likely kick your butt in a raw intelligence competition.
Ciro is actually the lucky one for having found her!
The fake "the woman makes the man" Obama story comes to mind https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/spousal-success-story/[] (Obama would never say that in public):
One night President Obama and his wife Michelle decided to do something out of routine and go for a casual dinner at a restaurant that wasn't too luxurious. When they were seated, the owner of the restaurant asked the President's Secret Service if he could please speak to the First Lady in private. They obliged and Michelle had a conversation with the owner.
Following this conversation President Obama asked Michelle, "Why was he so interested in talking to you?" She mentioned that in her teenage years, he had been madly in love with her. President Obama then said, "So if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely restaurant," to which Michelle responded, "No. If I had married him, he would now be the President."
[[how-do-different-websites-view-ciro-santilli-s-profile]]
=== How do different websites view Ciro Santilli's profile? (不同的网站如何看来 Ciro Santilli 的个人资料?)
<<meant-to-be-used>> contains a more general overview. This contains website specifics.
==== Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow is where <<ciro-santilli>> started his <<keyword-attack>> originally in 2015 as explained at: <<why-did-ciro-santilli-start-his-keyword-attack>>.
For non-programmers, Stack Overflow is by far the leading programmer question and answer forum of the Internet.
A programmer's daily job involves asking Google about 50 times a day "how to do X", and 90% of the time or more the best answer will be found on the Stack Overflow result that will be one of the top 3 results.
This makes Stack Overflow a fundamental tool of every programmer's daily jobs.
The current community consensus says that keyword attacks are allowed:
* https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/267368/are-political-avatars-and-profiles-ok
* https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/299882/can-a-username-be-considered-spam
* https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/349131/users-political-display-name-triggering-government-action-against-users-who-vie
However, you can't say "Public figure X is disgusting as a person" so <<wumao>>s, could you please report Ciro making fun of Xi Jinping X and see what they do about it?
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/361486/can-i-say-on-my-profile-that-i-find-that-an-ex-president-of-a-country-or-other
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/286082/does-the-be-nice-policy-require-se-users-to-be-nice-to-people-who-are-not-se-u
Reposts:
* https://twitter.com/cirosantilli/status/1365409005561147397
* https://www.reddit.com/r/DeclineIntoCensorship/comments/lt8ij5/in_stack_overflow_if_is_currently_not_allowed_to/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeech/comments/lt92ni/in_stack_overflow_if_is_currently_not_allowed_to/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/lta1f8/if_a_politician_has_committed_genocide_can_i_say/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/fucktheccp/comments/ltgdpu/leading_programmer_website_stack_overflow_does/
Oh, and you can't criticize God either! https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/231334/is-it-acceptable-to-insult-god-in-a-user-profile
The Chinese law doesn't allow Ciro's profile unfortunately: <<real-username-law>>
Since you will fail through Stack Overflow moderation, please consider instead making a report on the <<cac-report-website>>.
===== Stack Overflow forbids criticizing the character of genocidal political leaders like Xi Jinping
Edit: as was made clearer later on at <<stack-overflow-mods-refuse-to-clarify-if-anti-ccp-imagery-is-allowed-or-not-2021>>, they just generally refuse to say clearly what is allowed or not.
Ciro was actually quite shocked by this.
He thought more people on Stack Overflow would have sided with him and favored stronger freedom of speech.
But this event made him notice that people in Stack Overflow simply didn't push back against Ciro's anti Xi Jinping campaign because they don't know who the fuck Xi Jinping is, or they don't care, or they are completely hypocrite and allow criticizing Xi Jinping but not Trump.
But they do know who Trump is, and "offending Trump" makes their feeble little feelings be hurt, and they must maintain their sacred "<<politically-incorrect,political correctness>>" at all costs, even when talking about politicians. Including that the cost of freedom.
This therefore morally justifies the take-down attempts made by hundreds of <<wumao>>s against Ciro's anti Xi Jinping content.
First by initiative of Stack Overflow employee https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/508266/cesar-m[Cesar Manara (Brazilian)], the sentence:
was removed from Ciro's profile and notified.
In response, Ciro created a meta thread to confirm that the community agreed, and they did: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/361486/can-i-say-on-my-profile-that-i-find-that-an-ex-president-of-a-country-or-other[Can I say on my profile that I find that an (ex) president of a country or other major political public figure is "disgusting as a person"?] and the community agreed with the removal: it reached only 5 upvotes and 25 downvotes. Ciro's profile at the time was linked to Trump's ban on social media: link:trump-ban-is-bad.md[].
Ciro then created https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/361493/if-a-politician-has-committed-genocide-can-i-say-on-my-profile-they-look-like-w[If a politician has committed genocide, can I say on my profile they look like Winnie-the-Pooh to insult them because they hate that?] was it was also mostly downvoted, and deleted, without any answer. Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20210227034430/https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/361493/if-a-politician-has-committed-genocide-can-i-say-on-my-profile-they-look-like-w also reproduced at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/198#issuecomment-787047672 The deletion voters were:
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/215590/polygeo (Australia, big Geographic Information System person, real name based on https://polygeo.com.au/elearning-videos/[] "Graeme Browning")
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/135565/journeyman-geek (Singapore). Site elected admin at the time, which implies that his deletion cannot be undone by non-admins. TODO are they born in Singapore? If yes they might also be pro Xi Jinping, which is a clear conflict of interest with freedom of speech. But their English sounds perfect, so Ciro is not sure if it is common for Singapore natives or not.
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/140890/martijn-pieters (UK, lots of Python rep)
There was no yes/no answer by anyone, because the of cowardice and hypocrisy:
* saying "you can" would imply you can criticize Trump
* saying "you can't" would imply they support genocide
So their brains just tilted, and they clicked the "delete" button as the only possible resolution. The overly speedy deletion of posts was then raised as an issue two days later for an unrelated post: https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/405585/can-we-slow-down-on-the-deletes-on-meta-folks
Then Ciro created an answer to https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/286082/does-the-be-nice-policy-require-se-users-to-be-nice-to-people-who-are-not-se-u/361497#361497["Does the Be Nice policy require SE users to "be nice" to people who are not SE users (e.g. public figures)?"] which is a superset of the previous ones referred by them. That post is reproduced at https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/198#issuecomment-787047242 It cites the case in which the law was tested, but it was single-handedly by journeyman-geek (from Singapore) without any justification.
Ciro then finally updated his profile picture to contain <<xi-pooh-photoshop>>, archive at: https://archive.vn/iV1L8 to test the Winnie-the-Pooh case which people simply refused to answer. Let's see show that goes. As Ciro learned however, only wumaos will continue to complain, and due to hypocrisy their complaints will be ignored.
Other users who publicly went against freedom of speech in that case (in the name of "political correctness"):
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/665544/bad-coder ("West") replied at: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/361486/can-i-say-on-my-profile-that-i-find-that-an-ex-president-of-a-country-or-other/361495#361495
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/798831/ollie comments, ciro replies, they delete comment, comments, ciro reply, they delete comment... ciro gives up
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/361486/can-i-say-on-my-profile-that-i-find-that-an-ex-president-of-a-country-or-other?noredirect=1#comment1206900_361486 wants to close as duplicate of uber generic https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/208551/offensive-profiles-where-to-draw-the-line/208553#208553 and says:
we don't have to host or pay directly or indirectly to support your opinion. That's well established policy"
Freedom of speech in social media is truly threatened by the <<politically-incorrect>>.
Related issue: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/198
===== Stack Overflow political image answer placeholder (2021)
The deleted answer was https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/83446/gimp-how-to-combine-two-images-side-by-side/145543#145543
It used <<tank-man-cc-by-sa,Ciro Santilli's CC By-SA Tank Man image>>.
Of course, once again, just like mentioned at <<stack-overflow-forbids-criticizing-the-character-of-genocidal-political-leaders-like-xi-jinping>>, people prefer to:
* feel safe and good in their fake cocoon rather than have freedom. While people are dying, right now, in <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>>
* being fully inclusive means being inclusive to dictatorship supporters
No archives unfortunately, but:
* reproduced at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/269
* https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/83446/gimp-how-to-combine-two-images-side-by-side/145543#145543 (https://web.archive.org/web/20210501090745/https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/83446/gimp-how-to-combine-two-images-side-by-side/147400#147400[archive]) identical politically correct one
* analogous to https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20737061/merge-images-side-by-sidehorizontally/63575228#63575228 (https://web.archive.org/web/20210430195552/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20737061/merge-images-side-by-sidehorizontally/63575228#63575228[archive])
The full moderation team at the time can be seen publicly at https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users?tab=moderators[] (https://web.archive.org/web/20210126143732/https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users/41100/piebie[archive]) and it also contains:
* https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users/41100/piebie (https://web.archive.org/web/20210126143732/https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users/41100/piebie[archive]) Real name: Pieter Biesemans, a front-end developer from Belgium: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pieter-biesemans/
* https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users/18168/curious (https://web.archive.org/web/20210430203036/https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users/18168/curious[archive]) Anonymous, from Canada.
* https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users/19174/wrzlprmft (https://web.archive.org/web/20210430203038/https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users/19174/wrzlprmft[archive]) Gerrit Ansmann, a brain researcher from Bonn University, Germany: https://idw-online.de/de/news646752
Deletion message:
We're writing in reference to your Graphic Design Stack Exchange account:
https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/users/21867/ciro-santilli%e6%96%b0%e7%96%86%e6%a3%89%e8%8a%b1trump-ban-bad
We think you are already aware of what we are going to say, but we are going to say it anyway. Stack Exchange is an apolitical platform, and we like to keep politics as for away from our content as possible. Our little nook on the net is about Graphic Design, which has nothing to do with politics (even though it is used in the political arena all the time).
We acknowledge that politic profiles are somewhat allowed as per https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/267368/are-political-avatars-and-profiles-ok, although we do question the usefulness of 'campaigning' through a Stack Exchange profile.
We want to draw the line however at political content. There is no need to use images or other content that might be controversial or cause emotional distress, while another image or content would serve the same function. That is why we deleted you answer on this question.
We want to welcome you on our site and encourage you to keep contributing with answers. Your other answers are fine, and judging by the amount of votes, mostly well-received by the community. You may repost the answer if you can swap out the images for more neutral ones.
At the same time we want to warn you that this type of content will not be tolerated in the future and further infractions may lead to more severe consequences.
Thanks for your understanding an cooperation, we wish you a pleasant experience on GDSE.
Graphic Design Stack Exchange Moderation Team
Ciro's reply:
Is this a policy specific to graphic design website, or is it network wide, and is there an open meta question for it?
The mods then changed their discourse to mention spam rules rather than only on the "people will feel bad" aspect:
The https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/conduct[code of conduct]:
Be inclusive and respectful.
Exposing others to images of violent and traumatic events is not respectful to those on whom those images have a strong effect. This is only acceptable if the topic of the question make this inevitable, which also suffices to warn of those who are triggered by those images: Images about violent events are to be expected in a question about such events, not in a question about concatenating two images.
Rules against spam:
A post should be marked as spam only if it advertises a product, service, or similar and is unsolicited or lacks disclosure.
Unsolicited means that mentioning the product serves no purpose other than promotion. […]
You were promoting a political position and including the promotional content (instead of a neutral picture) served no purpose other than promotion. It's analogous to using a picture advertising a product as an example.
OK, the spam argument would likely win.
Ciro then hacked the images to his <<the-world-is-perfect,"The world is perfect">> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsch[kitsch] placeholder, and mods approved it, so here we go.
Ciro was planning the following meta post, but gave up on it:
Can I use political images as placeholders for questions involving images when it does not affect the validity of the answer?
For example when answering the following ImageMagick question: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20737061/merge-images-side-by-sidehorizontally/63575228#63575228 I used an image with political content.
The choice of the placeholder was completely arbitrary, and does not affect the answer in any way.
But today admins of Graphic Design Stack Exchange https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/83446/gimp-how-to-combine-two-images-side-by-side/145543#145543 deleted the post saying it is not allowed on the Graphic Design website.
> We want to draw the line however at political content. There is no need to use images or other content that might be controversial or cause emotional distress, while another image or content would serve the same function. That is why we deleted you answer on this question.
The admins mention that on profiles it is OK linking to: https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/267368/are-political-avatars-and-profiles-ok but on answers it is not.
So I would like to clarify if:
* is this a policy specific to Graphic Design or if it applies to the entire network.
* if it applies to the entire network:
** Can I use images of myself, Ciro Santilli, or is that currently considered political content?
** At https://stackoverflow.com/a/57389607/895245 I needed several images, and I had used a list of USA presidents in chronological order without much thought. Do I have to modify that answer to use another set of images?
and planned answer:
**Any images that can be used on a profile picture should also usable as a placeholder**
When you answer a question, you should have a very wide choice of what to use as a placeholder.
Politics is a perfectly legal topic, just like flowers, animals, and scenery.
The "can it be used on the profile picture" test should already filter out any content that is deemed unacceptable due to legal concerns.
Another issue is that it is extremely difficult and possibly unfair to classify what is political or not.
Suppose that Ciro Santilli became famous enough outside of programming circles such that he starts to be considered a political subject.
Would his images then start to be considered political content?
But that would be discriminatory against certain people and not others.
Freedom of speech is extremely valuable, and we should be very careful about restricting it.
There are people literally unfairly dying, right now, because they don't have it.
Do you really want to reduce yours?
The only way to prevent history from repeating itself, is to remember it.
Related spam meta posts:
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/58032/what-are-the-spam-and-rude-or-abusive-offensive-flags-and-how-do-they-wor
* https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/260638/what-is-the-exact-definition-of-spam-for-stack-overflow
[[the-world-is-perfect]]
."The world is perfect" by Ciro Santilli, CC By-SA 4.0 (2021). After Graphics Stack Exchange forbade the usage of political images, <<ciro-santilli>> created this politically correct image to serve as a censorship placeholder, and reuploaded the answer as allowed by the moderators: https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/83446/gimp-how-to-combine-two-images-side-by-side/147400#147400[]. (https://web.archive.org/web/20210501090745/https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/83446/gimp-how-to-combine-two-images-side-by-side/147400#147400[].[archive]) CC BY-SA 4.0, heart attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corazón.svg[]. <<os-problemas-da-imprensa-livre,Newspaper censorship cake recipe posts during the Brazilian military dictatorship>> and <<what-is-more-obscene-sex-or-war,"What is more obscene: sex or war?">> and <<please-enjoy-this-politically-correct-cartoon,Please enjoy this politically correct cartoon>> come strongly to mind.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base-ignore}/The_world_is_perfect.png[height=500]
."The world is perfect" as used to update Ciro Santilli's https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/83446/gimp-how-to-combine-two-images-side-by-side/147400#147400[deleted answer]. Instead of redoing the tutorial from scratch, Ciro just pasted the new image on top of the old one Stack Exchange censored: <<tank-man-cc-by-sa,Ciro Santilli's CC BY-SA Tank Man image>>. Borders of the censored image were intentionally left over however as a reminder that Stack Exchange censors. This is a work of art.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base-ignore}/The_world_is_perfect_Stack_Overflow.png[height=500]
.Politically correct version of <<tank-man-cc-by-sa,Ciro Santilli's CC By-SA Tank Man image>>. This is how <<stack-overflow,Stack Exchange>> wants the world to remember <<tiananmen>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tank_Man_drawing_censored_by_Ciro_Santilli_CC_BY_SA.png[height=500]
.At one point in Richard Feynman's talk "Los Alamos from below", he describes how external letter censorship was implemented at Los Alamos, and how he went to thoroughly test the limits of what would be censored or not.
video::uY-u1qyRM5w[youtube,width=600,height=400,start=1343]
https://i.stack.imgur.com/p9Tv9.png
===== Stack Overflow mods refuse to clarify if anti-CCP imagery is allowed or not (2021)
This one again highlights the hypocrisy of many people in the West: we decide who is good and who is evil. The CCP is now evil, so you can criticize it, even if it shocks Chinese people. Ah, Nazism shocks us, even though it is an event from the past, so that you can't do. You can only shock the Chinese people, not us.
Or: we like human rights. But not potentially disturbing someone at work even slightly is more important.
Opened a meta thread for this at: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/366163/can-i-use-images-such-as-from-tiananmen-square-protests-to-criticise-the-chinese (https://archive.ph/56KK2[archive]) where the top answer was:
We refuse to make a public decision.
In response, Ciro wrote the following essay on his profile page: link:stack-exchange-lost-freedom-of-speech.md[].
The following quote from http://cirosantilli.com/ron-maimon[Ron Maimon] comes to mind:
Unfortunately, when you're in a minority, the only way to correct the consensus view is to just shout it, and repeat it, until people go and look and check for themselves. The reason is that it creates an adversarial atmosphere where the people have to pick sides, **and they don't like to pick sides, they would rather have everyone be happy**. So when you have to pick sides, what do you do? You either butt out, you just leave it alone, you run away. Or you sit and review the evidence until you know which side to pick.
Notable people who went against in the comments:
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/295232/glorfindel from the Netherlands commented "As the Dutch police say "if you're asking for attention, you get attention".". No attempt to address the question at all. Just a direct "I'm right, you're wrong, and I'm glad you were punished".
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/282094/rob argues for "anything that raises enough flags should be taken down",
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/353058/holyblackcat "The mods and/or SE staff might not have clear guidelines in place yet, and I bet the last thing they want to do now is to figure out such guidelines to answer your question. If you have to ask, then I would refrain from adding any of that to your profile. Let's keep excessive politics out of SO."
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/361484/luuklag "Nobody limits your free speech, we don't withhold you from going out on the street and yell whatever you want. Should SE allow everything on its platform, no. That is the same as you don't allow everything in your own house." What is it with the Netherlands? They were invaded by Hitler, and now they don't want to support human rights?
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/135565/journeyman-geek again from <<stack-overflow-forbids-criticizing-the-character-of-genocidal-political-leaders-like-xi-jinping>>
Close voters and reopen voters can be seen publicly at https://web.archive.org/web/20210609071812/https://meta.stackexchange.com/posts/366163/revisions[]
First close voters:
* https://web.archive.org/web/20210506210343/https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/286501/pierre-vriens presumably from Belgium
* https://web.archive.org/web/20210609000247/https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/798831/ollie again from <<stack-overflow-forbids-criticizing-the-character-of-genocidal-political-leaders-like-xi-jinping>>
* https://web.archive.org/web/20210506134050/https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/336163/robert-columbia
* https://web.archive.org/web/20210507002405/https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/154443/rory-alsop Rory Alsop from Scotland. A LinkedIn with matching name and location: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorya/ states:
I have spent most of the last 20 years not just improving technical security in large and small organisations, but improving security and risk behaviours, awareness and culture in communities."
* https://web.archive.org/web/20210609000250/https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/622284/spevacus "I participate in Charcoal, a user-run group that fights spam and rude/abusive content across the network. Do you hate spam? Drop by Charcoal HQ and help us catch and destroy it!". Interesting! https://github.com/Charcoal-SE/SmokeDetector
First reopen voters:
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/185080/eliah-kagan Eliah Kagan, this is an awesome Ask Ubuntu dude from New York
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/377214/sonic-the-anonymous-hedgehog
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/707129/xnero presumably from USA based on https://travel.stackexchange.com/users/105447/xnero
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/384528/forest-distrusts-stackexchange
The interesting thing is that none of them had the courage to actually say "forbid Tiananmen", "forbid Falun Gong". But they all said "forbid not suitable for work". But they won't clarify if "not suitable for work" includes "not suitable for work in China".
On 2021-05-29 <<ciro-santilli>> added almost all images from this page to his Stack Overflow account as shown at: https://archive.ph/nZLgI
On 2021-05-29 <<ciro-santilli>> was suspended from Meta Stack Exchange for 7 days as shown at https://web.archive.org/web/20210529081019/https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/200117/ciro-santilli%e6%96%b0%e7%96%86%e6%a3%89%e8%8a%b1trump-ban-bad received the following message from moderators:
We're writing in reference to your Meta Stack Exchange account:
https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/200117/ciro-santilli%e6%96%b0%e7%96%86%e6%a3%89%e8%8a%b1trump-ban-bad
We note that you were previously contacted for part of your profile being offensive. It has been brought to our attention that a significant part of your profile is filled with shock pictures, nazi imagery and similar images.
We'd note that people do use this site at work, and while users have some freedom over the content of their profile, there are fairly obvious lines that shouldn't be crossed.
We do not recommend that you restore the content we removed - specifically the images without checking back with us.
We have temporarily suspended your account; you may return after 7 days.
Meta Stack Exchange Moderation Team
As can be publicly seen at https://web.archive.org/web/20210506210320/https://stackexchange.com/about/moderators the list of moderators of that website at the time was:
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/59303/chrisf[ChrisF] from the United Kingdom
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/135565/journeyman-geek[Journeyman Geek] who previously also showed up at: <<stack-overflow-forbids-criticizing-the-character-of-genocidal-political-leaders-like-xi-jinping>>
* https://meta.stackexchange.com/users/369802/tinkeringbell[Tinkeringbell] from the Netherlands
Ciro replied:
Could you clarify if the following types of images are OK or not:
- people imprisoned in Xinjiang concentration camps
- Tiananmen square protests
- making fun of Xi Jinping
- Falun Gong persecution
supposing that they show no explicit gore or violence?
All the above are considered highly shocking to many Chinese people, due in part to their strict censorship rules, and not suitable for the workplace in China.
I have been using such images for many years to criticize what I believe are terrible events in China, and the decision so far has been that I was allowed to use them.
The intent of the Nazi images is clearly to compare both regimes to criticize the Chinese Government, which I believe is following the same path as the Nazis (e.g. Concentration Camps in Xinjiang, no freedom of speech, etc.), to help prevent such abuses from happening again in the future.
I just want to clearly understand the rationale of of why anti-CCP images are OK, but anti-Nazi ones aren't, so I can follow your rules correctly and save everyone's time in the future by correctly deciding which images are OK or not.
On their next reply, they tried to dodge a directly reply, but suggested that anti-CCP imagery is forbidden:
> Could you clarify if the following types of images are OK or not:
Its not the 'topic' but rather the content.
> All the above are considered highly shocking to many Chinese people, due in part to their strict censorship rules, and not suitable for the workplace in China.
Well if your intent is to shock - don't. These are your words, not ours - and hopefully reflects a better understanding of what's not acceptable.
> I just want to clearly understand the rationale of of why anti-CCP images are OK, but anti-Nazi ones aren't, so I can follow your rules correctly and save everyone's time in the future by correctly deciding which images are OK or not.
We never said that. We gave specific examples of objectionable content. If you realise something isn't suitable - that it is something shocking, and not suitable for the workplace, as you seem to realise, it shouldn't be on your profile.
In short, we believe you have a very clear idea, from your own response, of what's not acceptable, and we hope you exercise better judgement in this regard in future.
> We never said that. We gave specific examples of objectionable content. If you realise something isn't suitable - that it is something shocking, and not suitable for the workplace, as you seem to realise, it shouldn't be on your profile.
My intent is to convey extremely important information, not to shock.
However, in dictatorships like China, extremely important information is forbidden for unfair reasons, and therefore shocking.
You forbade any Nazi imagery clearly, including to criticize the Nazis, so that is clear and I will never again add Nazi imagery.
All anti-CCP content is extremely shocking to many Chinese people (but not others). And it is not suitable for the workplace for anyone there, that is unquestionable.
Therefore, from your reply, I understand that anti-CCP content is not allowed because it is not suitable for the workplace in China, as it is shocking.
Is this understand correct? Can you please confirm very clearly and directly: do you forbid all anti-CCP imagery or not? And if it is just a partial ban, what is allowed and what is not more precisely?
My understanding from top answers at: https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/349131/users-political-display-name-triggering-government-action-against-users-who-vie is that such criticism of the CCP is allowed on the website, even though it is clearly not suitable for the workplace in China.
Sorry to ask this further, but I need a clearer guideline so I can follow it.
[[other-openly-dissident-users-on-stack-overflow]]
===== Other openly dissident users on Stack Overflow (Stack Overflow 上的其他公开持不同政见的用户)
For non-Stack Overflow specific ones see: <<chinese-dissidents>>
Query to find them: https://data.stackexchange.com/stackoverflow/query/312860/chinese-dissidents-by-keyword-aboutme-or-displayname
Notable ones only here (high rep or innovative criticism):
* "GNUSupporter 8964民主女神 地下教會"
** Real name: Vincent Tam from social media links.
** https://math.stackexchange.com/users/290189/gnusupporter-8964民主女神-地下教會#
** https://web.archive.org/web/20191209202831/https://math.stackexchange.com/users/290189/gnusupporter-8964%E6%B0%91%E4%B8%BB%E5%A5%B3%E7%A5%9E-%E5%9C%B0%E4%B8%8B%E6%95%99%E6%9C%83
** Keyword attack inspired by me
* Yu Hao
** https://stackoverflow.com/users/1009479/yu-hao
** https://archive.is/76FCb
** "<<gfw,GFW (Great Firewall of China)>> is one of the most notorious inventions in the history of Internet. Anyone working for it should be ashamed."
* gotqn
** "Free Tibet From China Domination"
** https://stackoverflow.com/users/1080354/gotqn
** https://web.archive.org/web/20190821105901/https://stackoverflow.com/users/1080354/gotqn
* Scott 混合理论
https://stackoverflow.com/users/1230329/scott-混合理论
The same message as Yu Hao, I wonder if it is an external thing or direct copy of Yu, but no Google hits besides them.
* Terry Wang
** https://stackoverflow.com/users/1801697/terry-wang
** https://archive.is/V0aSK
** Lego recreation of Tankman on the profile picture: <<lego-tank-man>>
Users who had <<gfw,GFW>> references but removed it:
* https://stackoverflow.com/users/4594532/gnimuc-key
** https://web.archive.org/web/20170331144256/https://stackoverflow.com/users/4594532/gnimuc
* https://stackoverflow.com/users/651907/jclin
** https://web.archive.org/web/20160516065151/https://stackoverflow.com/users/651907/jclin
Misc interesting stuff:
* <location>火车站酒店小姐 (about 20 accounts with that pattern)
** https://stackoverflow.com/users/7040504/莆田火车站酒店小姐
** https://web.archive.org/web/20190428090348/https://stackoverflow.com/users/7040504/%E8%8E%86%E7%94%B0%E7%81%AB%E8%BD%A6%E7%AB%99%E9%85%92%E5%BA%97%E5%B0%8F%E5%A7%90
** Interesting list of prostitution spam/sockpuppets? All have the exact same profile information.
** Hitting query due to "审查", but the usage is unrelated to the Firewall.
Query to find them: https://data.stackexchange.com/stackoverflow/query/312863/mentioned-ciro-santilli-on-aboutme-or-displayname
[[stack-overflow-anti-dissident-users]]
====== Stack Overflow anti-dissident users (Stack Overflow 反异见用户)
* https://stackoverflow.com/users/815408
** https://web.archive.org/web/20170602054631/https://stackoverflow.com/users/815408/%E8%AF%B7%E5%B0%81%E6%8E%89ciro-santilli-%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E5%85%B1%E4%BA%A7%E5%85%9A%E4%B8%87%E5%B2%81
*** username: "请封掉Ciro Santilli 中国共产党万岁"
*** profile: "中国万岁! 中国共产党万岁! 法轮功,民运,台独在中国共产党的铁蹄下不过是螳臂当车!"
** https://web.archive.org/web/20200830192811/https://stackoverflow.com/users/815408/lookintoeast became a coward, renamed to "LookIntoEast"
*** https://web.archive.org/web/20200910172706/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/63464732/how-to-set-a-custom-image-height-for-an-image-in-asciidoctor more shitcomments "可惜啊中国一天比一天强大繁荣,中国的实力碾压你们轮子跟捏死一只蚂蚁那么简单。哈哈哈哈", Yes, the CCP is very good at <<intolerance,putting old ladies in jail>>. A great thing to be proud of.
** left 3 "offensive" comments and downvoted some posts. Flagged them all. Easy suspension, https://archive.ph/lBlyk[7 days], 3 downvotes reversed as "Serial voting reversed":
*** https://web.archive.org/web/20210706074306/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/67750849/how-to-filter-by-event-type-in-chrome-devtools-profile-tab-e-g-to-see-mouse-cli?noredirect=1#comment120649535_67750849 快看,你轮子老婆正被野男人按在床上疯狂X!!! 因为你性无能!哈哈哈哈哈哈。轮子狗都是这种下场
*** https://web.archive.org/web/20210706074342/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/67773885/how-to-return-a-404-not-found-page-and-http-status-when-an-invalid-parameter-of/67773886?noredirect=1#comment120649386_67773886 快看!你老婆这只轮子🐔,一直被不同男人X呢!那个地方被X到流脓!因为你性无能哦,所以不停被你轮子老婆戴绿帽子!
*** https://web.archive.org/web/20210706074248/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/67787456/what-is-the-difference-between-fallback-false-vs-true-vs-blocking-of-getstaticpa?noredirect=1#comment120649323_67787456 轮子狗死全家!!!!!快看你妈刚被车撞死了!脑浆 一直喷!
** mentioned at https://v2ex.com/t/378274 from <<v2ex>>
** a questions only account, not many intelligent CCP supporters out there of course. 2020 edit mentions: https://web.archive.org/web/20200910173714/https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7152762/how-to-redirect-print-output-to-a-file-using-python mentions "How time flies. Almost 10 years ago I started to work on bioinformatics without any coding skills. Then I gave up my PhD and previous career and becomes a pure software engineer."
* https://stackoverflow.com/users/9393161
** https://web.archive.org/save/https://stackoverflow.com/users/9393161/ciro-santilli-%E7%9A%84%E9%80%A0%E8%B0%A3%E6%98%AF%E5%8F%AF%E8%80%BB%E8%A1%8C%E4%B8%BA
** username: "Ciro Santilli 的造谣是可耻行为" https://web.archive.org/save/https://stackoverflow.com/users/9393161/ciro-santilli-%E7%9A%84%E9%80%A0%E8%B0%A3%E6%98%AF%E5%8F%AF%E8%80%BB%E8%A1%8C%E4%B8%BA
** username: "Snowden Assange Wounded Knee"
** profile: "燃(ri)烧(si)您(ni)的(de)梦(ma),Ciro Santilli. StackOverflow上的一个用户. The Oliver Stone Experience"
** explanation:
*** "燃烧您的梦": http://www.nq6.com/dj/1674.html
*** "Wounded Knee": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre
* https://web.archive.org/web/20210621133747/https://stackoverflow.com/users/13740876/蔣禿賊送東北屠義士血染四一二蔡蛙魁請疫苗毒萬民跪地拜美倭
==== GitHub
GiHub is the new <<xidan-democracy-wall>>! :) See also: <<meant-to-be-used>>.
Interesting repositories are listed at: <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>
GitHub's site policy can be seen at: https://help.github.com/en/github/site-policy
If you believe this page violates those policies, see: <<github-report>>.
China's GitHub censorship history is documented at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_GitHub#China[], some events:
* 2019-07-29 https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/29/github-ban-sanctioned-countries/ "GitHub confirms it has blocked developers in Iran, Syria and Crimea". "As part of the push, Friedman said GitHub has enforced new restrictions to prevent users in sanctioned countries from accessing private repositories and GitHub Marketplace, as well as maintaining private paid organization accounts"
** https://github.com/1995parham/github-do-not-ban-us protest repo against the sanctions, archived as of 2020-08
** https://github.com/1995parham/github-do-not-ban-us/issues/1010 "Use gitee from china" recommending <<gitee>>
* <<censorship-circumvention>> contains some anti-censorship repositories
* <<cute-cat-theory-of-digital-activism>>
* https://www.quora.com/Is-GitHub-com-allowed-in-China/answer/Ciro-Santilli
[[github-report]]
===== How to report a user on GitHub (GitHub上怎么举报用户?)
Click the report abuse button on https://github.com/cirosantilli[Ciro's profile], which links to: https://github.com/contact/report-abuse?report=cirosantilli+%28user%29 or you can just contacat support@github.com
If you do so, please feel free to also open an issue on this repository saying why you believe the site policy has been violated.
Those issues will be marked with: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Aabuse-report+
It will be fun to watch you try, and fail.
This is because you do not understand how important the concept of <<richer,freedom of speech is>> in the West, and how amazing it feels when you are right, and it protects you.
The only thing that would work is if the Chinese government makes a gov-takedown on this repo: <<github-gov-takedowns>>, in which case: <<strategy-if-this-repo-gets-added-to-github-gov-takedowns>>.
In order to get this repository in gov-takedown, your best bet is to use the <<cac-report-website>>.
admin.github.com hits to cirosantilli.com:
admin.github.com hits to GitHub repository:
* 2021-05-30 6 from 1 user
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/388634161 如果举报github上的这种情况? (How to report this type of circunstance on GitHub.) Question links to <<evil-man>>.
A few answers then started mentioning <<github-com-cirosantilli-china-dictatorship>>:
** 2021-08-15 https://www.zhihu.com/question/388634161/answer/2062103232 "主楼的没了,这个存在一年左右了,有人来举报吗?" (The repo the OP mentioned (<<evil-man>>) does not exist anymore. Did anyone report this one?). Real answer: because <<ciro-santilli>> is not Chinese, you cannot arrest him like you arrested the author of <<evil-man>>.
** 2021-08-224 https://www.zhihu.com/question/388634161/answer/2080367170 "大家一起举报上面内容" (Let's everybody report the above content together) with a screenshot: https://pic3.zhimg.com/v2-15efd54f1a16e17ef1ae77702b03bb88_r.jpg?source=1940ef5c[]. Ah, the beauty of it.
One of the answers recommends the following message:
Hello, I'd like to report a person who abused Github, this person has created multiple accounts and added some offensive repo, these repo are not related to technology and disgusting content, causing many users to search this spam repo. These contents violate the Github's terms, I hope Github can banned this account.
Poor <<wumao>>s. With this language/intonation, they are off to a bad start from th emessage itself.
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/388634161/answer/2112339988 shows how to do it with adblock plus by removing specific page elements for the search. Similar to greasefork methods mentioned at <<disturbs>>.
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/388634161/answer/2101125957 does not understan what off topic means, and says that the attack is worse on <<stack-overflow>> and rants <<meant-to-be-used>>. Due to their limited English, they do not seem to realize that both keyword attacks are by the same person, <<ciro-santilli>>.
.How to report an user on GitHhub.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/How_to_report_an_user_on_GitHub.png[height=2000]
[[github-censored-subdomains]]
===== GitHub censored subdomains (GitHub 审查的子域)
It appears according to <<greatfire>> however that there are some important GitHub censored subdomains, notably:
* https://raw.githubusercontent.com[], from which images and other downloads are served. Therefore all images served from GitHub should be broken in China
* https://gist.github.com[], https://en.greatfire.org/https/gist.github.com[]: meh, that's useless, just create a github.com/notes repo and dump your stuff there
However, at least for raw, <<geoscreenshot>> disagrees:
* 2020-09-30 https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship | http://web.archive.org/web/20200930075102/https://s3.amazonaws.com/geoscreenshot-static/d3fdb97d-2ac3-4f57-a737-6fab2997fb1a.html
* 2020-09-30 https://gist.github.com/ | https://archive.vn/wip/VUNU4
* https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/146517/how-it-is-possible-that-some-pages-of-an-https-website-like-github-are-marked-as
[[github-gov-takedowns]]
===== GitHub gov-takedowns (由其各自政府在某个国家审查的仓库的GitHub官方列表)
https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns
This official GitHub repository tracks which repositories are blocked in specific countries.
GitHub has absolute transparency about Government takedowns, which is awesome: https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns/tree/master/China
This makes that repo into a list of fun things.
As of 2019-05 there had only been only two takedowns by China however, compared to dozens by <<russia>>. The Chinese commies are not big fans of transparency it seems.
As of 2020-03, besides the <<programthink,Zhao>> takedown, all other takedowns happened in 2019, and most seem to be <<falun-gong>>/<<epoch-times>> sponsored ways to <<censorship-circumvention,climb the wall>>.
The message GitHub shows on the blocked countries is:
Repository unavailable in your location
This repository is currently disabled in your location. For more details please see the takedown notice.
Here are some examples of people reacting to the blocking of https://github.com/programthink/zhao/issues/38 as per https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns/blob/78775b09e64d85f08547287cab204b48b2491192/China/2016/2016-06-08-programthink-zhao.md from China (and likely on the entire repository, which appears to be the block granularity implemented):
* https://github.com/programthink/books/issues/31 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191023093618/https://github.com/programthink/books/issues/31[archive])
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/284445884/ corresponding Google bomb at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/71
* https://program-think.blogspot.com/2018/04/Zhao-at-GitHub.html?comment=1524671692761#1524671692761
See also: <<programthink>>
To check China only takedowns such as this, we cannot use <<censorship-monitoring,Great Fire Analyzer>>, which reports the page as accessible: the only tool <<ciro-santilli>> could find so far to capture a page from China a bit like Web Archive was: <<geoscreenshot>>
.<<geoscreenshot>> of https://github.com/programthink/zhao/issues/38 from <<programthink>> taken on 2020-09-31 from China. The "Repository unavailable in your location" message shows, since https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns/blob/master/China/2016/2016-06-08-programthink-zhao.md[this repository is in gov-takedowns/china].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/GitHub_Programthink_Zhao_issue_38_China_geoscreenshot_2020_09_31.png[height=400]
[[strategy-if-this-repo-gets-added-to-github-gov-takedowns]]
====== Strategy if this repo gets added to GitHub gov-takedowns (如果此 repo 被添加到 GitHub gov-takedowns 中的策略)
If this happens, we well proceed to create alternative repos `china-dictatorship-2`, `china-dictatorship-3`, etc. and it would be fun to see how that gets handled.
Edit: <<china-dictatorship-chinese-web-browser-block>>, <<ciro-santilli>> decided to create: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship-2 even though the repository hadn't been added to gov-takedowns.
Can Github add an entire user to gov-takedowns? We shall find out.
But remember that we also have: <<mirrors>>, and that this can be easily rendered as a single HTML page and uploaded to any static website host.
[[gov-takedowns-china]]
====== gov-takedowns/China (由中共在国审查的库仓的GitHub官方列表)
Skipping all <<falun-gong>>/<<epoch-times>> repos with very few stars, mostly some <<gfw>> skip methods, those are noise, and possibly added only to dilute the real deal.
** https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns/blob/caef002cb19309c318ea01afb4d3cec98bcd4042/China/2016/2016-06-08-programthink-zhao.md[] https://github.com/programthink/zhao[]. <<programthink,Zhao>>
** https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns/blob/master/China/2019/2019-11-06-MPS.md
*** https://github.com/greatfire/wiki Wiki of <<greatfire>>. <<censorship-circumvention>>. Precise issue: https://github.com/greatfire/wiki/issues/166[] (no archives).
*** https://github.com/gfw-breaker[], see also: <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>
[[github-objectionable-content]]
===== GitHub "This repository may contain objectionable content" (此仓库可能包含令人反感的内容)
GitHub has a veru little known feature called:
This repository may contain objectionable content
TODO exact Chinese phrase on UI.
When GitHub admins set this on a repository, it has the following effects:
* the repository cannot be seen by logged off users! Trying to do that results in a redirect. This puts such repositories at great disadvantage on search engine optimization
* the first time you visit the repository, they ask you if you want to continue
This is not a transparent mechanism, as it does not clearly state why the repository has objectionable content.
Known repositories with that enabled:
* <<duty-machine>> as of August 2021 https://github.com/duty-machine/duty-machine[]:
** 2021-08-18 <<wayback-machine>>: redirects to login: https://web.archive.org/web/20210818110306/https://github.com/login?return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fduty-machine%2Fduty-machine
** 2021-08-18 <<archive-today>>: https://archive.ph/jtX4p shows the actual message since it uses a logged-in user for its archives
* https://github.com/Yanqiu-gui/-[]. Appears to be some kind of textual softporn repo.
TODO: <<ciro-santilli>> once saw that message when visiting: https://github.com/Yanqiu-gui/-/issues/5 on 2021-05-19 for the first time, but not on the following ones.
How does that message get added exactly?
And you are forced you to login to view that repository!
Incredible, a hidden undocumented semi-hide-repo feature.
Here's an archive: https://archive.ph/VJQdD That click wall also prevents archives of the repository therefore.
[[github-censorship-guidelines]]
===== GitHub censorship guidelines (GitHub 审查指南)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9966118 GitHub threatens to shut down a repository for using the word 'retard'  (2015)
===== Gitee
For our mirror there, see: <<gitee-censorship>>.
Linked to "Open Source China" (开源中国) according to TechCrunch:
The project will be carried out by a consortium led by Open Source China, the Shenzhen-based firm behind its namesake open-source community and Gitee.
* https://github.com/oschina GitHub OAuth goes through that organization
* https://www.oschina.net/ their website
At https://gitee.com/mirrors they mirrors 21 thousand repositories as of 2021, updating them daily, with the goal of having "higher download speeds" in mainland China. Not that their speed is shit because of censorships of course.
Mirrors containing Ciro's keywords or related interesting stuff:
* https://gitee.com/alexi126/linux-kernel-module-cheat https://archive.vn/wip/aDWVq
* https://toscode.gitee.com/rpbf/vim-snippets/blob/master/AUTHORS#L67 https://archive.vn/wip/MuuoK "Ciro Santilli 六四事件"
* sensitive domain lists:
* https://gitee.com/aiqz/pac ans specifically https://gitee.com/aiqz/pac/blob/master/pac.txt contains a proxy list with `||cirosantilli.com`, which is a decoded version of the base-64 encoded <<gfwlist>> normally used for <<censorship-circumvention>>. Lol.
* sensitive word lists. In <<censorship,censoring>>, we display. It is fun to see how they censor at every level, including the keyboard input method. Fear is everywhere, <<newspeak>> must be enforced at all costs:
* https://gitee.com/markxx/tochat/blob/dev/tochat.sql even website project templates must come with a censored word list: https://gitee.com/markxx/tochat/blob/dev/tochat.sql#L6299 "六四事件"
* https://gitee.com/aiban_junjie_fan/sensitive_words/blob/master/words.txt
* https://gitee.com/bryan31/liteBanner/blob/master/src/main/resources/sensi_words.txt
* https://gitee.com/thinksaas/thinksaas/blob/master/install/install.sql#L138
* https://gitee.com/guobinyong/wubixinshiji/blob/master/wubixinshiji.dict.yaml is a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wubi_method input program
* https://gitee.com/xkinput/xklbs/blob/master/星二S词库.txt
* https://gitee.com/latpaw/emacs/blob/master/site-lisp/eim/cjeb.txt#L10288[]. This interesting emacs config appears to expand e.g. `fclg` into `法轮功` on tab complete. Nice.
As of 2021, it requires login to see:
* commit history: https://gitee.com/mirrors/luarocks-build-xmake/commit/8b18f1f62ba26944f117ed549ddaeea210fbdd6e History must be controlled, history is dangerous. See also <<baidu,Baidu Baike>>, <<baidu-baike-censorship-of-hao-haidong>>:
* files larger than 1MB: https://gitee.com/xkinput/xklbs/blob/master/星二S词库.txt
* 2020-11-10 https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/10/gitee_linux_foundation_china_mirror/ "China's government-anointed Git operator says it will become a Linux Foundation mirror"
* <<huawei>> open sourced is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony_OS[Harmony OS] "IoT operating system" in Gitee: https://openharmony.gitee.com/openharmony
The name of that OS is pure gold considering the Chinese origin, since "to harmonize" is often used as a way to say "to censor negative CCP information".
That URL also likely highlights Huawei's intense influence on Gitee, the as the custom domain redirects to it: https://openharmony.gitee.com[], as opposed to what normal users can likely create https://gitee.com/openharmony[].
* 2020-08-21 https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/21/china-is-building-its-github-alternative-gitee/ "China is building a GitHub alternative called Gitee"
<<ciro-santilli>> commented about his <<gitee-censorship>> experiment there, it got 26 upvotes 13 downvotes, and as removed as "This post violated our policy.". There is no way to appeal that in that idiotic system. It is absed on: https://www.openweb.com/ It is also bugged as fuck. Sometimes says violates policy, then there's a JavaScript update andthe comment shows.
[[gitee-censorship]]
====== Gitee censorship (Gitee 审查)
After posting our <<mirrors>> there, it was blocked in 12 hours:
* https://gitee.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
** archive immediately after creation: https://web.archive.org/web/20200821202450if_/https://gitee.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
** blocked archive 12 hours later: https://web.archive.org/web/20200822111436/https://gitee.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
{"status":404,"data":null,"message":"404 Not Found"}
* https://gitee.com/cirosantilli
** archive immediately after: https://web.archive.org/web/20200821202055/https://gitee.com/cirosantilli
** archive 12 hours later: https://web.archive.org/web/20200822111721/https://gitee.com/cirosantilli
{"status":403,"data":null,"message":"The user has been blocked"}
The block email is:
仓库 cirosantilli/China Dictatorship 已被锁定
原因: 根据相关法律法规和政策,本仓库暂停访问。
Other known blocked china-dictatorship forks:
* https://gitee.com/jaime_li/china-dictatorship no archives, can't find another account by the same user, but got a backlink 2021-06-22
[[github-chinese-top-charts]]
===== GitHub-Chinese-Top-Charts (GitHub中文排行榜)
https://github.com/kon9chunkit/GitHub-Chinese-Top-Charts
Automatically generated list of repos with Chinese characters in their descriptions with the most upvotes per programming language.
<<github-com-cirosantilli-china-dictatorship>> appeared on the front page at one point: https://github.com/kon9chunkit/GitHub-Chinese-Top-Charts/tree/73ef00e9f846dd380769095f08648e5e1a06596f Let's see how long until it gets censored.
At https://github.com/kon9chunkit/GitHub-Chinese-Top-Charts/issues/177 a <<wumao>> asked "为什么一些奇怪的项目也能进榜单?" (Why can some weird projects appear in the project list?)
Also reproduced at: https://www.w3cschool.cn/article/22061212.html
[[zhihu]]
==== Zhihu (知乎, censored Quora clone, 审查 Quora 克隆)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhihu
The Chinese <<quora,Quora>> clone, but highly censored: <<zhihu-censorship>>.
Some interesting questions not related to <<ciro-santilli>>. Ciro related questions at: <<zhihu-questions-related-to-ciro-santilli>>.
* <<censorship>>
** https://www.zhihu.com/question/29279520/answer/110611566 "为什么有人一边支持审查制度一边还喜欢看美剧、日漫?" "Why are some people in favor of censorship, but at the same time still like to watch American series?" (https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091047/https://www.zhihu.com/question/29279520/answer/110611566[archive])
** Censorship in Zhihu
*** https://www.zhihu.com/question/23376181 "你对知乎的审查系统有何意见?" "What is your view of Zhihu's censorship system?" (https://web.archive.org/web/20200329115919/https://www.zhihu.com/question/23376181[archive]) "由于众所周知的原因,知乎上的文章和答案一旦涉及某些字眼,就会触发审查,其方式是让你的文字暂时仅自己可见"
*** https://www.zhihu.com/question/21099730 从知乎建站以来被封禁的用户都有哪些?Since Zhihu's founding, which accounts have been blocked on the website? (https://web.archive.org/web/20200112103049/https://www.zhihu.com/question/21099730[archive]) (https://archive.is/dH9pK[archive]). The top answer contains a list, and a brief explanation of why some of them were banned:
**** Ciro Santilli: S/O 红人 (fStack Overflow celebrity)
**** "ww" in explanations means "big laugh" according to: https://hinative.com/zh-CN/questions/8349706 because a single "w" means a small laugh
**** several accounts are linked to one specific answer or comment
**** other accounts are classified as often commenting on <<politically-sensitive>> material
* <<falun-gong>>
** <<flg-daily>>
*** https://www.zhihu.com/question/27659795 (https://web.archive.org/web/20200429084153/https://www.zhihu.com/signin?next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zhihu.com%2Fquestion%2F27659795[blocked as of 2020-04], https://web.archive.org/web/20150603025013/http://www.zhihu.com/question/27659795[archive from 2015]) 家里有人练法轮功是一种怎样的体验? How is it like to live with Falun Gong believers?
** <<flg-changed>>
*** https://www.zhihu.com/question/23988890 (https://web.archive.org/web/20200429084640/https://www.zhihu.com/signin?next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zhihu.com%2Fquestion%2F23988890[blocked as of 2020-04], https://web.archive.org/web/20160311140407/https://www.zhihu.com/question/23988890[2016-03 archive]) "全能神教在境外,法轮功也在境外,为什么他们不祸害境外人民、偏偏只祸害大陆人?"<<eastern-lightning,Eastern Lightning>> exists outside of the country [China], Falun Gong exists outside of the country, so why is is that they don't harm people in those countries, but only harm people in Mainland China?"
** https://www.zhihu.com/question/370080866/answer/1046195468 "为什么中国影视作品不允许LGBT的出现?" "Why is it not allowed to show LGBT content in Chinese film and television?" (https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091622/https://www.zhihu.com/question/370080866/answer/1046195468[archive])
* <<zhihu-censorship-of-hao-haidong>>
.The Zhihu 404 page image. When they take the posts down as of 2020, it shows the 404 page which reads "你似乎来到了没有知识存在的荒原" (you seem to have come to a wasteland about which does does not exist any knowledge), and shows this symbol. https://web.archive.org/web/20200614114534/https://www.zhihu.com/topic/20080590/intro[Source].
i mage::https://web.archive.org/web/20200614114535im_/https://static.zhihu.com/heifetz/assets/liukanshan_wire.e7247fbf.svg[height=500]
[[zhihu-censorship]]
==== Zhihu censorship (知乎审查)
More general censorship discussion at: <<censorship>>.
Examples of Zhihu censorship:
* <<zhihu-purge>>
Other discussions:
* https://www.quora.com/How-strict-is-Zhihus-content-censorship
[[zhihu-purge]]
===== Ciro Santilli's Zhihu purge 2019-11-03 (三西猴被知乎抹去)
On this day, not only the posts made by Ciro himself were deleted: he had never asked any questions or made any Zhuanlan posts himself, only replied to those. But that content made by other users was still removed. Therefore, this is not just a simple user ban, but active censorship.
Ciro received an email from account@mail.zhihu.com:
您好,Ciro Santilli,很抱歉您的回答受到了牵连,您回答过的问题「github.com@cirosantilli 是谁维护的,为什么会收集邮箱地址?」因「违反互联网相关法律法规」已被删除。
followed by Ciro's answer to <<zhihu-46957710>>. Ciro could not login anymore, the login screen showed:
帐号已停用,请联系:user@zhihu.com
So likely someone must have used the fact that this was an edgy personally information release subject issue, and then someone from Zhihu decided to purge Ciro and anyone posts that ever talked about him.
Ciro's blocked account:
* before deletion: https://web.archive.org/web/20190821075907/https://www.zhihu.com/people/cirosantilli/activities
* after deletion (redirects to login page): https://web.archive.org/web/20191103071033/https://www.zhihu.com/signin?next=http://www.zhihu.com/people/cirosantilli/activities
Random unblocked control account: https://www.zhihu.com/people/lu-zhen-yu-96-65/activities (https://web.archive.org/web/20191103070652/https://www.zhihu.com/people/lu-zhen-yu-96-65/activities[archive]).
Furthermore, all questions related to Ciro, including the posts criticizing him such as https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/25600138[] (https://archive.is/DkooN[archive]), were taken down. This made Ciro laugh: in China, you can't even criticize that which is censored, or your post also gets taken down.
Ciro then created an anonymous Zhihu account after this event.
Interestingly however, the following answer came up later on: <<zhihu-ted-chiang-answer>> and stayed up for at least 5 months, which indicates that Zhihu did a one-off removal, and did not set up a filter for Ciro's name.
====== Ciro Santilli's Zhihu ban 2018-06-25
<<ciro-santilli>> was banned from Zhihu on 2018-06-25 for "<<politically-sensitive>>" content.
As a result, since that time I will be answering Zhihu questions as issues in this repo with the `zhihu` label: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Azhihu+
I have however never posted anything politically sensitive on Zhihu, unless my name and profile picture have reached that distinction, and therefore the ban is clearly an unfair per-person ban.
But of course, all is fair in love and war, and politics.
Posting any sensitive content on Chinese websites is a waste of time, since it only means that they will be removed and you will waste time creating a new account, I will never do that.
The only significant content I ever posted on Zhihu is the answer to: https://www.zhihu.com/question/46957710/answer/122827944 which is purely technical, and trivial replies on threads that other people have started about me. Have those people been blocked like me?
My posts are still up and it does not appear to be possible for people to see that I have been banned, but whenever I try to take any action on the website a popup appears saying:
由于严重违反 知乎社区管理规定 ,该帐号已被永久禁言
This includes liking, commenting, answering, asking or trying to update my profile to say that I have been blocked.
This message also shows on my public page for everyone to see: https://www.zhihu.com/people/cirosantilli/activities but they use some JavaScript scheme complicated enough that archive.is cannot capture it.
I still get notifications however, but I am unable to reply to them, especially given that all Chinese accounts, unlike mine, have no personal identifiable information due to the understandable fear Chinese citizens have of their own government, even though such accounts might be illegal in theory: <<anonymous-account-ban>>.
The only action that I can take now is to report abusive comments people make to me.
Obviously, the only effect of such ban is that I will create an <<anonymous-account-ban,anonymous account>> under Tor with a second cell phone if I wish to contribute in the future, and China will have less information about my political interests than before.
The private messages the website sends while banning you are:
知乎管理员 :您好,根据用户举报,您的帐号发布了「<<politically-sensitive,政治敏感>>」内容,帐号已根据知乎社区规范被永久禁言。处理详情可查看社区服务中心。具体规范请查看知乎社区管理规定。 6月25日 16:37 回复 | 删除
知乎管理员 :您好,根据用户举报,您的部分个人信息由于不符合知乎用户信息管理规范已被重置。用户名可以在设置页面中修改,修改后会自动进入审核等待通过;其他个人信息可以在个人主页中编辑。感谢您对知乎社区的理解和支持。 6月25日 16:37 回复 | 删除
Those messages contain links to: https://www.zhihu.com/terms2 | https://archive.is/wdXSz and https://www.zhihu.com/question/19551824 | https://archive.is/BrgV2
The ban came soon after I posted a link to my GitHub repo as a comment at: https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/ice-employee-list-github-linkedin/ maybe they are related.
[[who-reported-ciro-santilli-on-zhihu]]
====== Who reported Ciro Santilli on Zhihu (谁在知乎上举报了 Ciro Santilli)
At the same time the ban happened I received a public comment from user "Eureka" https://www.zhihu.com/people/crb912/activities | https://archive.is/1F3t6 on this thread: https://www.zhihu.com/question/46957710 | https://archive.is/PVOLd saying:
你滥用了github, 也滥用了Stackover。这个一个纯粹计算机、编程和知识分享的地方,请不要带入政治性的色彩。请不要这么做, 维护社区的非政治性、中立和技术性纯粹,是每个热爱cs的人应尽的义务。
I am unable to get a URL that shows the comment on archive.is, so I have no proof of this claim. If you trust me, then here is a screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/YCiEEax
Since I expect the ban lists to be private, I find it extremely likely that this was the user who reported me, unless both were simultaneously triggered by a third event which I have not seen. So correct me if I'm wrong here.
Users with the same user id `crb912`, related "Eureka" username or same profile picture, can be found at:
* https://www.weibo.com/crb912 (unable to archive) on <<weibo>>
* https://github.com/crb912 | https://archive.is/heGfd which suggests a possible real name
By Googling the email found on the GitHub repos, we find: http://www.360doc.com/content/15/0809/11/25724933_490492490.shtml | https://archive.is/2UnGL which might, at last, contain a photo of my nemesis.
My public message to the reporter whomever he may be:
While you have also raised issues that were raised a thousand times before, and clearly answered in the FAQ, at least you were able to take some actual action leading to an actual ban, and I respect you for that.
I hope that one day you will redirect that cunning and initiative towards taking down the root cause of the problem, which are the Chinese communist Party and their Firewall themselves.
[[zhihu-questions-related-to-ciro-santilli]]
===== Zhihu questions related to Ciro Santilli (三西猴相关的知乎问题)
Parent section: <<backlinks>>
All Zhihu posts related to Ciro Santilli were deleted following <<zhihu-purge>>. Some had been deleted before.
* 2019-06-12: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/68869259 (https://web.archive.org/web/20190905071450/https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/68869259[archive before deletion], (https://web.archive.org/web/20191103072349/https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/68869259[archive after deletion])) "德国极端分子黑我们大中国!犯我中华者,虽远必诛!!". Ciro wonders why the poster thought Ciro was German.
* 2019-03: https://www.zhihu.com/question/316700162 (https://archive.is/ewxqb[archive before deletion], (https://web.archive.org/web/20191103065512/https://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://www.zhihu.com/question/316700162[archive after deletion])) "如何看待Github Trending上Ciro Santilli的众多开源项目?". Due to: https://github.com/cirosantilli/x86-bare-metal-examples being featured on Hacker News: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19428700
* 2018-11: https://www.zhihu.com/question/302738350 (https://archive.is/lkQxS[archive before deletion], (https://web.archive.org/web/20191103065759/https://www.zhihu.com/question/302738350[archive after deletion])) "如何评价Ciro Santilli对Stack Overflow和GitHub的扰乱?"
* 2017-03-07: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/25600138 (https://archive.is/DkooN[archive before deletion], (https://web.archive.org/web/20191103065808/https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/25600138[archive after deletion])) "StackOverflow 上的一个智障用户"
** 2017-03 https://sololand.moe/2017/03/06/brain-fucked-user-on-stackoverflow (https://web.archive.org/save/https://sololand.moe/2017/03/06/brain-fucked-user-on-stackoverflow/[archive]) by https://github.com/brglng/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20180802090918/https://github.com/brglng/[archive]) "StackOverflow 上的一个智障用户" contains a copy of the post by the same author.
It just makes Ciro smile whenever he thinks that their post criticizing Ciro was deleted by the CCP, and they still might support the CCP, <<meant-to-be-used,Stockholm syndrome comes to mind>>.
As of 2020, that website generates a constant stream of incoming traffic to the issue it links to: https://github.com/cirosantilli/chat/issues/26[]. Unfortunately brglng was a coward and removed his comments leaving the conversation a bit broken, and this was before Ciro <<wayback-machine,web archived obsessively>>.
* 2015-08-18: https://www.zhihu.com/question/34775392 (https://web.archive.org/web/20160219094646/https://www.zhihu.com/question/34775392[archive before deletion], (https://web.archive.org/web/20191103065816/https://www.zhihu.com/question/34775392[archive after deletion])) "你们怎么看stackoverflow上某人故意屏蔽中国访问的事件?"
A random control question that shows that archive.org 404's are actually deleted questions: https://www.zhihu.com/question/316700165 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191103065449/https://www.zhihu.com/question/316700165[archive]).
Mentions not yet deleted as of writing:
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/21099730 at <<zhihu>>
[[zhihu-ted-chiang-answer]]
====== Answer to the Zhihu question "How do you evaluate Ted Chiang's 'Evil Chinese Characters' essay?" "如何评价姜峯楠(Ted Chiang)在纽约客上的随笔《坏汉字》?"的回答
https://www.zhihu.com/question/47205991/answer/967940202 (http://web.archive.org/web/20200628101940/https://www.zhihu.com/question/47205991/answer/967940202[archive])
Contains reactions to the post: <<evil-chinese-characters-by-ted-chiang>>, and this answer says that even though Ciro Santilli is amazingly smart, he cannot be bothered to learn Chinese characters, quoting Ciro's comments from: <<does-ciro-santilli-speak-chinese>>.
This post was interesting because it happened after <<zhihu-purge>>, which indicates that Zhihu did not setup an automated "Ciro Santilli" filter.
[[zhihu-46957710]]
====== github.com@cirosantilli 是谁维护的,为什么会收集邮箱地址?
https://www.zhihu.com/question/46957710 (https://archive.is/PVOLd[archive before deletion], (https://web.archive.org/web/20191103065828/https://www.zhihu.com/question/46957710[archive after deletion])).
Asked in 2016-09 after Ciro published: https://github.com/cirosantilli/all-github-commit-emails
Deleted after <<zhihu-purge>>. Ciro's answer before deletion:
你用的git config user.email当然是公开的:谁都会git clone就知道了。
问题就是git repository很大,我们不会都clone.
但是github有一个API,收集很多信息,包括邮件。
然后,Google用了那个API给他们的https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/...信息。
BigQuery对程序员很容易提取信息,是我用的。
我发表邮件以后,两个东西变化了:
1. Google 把邮件从BigQuery删除
2. GitHub 更新他们的隐私声明GitHub Privacy Statement
这就是我的木比:保护人们的隐私权
我的README.md更详细地解释。
==== Quora
https://www.quora.com/profile/Ciro-Santilli
Quora is https://cirosantilli.com/quora[a generally shitty website], with mechanisms that allow <<wumao,wumaos>> to quench freedom of speech.
Quora is a major platform for <<astroturfing>>.
Ironically, as usual, is it also blocked in China:
* according to <<greatfire>>: https://en.greatfire.org/https/www.quora.com
* 2018-03 news coverage https://www.businessinsider.com/china-banned-zhihu-over-censorship-2018-3?r=US&IR=T
Examples of activity related to Ciro Santilli:
* 2016 Ciro Santilli's profile was blocked because it had Chinese keywords on both my username and credentials. Justification: "non-English".
* 2017 created one in English: Cook <<tiananmen,Tiananmen Square>> Noodle Shop, from <<falun-sweden>>
Added my Noodle shop to maps: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Tiananmen+Square+Noodle+Shop/@60.6132538,15.6687509,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x94603408e3c63fb3!8m2!3d60.6132538!4d15.6687509
Leach websites that picked it up: https://kvalster.se/Falu/Uthyres/Lagenheter/Gammelvagen_49_1417351
Quora is also shitty because wumaos can downvote your answer privately regardless of reputation and make it become collapsed as "Answer may need improvement", which means it goes to the bottom and readers have to click an "expand collapsed answers" button to see it, so that very few people will ever see it.
Then have to appeal and wait for moderators to evaluate it.
This happened for example at: https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-if-I-walked-around-Beijing-with-a-t-shirt-that-said-freedom-of-speech-is-pretty-great/answer/Ciro-Santilli (see also <<t-shirt>>).
Ciro appealed in 2020-03-10 and the answer was reinstated on day later, but by then the question was already not being suggested as much to readers, and the other wumao answers (which criticize the USA rather than answering the question about China).
While there is some probability that the answers themselves are not wumaos, their upvoters almost certainly are and must be investigated.
Other shitty aspects of Quora include:
* block <<wayback-machine>> archives with their robots.txt, gotta use <<archive-today>>
* automatically add random topics that you don't care about to your suggestions, with no easy way to prevent that.
* questions cannot have more than one sentence. There used to be a question body, but it was replaced with a "link for context". Ridiculous.
As a result, on the few occasions that Ciro posts on Quora, all content will also be mirrored here. Ciro's China Quora answers include:
* https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-if-I-walked-around-Beijing-with-a-t-shirt-that-said-freedom-of-speech-is-pretty-great/answer/Ciro-Santilli[What would happen if I walked around Beijing with a t-shirt that said "freedom of speech is pretty great"?] (https://archive.is/PxjJA[archive]) see also: <<t-shirt>>
* https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-net-worth-of-Xi-Jinping/answer/Ciro-Santilli[What is the net worth of Xi Jinping?] see also: <<panama-papers>>
Some <<wumao,wumaos>>:
* http://archive.is/WzIcg[]: a Han supremacist!
* on <<reddit>>
** 2021-03 https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/lv0n24/has_quora_been_overrun_with_chinese_propaganda/
*** 2021-04 https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/mkfgrb/quora_is_officially_a_propaganda_network_for_the/
[[ptt]]
==== PTT Bulletin Board System (Taiwanese message board, 批踢踢實業坊)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PTT_Bulletin_Board_System
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/批踢踢
Popular <<taiwan,Taiwanese>> forum system and server from 1995, pre HTML, works from telnet terminal, so likely very programmer heavy, and obviously anti-CCP, as of 2020 often shows <<falun-gong>> ads.
<<ciro-santilli>>'s appearances on PTT:
* 2020-10-09: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/joke/M.1602211516.A.3FB.html 如何一秒惹怒中國人 (how to provoke a Chinese person in one second) by https://pttweb.tw/user/abc60575986/[abc60575986] saying "台灣是一個國家" (Taiwan is a country). Then https://pttweb.tw/user/kugwa/[kugwa] linked to <<keyword-attack,Ciro Santilli's Stack Overflow profile>>
* 2020-01-31: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Gossiping/M.1580484253.A.37A.html "stackoverflow菁英卻痛恨中國" by https://pttweb.tw/user/Eric0605/["Eric0605 (我還有點餓)"] on the Gossiping board. One of the comments then links to http://cirosantilli.com
* 2017-06-19 https://pttweb.tw/s/2K9zV "Ciro Santilli <<the-709-crackdown,709大抓捕>> 六四事件 法轮" on the Gossiping board
* 2016-10-03 https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Soft_Job/M.1478104872.A.916.html "Github也出現網軍了嗎?" (Is there an emerging wumao army on GitHub?) by gocreating on the Soft_Job board
Archaic, fucking impossible to learn how to use. Ciro Santilli hasn't managed yet, so if you want a reply from him, open an issue on this repo instead. Some tips:
* on the web UI rendering replies can be either likes (推 as in 推荐), dislikes (噓, hush!) or neutral (right arrow)
* per-page threads are basically flat. You can however reply to another post with a "Re:" post. One application of this seems to be to post images which might only be allowed on the thread starters, e.g.: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/joke/M.1602324724.A.CA0.html is a "Re:" to https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/joke/M.1602211516.A.3FB.html It is not clear if Re: and original posts are interlinked in any way.
TODO: can anyone comment, without having a Taiwanese university address? This suggests no: https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/1etbvb/anyone_on_pttcc_advice_suggestions/ Also asked at:
* https://www.quora.com/unanswered/Can-you-comment-on-the-PTT-Bulletin-Board-System-at-ptt-cc-from-Taiwan-without-working-or-studying-at-a-Taiwanese-university
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/92
A source informed Ciro that now only https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Taiwan_University[NTU] alumni can have an account.
Maybe the email requirement is the only way to prevent <<wumao,wumaos>> from flooding the website.
Normal people see it on a web viewer hosted on: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/index.html
However it is fucking impossible to web archive that web interface because there is a cookie I'm 18-years-old confirmation before the first connection.
This shows how to connect for the first time: https://www.ptt.cc/index.firstbbs.html
One attempt is:
luit -encoding big5 telnet ptt.cc
But the main page says:
"本站目前暫停開放新帳號註冊。" "This site is currently suspended for new account registration."
And you try `new` it says: "目前無法註冊帳號![按任意鍵繼續]" "Account cannot be registered at this time."
OK, ptt2 went further:
luit -encoding big5 telnet ptt2.cc
Then there is a registration process that seem to require you to prove that you work at Taiwanese university, but not sure it is mandatory to post.
But I couldn't find Gossiping there either, which is the only board that matters, so not sure it is on this server.
[[lihkg]]
==== LIHKG (連登, Hong Kong Reddit clone)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIHKG
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIHKG討論區
* https://lihkg.com
<<hong-kong>> <<reddit>> clone. Requires a Hong Kong IP or university address to login, a bit in the spirit of <<ptt>> to avoid <<wumao>> invasion.
If it goes down, they created: https://www.reddit.com/r/LIHKG/ on <<reddit>>.
TODO meaning of "LI"?
<<ciro-santilli>> mentions:
* 2020-08-24 https://lihkg.com/thread/2171918/page/1 "工信部培植代碼平台取代GitHub" (The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology cultivates a code platform to replace GitHub) linking to: https://hk.appledaily.com/china/20200823/AOAQRQURIRCT3D2DNPLMXUVC2M/ Then 菱川六花 linked to this page on a comment. Too young, too naive, they did not know about the more specific and interesting https://gitee.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship from <<gitee-censorship>>
* 2019-10-31 https://lihkg.com/thread/1685513/page/3 "Notepad{plus}{plus}新版代號「自由維吾爾」,GitHub網頁被灌爆,網站遭DDoS" about <<notepad>> "Free Uyghur" version. On page 3 comment links to Ciro's <<stack-overflow>> account. Big thread with 500+ likes.
* 2019-10-05 https://lihkg.com/thread/1625310/page/1 "聽講GitHub好好用" (Attending lectures on GitHub is very useful.). But likely some <<slang,slang>> for politics, because on first comment "可以好好上去發表下愛國論". Then someone links to <<nine-nine-six-icu>>, then to the GitHub <<mirrors,mirror of this page>>, and then to <<gitee>>.
* 2018-07-31 https://lihkg.com/thread/762440/page/1 https://archive.is/7REOi. Title: "依條友都幾屈機, 係Stack overflow撚共匪". I'm unable to understand the first sentence, but the end is something along "to play tricks on the commies". First comment (likely by OP): "佢個個人home page好多5毛留言, 唔知會唔會搞到block堆stackoverflow". The entire thread is about Ciro's <<stack-overflow>>.
[[hkgolden]]
===== HKGolden (香港高登讨论区)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HKGolden
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/高登討論區
[[google]]
==== Google (谷歌)
Related subjects:
* <<google-china>>
* <<google-cache>>
[[google-mirrors]]
===== Google mirrors (谷歌镜像)
Do the names mean anything? Are they owned? The fact that they are Alexa top 1000 domains is just so funny, Google redirects for China.
Alexa top 1000 domains and blocked in China as per <<greatfire>>:
* https://gdl5vtbbv0lj.com
* https://au79nt5wic4x.com
https://library.ac.cn/ large list of university Google/Google Scholar/Wikipedia/Twitter mirrors maintained by Chinese university students under an unified system. Each one asks for verification that you are from that university via some little known fact about the university:
* https://g.luciaz.me from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang_University[Zhejiang University] "需要验证您是否来自浙江大学". Question: "请问浙江大学内网最大的论坛中, 每天发帖量最大的版块是哪个?" (Ask your colleagues on the internal forum, what is the most popular section of the forum every day?)
* https://g0.njuu.cf/ from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing_University[Nanjing University] "需要验证您是否来自南京大学" Question: "西大楼是哪个系的?" (Which department is in the big Western building?)
* https://g0.library.edu.eu.org/
Other mirrors:
* https://chacha.design/
* https://g0.nuaa.cf/
* https://g1.liuxiongb.in/
* https://google.zenith.workers.dev/
* https://proxy.juchiahau.com/
* https://seeres.com 闭站维护中
* https://www.muzhiso.net/
* https://www.sanzhima.com/
* https://google.independentlyreview.com/ see also the <<github>> one by the same creator, described at <<mirrors>>
* https://websearches.club/
No HTTPS?!?! Brains?!?!
* http://g.histsci.org/
* http://o.poetpalace.org/
* https://oneplj.com/webhp broken HTTPS
Lists of mirrors:
* https://cjh0613.github.io/blog/GoogleMirror.html
[[anti-ccp-info-sources]]
== Anti-CCP information sources (反中共信息来源)
https://www.reddit.com/r/China[] is what Ciro uses daily for news, see also: <<reddit>>
* <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>
* <<terminus2049>>
* <<anti-ccp-media>>
* <<backlinks>>
=== Reddit
Subs with lots of anti-commie info:
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China is arguably the best as of 2020, see: <<r-china>>
* https://www.reddit.com/r/fucktheccp/ small as of 2020 but promising
* https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong had 3x more users than r/china as of 2020 after <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>.
** https://www.reddit.com/r/FragrantHarbour/ another Honk Kong one, TODO vs r/HongKong.
* https://www.reddit.com/r/CCP_virus/ for <<covid>>
* https://www.reddit.com/r/tibet/ 3k subs 2020
* https://www.reddit.com/r/ChinaMemes 2.5k subs 2021-03
* https://www.reddit.com/r/saraba2nd/ (第二新S1市) modded by <<chinatimeline>> TODO title meaning
* https://www.reddit.com/r/BoycottChina/
* China Circle Jerk subs (CCJ). TODO: these appear to be <<politically-incorrect,politically incorrect>> subs, but they do seem to allow anti-commit info. As of 2020, they were either banned or private:
** https://www.reddit.com/r/CCJ
** https://www.reddit.com/r/CCJ2
Non-China specific but relevant:
* https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughCommieSpam as of 2020 a large part of it was China specific:
** https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughCommieSpam/comments/n29kc3/upvote_this_absolute_chad_to_piss_off_the_tankies/
** https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughCommieSpam/comments/lpqn0e/tankies_truly_are_among_the_worst_people_alive/
** https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughCommieSpam/comments/mefx7x/a_proud_commie_tradition/
** https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughCommieSpam/comments/nml4jg/john_cena_sold_out/
** https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughCommieSpam/comments/o950d4/okay_but_next_time_itll_work_for_real/ photo of Xi Jinping with text: "Yo guys, I promise, worker democracy is coming right after a few hundred years of totalitarian state capitalism with Chinese characteristics."
** https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughCommieSpam/comments/nrkkqh/today_is_the_32nd_anniversary_of_the_tiananmen/ "Today is the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. This is a photo of its aftermath. Death to the CCP." Night photo of dead people and bicycles on <<tiananmen>>
TODO review:
* https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China_Flu/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/ (流浪防区) https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/mnbpum/if_you_want_to_experience_the_censorship_and/ claims pro-CCP, but e.g. https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/comments/mn68dy/各位键委如何看待gfw/ has <<gfw>> talks
[[r-china]]
==== r/China Reddit sub
That catches all the important news.
A large part of the posts has controversial material.
Has some noise of course as well, but less than other media I find.
Highly worth your feed.
Reddit was banned in China in August 2018: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/965k4c/reddit_banned_in_china/
<<tencent>> will invest 150 million on Reddit in 2019: https://gizmodo.com/reddit-banned-in-china-is-reportedly-set-to-land-150-1832375439 See also: <<biased-media>>.
[[r-chonglangtv]]
==== r/chonglangTV Reddit sub
https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/
15k users 2020-03.
Overview of their culture: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ChonglangTV
Chinese language, pretty good content, anti-CCP samples:
* 2021-10-13 https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/q7am6x/github这个仓库issue_岁静码农粉蛆暴跳如雷全被翻译成英文_效果好到爆 (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues is fun)
* 2020-03-27 https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/mdlowp/ciro这人行能处/ (Ciro is nice)
* 2021-02 https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/lf5dy5/致那些坚持认为不会翻墙者不配看墙外东西的粉红/
* 2021-01 https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/kpulab/最双标的人/ (the people with the most double standards, 双标 is a short form or 双重标准), comments how China complained when the US imposed sanctions on <<huawei>>, while China itself had already banned everything from the West
* 2021 https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/lyxlf9/不_言_而_喻一_目_了_然/ has a cartoon about <<jack-mas-disappearance-2021>>. Ciro's actually going to steal that.
==== Pro dictatorship Reddit subs
===== r/sino
https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/
Any comment critical of China and mods immediately ban you, e.g. on 2020-08-21 at https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/ie0mak/china_is_building_a_github_alternative_called/ which is related to <<gitee>>, <<ciro-santilli>> commented:
Let's see how long it takes them to block my repo/account: https://gitee.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship | http://web.archive.org/web/20200821202450/https://gitee.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship
The ban message is:
You have been permanently banned from participating in r/Sino. You can still view and subscribe to r/Sino, but you won't be able to post or comment.
Try https://www.reddit.com/r/westerner/[r/westerner] TRASH doesn't get by mods here. Tiananmen Square is vindicated by China's development. Anti terror system in Xinjiang is working. End result for HK is the same since 1997, regardless of rioters. Scientology-esque FLG/Shen Yun cult show has failed for decades, if you believe their claims, it's all of them losing badly.
Dec 31 China informed WHO about mysterious pneumonia. Jan 11 Chinese reveal virus genome Jan 23 Wuhan quarantine - businessinsider/sciencemag
You had the genome and saw the lengths China went to. Don't blame others for failing months later.
US accused of 'modern piracy' after diversion of masks meant for Europe - theguardian
Democracies Are Better at Fighting Outbreaks - theatlantic XD
The US leads in coronavirus cases, but not pandemic response - sciencemag XD
Beliefs of founder cultleader of Falun Gong from own lectures on official falundafa site https://redd.it/42wlvf
[[r-genzedong]]
===== r/GenZedong
https://www.reddit.com/r/GenZedong
Featuring <<ciro-santilli>>: https://www.reddit.com/r/GenZedong/comments/qcyocd/the_lengths_these_fucking_people_go_to/ "The lengths these fucking people go to." They are unable to read it seems: <<keyword-attack>>.
Ciro commented linking to https://cirosantilli.com/why-ciro-santilli-refers-to-himself-in-the-third-person and was autobanned immediately with message:
You have been banned due to participation in anti-communist subreddits. This action was performed automatically by a bot.
Hong Kong is China. Mao already freed Tibet in 1950. The Xinjiang counter-terrorism program is both effective and humane, unlike the US War on Terror which is neither. Long Live President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China!
It appears that the word `cirosantilli.com` is itself banned?
Sub description:
This is a Dengist subreddit in favor of Bashar al-Assad with no information leading to the arrest of Hillary Rodham Clinton, our fellow liberal and queen. This subreddit is not ironic, we are Marxist-Leninists.
===== r/russia
Completely pro-Putin, e.g. removed https://www.reddit.com/r/russia/comments/kd21ck/cnnbellingcat_investigation_identifies_russian/ about <<the-poisoning-of-alexei-navalny-2020>>
=== Instagram
* https://www.instagram.com/hongkongprotestposters/
[[telegram]]
=== Telegram (TG)
* https://t.me/anticcpbase
* https://t.me/ccp_unmasked see also: <<knowlesys>>
[[twitter]]
=== Twitter (推特)
Lists by <<ciro-santilli>>:
* https://twitter.com/i/lists/221848102 anti-ccp
* https://twitter.com/i/lists/235201419 pro-ccp
Particularly interesting ones:
* https://twitter.com/zaikandongxi
* After <<unjust-social-media-censorship-in-the-west,Trump was unfairly banned from Twitter>>, his social media team created an amazing "Chongald Xrump" account <<what-should-western-countries-do-about-china,pretending ridiculously to be a CCP PR person>>, it had really good posts.
But that amazing account was banned: https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-sneaks-back-on-twitter-by-disguising-self-as-pr-rep-for-chinese-communist-party Twitter is <<politically-incorrect,trying really hard>> to beat the <<censorship,CCP at its own game>>.
* 2021-07 https://apnews.com/article/china-business-technology-3741dcfb1c2eb11f17280c9ed8c06fc4 "Twitter restricts account of expert who mocked China leader" Anne-Marie Brady https://twitter.com/Anne_MarieBrady
* 2021-04-08: publicly supported the <<milk-tea-alliance>>
Unfair censorship:
* 2021-08-12 https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/11/twitter-locks-account-of-india-congress-largest-opposition-party/ Twitter locks account of India's largest opposition party (Indian National Congress)
* 2021-08-10 https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/10/marjorie-taylor-greene-mjt-twitter-suspension/ Twitter suspends Marjorie Taylor Greene temporarily for spreading vaccine misinformation
[[trump-twitter-kuang-biao]]
.Cartoon showing Donald Trump's mouth sewn shut in a "Twitter" shape by <<kuang-biao>> (2021) after Trump was <<unjust-social-media-censorship-in-the-west,banned from Twitter>>. You know it's bad when the artists who normally criticize the <<ccp,CCP>> start to criticize you. <<rebel-pepper>>'s https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/twitter-china-cartoon-06052020164712.html["I can't Tweet"] comes to mind, although it was about <<racist-west>> instad. https://xueqiu.com/9870976009/168210673[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Trump_silenced_by_Twitter_by_Kuang_Biao.jpg[height=400]
[[gfwfrog]]
==== GFWfrog (墙国蛙蛤蛤)
* https://twitter.com/GFWfrog 墙国蛙蛤蛤
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzTs_yRgwD88hZQNvmUwzJA
The username is a reference to a frog that jumps over the <<gfw>>.
Amazing selection of Chinese-only anti-CCP content.
=== YouTube
Many western Pro CCP accounts: <<ccp-apologists>>.
[[winnie-the-pool]]
==== Winnie the Pool (乳透社·小池塘,XJP音源,习近平音源)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjGMgaDmTJtyWl4QCbHJlig 乳透社·小池塘Winnie the Pool. Basically a bunch of anti-Xi Jinping YouTube poop in Chinese.
* https://twitter.com/Ruters0615
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr9pkYrfp6QumE11R9A9gqQ 乳透社·小反旗 sister channel
Many of their videos use their <<xi-jinping-speech-synthesizer>> system called XJP音源(习近平音源). It is mentioned in the description of videos e.g.
* https://twitter.com/ruters0615/status/1227823202522427392 gives some voice synthesis methods used
<<github>> reupload: https://github.com/cirosantilli/xijinping-yinyuan
=== Tumblr
* https://independence-of-mind.tumblr.com/ 独立思考社群 (Independent thought society)
=== Medium
Pro-CCP:
* https://leohezhao.medium.com/
[[separatism]]
== Separatism (分离主义, Taiwan 台湾, Xinjiang 新疆, Hong Kong 香港)
If a large number of people in a given region want to leave an country strongly or have greater autonomy, <<ciro-santilli>> believes that they should be allowed to do so.
Rationale:
* if they don't feel they are getting a good deal out of your country, it is unfair to keep them in
* keeping them in the country forcibly implies large scale violation of human rights: mass incarceration and removing freedom of speech.
Which in turn implies terrorist backslash.
All of which are against <<ciro-santilli>>'s principles.
[[luxor]]
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=eouBCMPtNDQ?t=1170 "It happened in ... Luxor" by Al Jazeera English (2011) is a short documentary about the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor_massacre[Luxor massacre in Egypt (1997)]. At this timestamp, survivor https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_E._Müller[Felix Mueller] whose girlfriend was killed in the attack comments that it is when people don't have an official way to express their needs due to censorship that they are more likely to turn to terrorism to express themselves.
video::fASh2_RzMuE[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=1170]
What makes Ciro the maddest is the censorship. If you are going to put people in jail, write a clear law about it, and let international reporters come to see the situation.
But why do you do something and then hide it? Maybe because you are not doing the right thing?
Ciro also believes that although terrorists must be fought with all our strength, they must also be given some degree respect (interspersed simultaneously <<sacred-cows,with humour>>). He sometimes prefers the term "warriors" or "fighters", because their actions are largely indistinguishable from many ideological or purely greed based actions that larger nation states have done many times over and over. It is just a war, plain and simple.
The reason why they kill mostly civilians is that they don't have the means to kill the presidents those civilians elected. An amazing scene from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Algiers[The Battle of Algiers (1966)] comes to mind. After the head of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_War[Algerian independence] movement and terrorist, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larbi_Ben_M%27hidi[Larbi Ben M'hidi] is arrested, the French military let him be interviewed by the press on 4 March 1967 https://youtu.be/uHWZkiBuKGY?t=5312 (TODO real words? Cannot find source):
Journalist: Don't you think that it is cowardly to use the handbags and pushchairs of your women to transport your bombs? Those bombs that make so many innocent victims? [Earlier in the movie, we saw women carriying bombs into the French areas of Algiers through those means]
Larbi Ben M'hidi: And you, don't you think that it is much more cowardly to drop on defenseless villages your napalm bombs that kill thousands times more? Obviously, with airplanes, it would have been much more convenient for us. Give us your bombers, and we will give you the pushchairs.
Original text:
Journalist: Ne trouvez-vous pas plutôt lâche d'utiliser les sacs et les couffins de vos femmes pour transporter vos bombes? Ces bombes qui font tant de victimes innocentes?
Larbi Ben M'hidi: Et vous, ne vous semble t-il beacoup plus lache de larguer sur des vilages sans défence vos bombes au napalme qui tuent mille fois plus d'innocents? Évidement, avec des avions, ca aurait été beaucoup plus comode pour nous. Donnez vous vos bombardiers monsieur, et on vous donnera les couffins.
See also: <<western-democracies-have-invaded-other-countries-and-crushed-separatism>>.
[[taiwan]]
=== Taiwan (Republic of China, 台湾, 中華民國)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华民国
If you are interested in Taiwan, one important programmer forum is: <<ptt>>.
Some interesting links:
* https://youtube.com/watch?v=6aZkM_ZLvjE?t=50 (zh) "【這就是科學|柯文哲】EP3/從癌症治療看政治!除惡務盡→除惡「勿」盡?「與敵共存」才是生存之道!", 柯文哲, 2019-06-26. Ko Wen-je, the mayor of Taipei 台北 and a professor in medicine, applies the concept of isolation and mutation in evolution to Taiwan and China
* 2021-03-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20210310210519/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-10/asia-shoppers-snap-up-taiwan-pineapples-in-defiance-of-china-ban "Shoppers in Asia Snap Up Taiwan's Pineapples in Defiance of China's Ban". In 2018 there were <<fake-news>> about that apparently: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3423317 but now it became true.
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/59337963 为什么西方国家不针对台湾? Why don't Western countries target Taiwan [in their criticisms]? First answer: because of something called <<dictatorship,dictatorship>>.
[[one-china-policy]]
==== One China policy (一个中国)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-China_policy
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/一个中国
Taiwan is not a case of <<separatism>>.
Taiwan is a completely separate country split due to civil war, long ago.
Almost every country, and all reasonably powerful countries, have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. They just don't call them diplomatic relations to not piss off China so they can keep doing business.
The fact that most countries in the world does officially recognize Taiwan as a country is a joke, considering that the only thing keeping it afloat is the West's military threat.
<<what-should-western-countries-do-about-china,The West must not>> let China advance and take more territories. The more they take, the more they will want.
The West must protect China's neighboring countries with military support and assurance.
The West must recognize Taiwan for what it is: a separate country, under threat of invasion, and in need of support.
If China's claim to Taiwan is valid, then Taiwan also has an equally valid claim on China.
If China's claim to Taiwan is valid, then so will its claim to any other country.
China, if you want to claim that Taiwan is a part of you, just grow some balls and invade them already. Or just stop this stupid joke.
Interesting quote from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/07/taiwans-status-geopolitical-absurdity/593371/
Taiwan's Status Is a Geopolitical Absurdity
And https://www.economist.com/asia/2017/02/16/americas-affirmation-of-the-one-china-policy-pleased-taiwan-too calls the One China policy a:
polite fiction
https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/62447/how-can-a-citizen-of-mainland-china-visit-taiwan/62466#comment178495_62466 hi, I want a "not VISA" to Taiwan. Thanks.
A well educated Mainlander who lived outside of China once told Ciro:
Taiwan should not be considered a country by China, because then it would not join back to China when China becomes a democracy, and would be used by the USA to do evil things as they did in the Middle East
Ciro was shocked. He considered that person highly intelligent and not fully brainwashed! Reply:
China claiming that Taiwan is a part of them only drives Taiwan closer to the West! Who wants to be part of a dictatorship unless you have been brainwashed by one?
They truly believe in <<evil-west>>.
The US first caved in in 1972 with the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Communiqué[Shanghai Communiqué].
* 20201-01-10 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-09/u-s-to-end-restrictions-for-diplomats-regarding-taiwan-pompeo "U.S. Eases Restrictions on Contact With Taiwan in Jab at China"
* https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/taiwan-finalises-62-billion-purchase-of-f-16-jets-lockheed-13023336 "Taiwan finalises purchase of F-16 jets from Lockheed Martin". 90 jets, 8 billion USD.
* 2020-05-26 https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3940533 "Brazilian netizens fight back against CCP threats over Taiwan support"
** It should also be mentioned that this campaign could be being used/created by pro-Bolsanaro politicians as a way to detract focus from the COVID-19 epidemic that is reaching its deadliest phase in Brazil, e.g.: https://twitter.com/PauloMartins10/status/1265038976617984002
* 2020 <<covid>> and Taiwan:
** Taiwan was at a disadvantage during since it was not part of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization[World Health Organization] and therefore could not get information as fast and influence decisions
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=fASh2_RzMuE WHO officer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Aylward[Bruce Alyward] pretends not to hear question from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTHK[Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK)] about the possibility of Taiwan's membership in the WHO during a one-to-one Skype interview, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/senior-who-adviser-appears-to-dodge-question-on-taiwans-covid-19-response[reference].
video::fASh2_RzMuE[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* 2020-03-27 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-usa/u-s-increases-support-for-taiwan-in-recognition-battle-with-china-idUSKBN21E0B7 "U.S. President Donald Trump has signed into law an act that requires increased U.S. support for Taiwan internationally". But he didn't recognize it as a country. Semi bullshit.
* Taiwan Travel Act
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_Travel_Act
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/台灣旅行法
* https://baike.baidu.com/item/台湾问题 on <<baidu-baike>>
.The flag of Taiwan. Like most modern countries, Taiwan has one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China.svg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China.svg[height=400]
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Office_Building[Presidential Office Building of Taiwan] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/總統府_(臺灣)[總統府_(臺灣) | 总统府 (台湾)]). What is that flag we see on top of the central government building of Taiwan? It appears to have a blue rectangle on the top left! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TaipeiROCPresidentialOfficeBuilding.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Taiwan_White_House.jpg[height=400]
.It is fun to see that some small random Latin American countries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguay–Taiwan_relations[like Paraguay] recognize only Taiwan and not Mainland China. Brave warriors!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Two_Chinas.svg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Countries_that_recognize_Taiwan.jpg[height=400]
.Washington DC TECRO. Instead of "embassies", Taiwan has https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_Economic_and_Cultural_Representative_Office["Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices" (TECROs)] https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/臺北經濟文化代表處[(台北经济文化代表处|臺北經濟文化代表處)] in 2013. The just happen to issue VISAs and passports like embassies, but remember, they are not embassies. No flag you see? This is because idiotic countries don't allow TECROs to have the Taiwan flag. In 2019 Senator Ted Cruz planned on passing a law to allow that though: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3825086[]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Taipei_Economic_and_Cultural_Representative_Office_in_the_United_States_from_VOA_(1).jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/TECRO_Washington.jpg[height=400]
.2014 cartoon by D Nguyen summarizing the Taiwan China relationship in history. Featuring: fatter and fatter <<mao-zedong>> on first three cartoons to the left, likely <<deng-xiaoping>> to left on the last, and <<chiang-kai-shek>> to the right. TODO middle figure on last cartoon. TODO find proper attribution source, originally seen at: https://i.redd.it/xb5qr3asfns41.jpg[].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Taiwan_we_are_China_cartoon.jpg[height=600]
.Proposed reunification flag for Taiwan and China. https://9gag.com/gag/a9E1YVo[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/China_Taiwan_reunification_flag.webp[height=500]
.West Taiwan (西台湾), also known as Mainland Taiwan (台湾大陆), also known as China. Not to be confused with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Taiwan[Western Taiwan] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/臺灣西部[台湾西部]), which is a region of Taiwan. https://www.reddit.com/r/TaiwanChina/comments/j34ftk/taiwan_number_one/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/West_Taiwan_map.jpg[height=500]
[[taiwan-number-one]]
==== Taiwan #1 (2915)
2015 meme started by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z1_Battle_Royale[H1Z1] streamer AngryPug, in which he repeatedly taunts the Chinese streamer Em0 by pretending to be Taiwanese.
* https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/taiwan-1
* https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/3tz3jq/what_is_the_point_of_the_taiwan_1_thing/
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=vTqZ9xrxhHk ANGRYPUG's official YouTube upload of the clip "Taiwan #1" meme.
video::vTqZ9xrxhHk[youtube,height=400,width=600]
See also: <<photobombing-like-attacks>>.
==== Hololive
Hololive is a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_YouTuber[VTuber] management company from Japan.
<<ciro-santilli>> didn't know WTF a VTuber was before coming across this event, he's too old for that.
The key event was 2020-09-28 https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4018580 "Japanese VTubers banned for mentioning Taiwan during livestream":
During their most recent livestreams, Hololive Japanese VTubers Kiryu Coco and Akai Haato announced the countries where they have received the most followers based on YouTube analytics. One of the countries that they highlighted was Taiwan because it accounted for seven percent of viewers and they displayed the flag of Taiwan to represent the nation.
therefore joining the long list of <<western-companies-that-comply-with-chinese-censorship-requests>>.
This event was clarified to Ciro at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/157 and is tracked under https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/labels/vtuber
Interestingly, this led to a large number of <<shitpost>>/spam on https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues[], culminating notably at https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/191[], and many of them seemed to involve:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixiv[Pixiv], which is "a Japanese online community for artists" which likely has lots of VTubers,
* Japanese language, although one of the very extremely erudite and trustworthy comments at: https://boards.4channel.org/vt/thread/1403290/really-makes-you suggests that the Japanese at there is completely broken, and it is likely just a Chinese person using Google Translate
It is however hard to understand the rationale of such posts.
[[internal-politics-of-taiwan]]
==== Internal politics of Taiwan (中華民國政治)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_Republic_of_China
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中華民國政治
As of 2020, there are two relevant parties:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang["Kuomintang"], which have become a bunch of pussies, and prefer to keep the ambiguous <<one-china-policy>> status quo, to not get bombed, and do some commerce with China. Those people make <<chiang-kai-shek>> turn in his grave of shame.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party[], which wants independence, and was winning as of 2020
[[chiang-kai-shek]]
==== Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石, 蔣中正)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/蔣中正
[[xinjiang]]
=== Xinjiang (新疆)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/新疆维吾尔自治区
* 2021 https://uhrp.org/report/under-the-gavel-evidence-of-uyghur-owned-property-seized-and-sold-online/ Under the Gavel: Evidence of Uyghur-owned Property Seized and Sold Online
* 2014 something very serious happened in Xinjiang.
** https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/4hmhzt/xinjiang_massacre_2014_resulted_in_30005000_deaths/
* 2010 Xinjiang 10 month Internet blackout
** https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8682145.stm
* 2009 Ürümqi riots
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2009_Ürümqi_riots
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/乌鲁木齐七五事件
** 2009 Shaoguan incident
*** https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaoguan_incident
*** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/旭日玩具厂群体斗殴事件
Terrorist attacks done by Xinjiang separatists:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_China#Chronology_of_major_events
Notable terrorist attacks:
* 2014 Kunming attack
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kunming_attack
** photo of 8 bodies lined up after the attack: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/world/asia/chinese-officials-seek-to-shift-attention-from-rampage.html
** Interestingly, https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2014/03/sensitive-words-attack-kunming/ points out that http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/845642.shtml#.UxYZgeddVRG by <<china-digital-times>> said that:
The public must realize that a handful of extremists are far from qualified to represent tens of millions of local residents in Xinjiang. It is not only an irrational and biased mindset to put the blame on the entire Uyghur community or the Muslim world, but the idea will also abet and aid those separatists and terrorists who are desperate to take advantage of ethnic and religious conflicts.
and yet as of the <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>>, all Xinjiang Muslims were fucked. <<rule-of-law>> comes to mind.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilham_Tohti[Ilham Tohti] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/伊力哈木·土赫提[伊力哈木·土赫提])
.<<rebel-pepper,Rebel Pepper>> 2017-04 cartoon showing that Xinjiang is like a prison inside a greater prison, which is China itself. Chinese characters read: 新疆(Xinjiang) and 中国(China). TODO source.
[[xinjiang-chained-knives]]
.Uyghur butcher with chained knives in Xinjiang (2021). Knives at shops in Xinjiang have to remain chained, and each blade is tracked with a https://www.businessinsider.nl/china-tracks-uighur-minority-qr-code-kitchen-knives-doors-human-rights-watch-report-2018-9/[QR code]. A <<zhihu>> question about it https://www.zhihu.com/question/294738809[]: 为什么菜刀要用铁链子栓起来? 来乌市快有一个月啦,我很好奇为什么所有的店里都要用铁链子把菜刀栓起来? (Why are kitchen knifes tied up with an iron chain? It's been almost a month since I came to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ürümqi[Urumqi] [capital of Xinjiang]? I am curious why all the shops have to tie up kitchen knives with iron chains?). https://youtu.be/4w3_A2vRGqE?t=279[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xinjiang_chained_butcher_knives.jpg[height=600]
.The CCP https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/18/hong-kong-police-arrest-four-students-for-advocating-terrorism[accuses and punishes its own citizens of terrorism], while at the same time it https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/8/17/with-economic-assets-to-secure-china-embraces-the-taliban[supports terrorist friendly regimes like the Taliban], referring to simultaneous events of 2021. https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/p6pnng/standards/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/CCP_terrorism_Taliban_vs_Chinese_citizens.jpg[height=600]
[[xinjiang-re-education-camps]]
==== Xinjiang "re-education" camps (新疆再教育營, 2017-)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_re-education_camps
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/新疆再教育營
The keyword is <<rule-of-law>>: because of a few terrorists, every single Muslim was fucked even if they did not commit any crime.
Master issue: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/226
Overview projects:
* https://www.talkaboutxinjiang.com/ Talking about Xinjiang 我们一起来谈谈新疆
* https://wokeglobaltimes.com/xinjiang Breaking Down the Xinjiang Crisis on <<the-woke-global-times>>
* <<xinjiang-data-project>>
* 2021-06 Inside Xinjiang short video series by The Telegraph. Basically the lady getting followed by police everywhere, and some destroyed mosques.
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LLMSzh4ZZI
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w3_A2vRGqE
* 2021-04-16 https://twitter.com/adrianzenz/status/1382397174684680197 "Breaking: Xinjiang's latest 2020 Statistical Yearbook lacks ALL crucial population data"
* 2021-04 The wings of songs (歌声的翅膀, 2021) Xinjiang propaganda musical film
** https://www.theguardian.com/books/video/2021/apr/03/wings-of-song-china-launches-idyllic-musical-set-in-xinjiang-video
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt-FkaH5YwI trailer
* 2021-03-28 <<cgtn>> invents French national "Laurene Beaumond" who refutes the situation in Xinjiang:
** <<cgtn>> article in French: https://archive.is/USZ45[] by "Laurene Beaumond". The article was updated a day later: this time they remembered to say that Laurene Beaumond is a pseudonym. Article URL: https://francais.cgtn.com/n/BfJEA-cA-HAA/DcCEIA/index.html
** original investigation by Le Monde: https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/31/quand-la-television-chinoise-cgtn-invente-une-journaliste-francaise_6075155_3210.html
** commentary https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/01/china-butchers-aesop-fable-in-latest-act-of-wolf-warrior-diplomacy
* 2021-03-20 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2021/03/the-nightmare-of-uyghur-families-separated-by-repression/ "The nightmare of Uyghur families separated by repression" on <<amnesty-international>>
Although it is often extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Uyghurs overseas to receive information about the whereabouts of their family members, some parents have received bits and pieces of information in the form of coded words, or photos and videos, from relatives and friends that make them believe their children were taken to state-run "orphan camps" or boarding schools.
* 2021-03-01 https://www.reuters.com/article/BigStory12/idUSKCN2AT1BA "China counters Uighur criticism with explicit attacks on women witnesses"
Chinese officials have named women, disclosed what they say is private medical data and information on the women's fertility, and accused some of having affairs and one of having a sexually transmitted disease. The officials said the information was evidence of bad character, invalidating the women's accounts of abuse in Xinjiang.
<<reddit>>: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/lvrkoi/china_counters_uyghur_criticism_with_explicit/
* 2020-10-28 <<global-times>> https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1203861.shtml in response to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Samuel_Paty[The Murder of Ssamuel Paty] clarifies that the best way to counter terrorism is preventive mass incarceration and brainwashing: "Eradicating extremism is a huge challenge of governance for all countries. China has proactively explored feasible ways in its Xinjiang governance and generated positive outcomes."
* 2020-10-17 (paywall) https://www.economist.com/china/2020/10/17/how-xinjiangs-gulag-tears-families-apart "How Xinjiang's gulag tears families apart". "So many parents have been locked up that officials struggle to cope with the left-behind children"
* 2020-09-19 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3101986/china-claims-vocational-training-given-nearly-13-million-people "Chinese authorities "indirectly" confirm the scale of the camps. China claims 1.3 million Xinjiang residents given 'vocational training' each year"
The document: http://www.scio.gov.cn/zfbps/32832/Document/1687588/1687588.htm also quoted on <<peoples-daily>>: http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0918/c1001-31865875.html
Official English translation: http://english.scio.gov.cn/whitepapers/2020-09/17/content_76712251.htm
Title: 新疆的劳动就业保障 (Employment and Labor Rights in Xinjiang)
全疆年均培训城乡各类劳动者128.8万人次,其中,南疆地区年均培训45.14万人次。参训人员至少掌握1项就业技能,绝大多数取得了职业资格证书、职业技能等级证书或专项职业能力证书,实现稳定就业。
Google translation:
The average annual training for all kinds of workers in urban and rural areas in Xinjiang is 1.288 million, of which 451,400 are trained in southern Xinjiang. Participants have mastered at least one employment skill, and most of them have obtained vocational qualification certificates, vocational skill level certificates or special vocational ability certificates to achieve stable employment.
* 2020-08-27 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/alison_killing/satellite-images-investigation-xinjiang-detention-camps "Blanked-Out Spots On China's Maps Helped Us Uncover Xinjiang's Camps". Good technique.
* 2020-06-29 https://apnews.com/269b3de1af34e17c1941a514f78d764c "China cuts Uighur births with IUDs, abortion, sterilization"
** 2021-01-07 https://archive.vn/sVB8X Tweet from the "Chinese Embassy in US" verified account said "Study shows that in the process of eradicating extremism, the minds of Uygur women in Xinjiang were emancipated and gender equality and reproductive health were promoted, making them no longer baby-making machines", which could be interpreted as suggesting that birth control was one of the goals of the Xinjiang oppression. Some coverage: https://qz.com/1954520/china-says-it-saved-uyghur-women-from-being-baby-making-machines/
*** https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/09/china-forced-sterilizations-feminist-rebrand comments that there is precedent to that in Peru's dictatorship:
In the 1990s about 350,000 people were sterilized in Peru under a program promoted by President Alberto Fujimori, who argued a lower birth rate was the key to eliminating poverty. "Peruvian women should be the owners of their destiny!" Fujimori said in a 1995 speech to congress. He presented his family-planning campaign as a step forward for feminism, and even got funding from the US Agency for International Development, USAid. Many of the women who were sterilized, however, came from poor indigenous backgrounds and were coerced or forced into the procedure.
* 2020-06-17 https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN23O3EW "Trump signs bill pressuring China over Uighur Muslim crackdown"
* 2019-12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEkliuqQo-g "A Secret Look Inside a Chinese Labor Program for Uighurs | Visual Investigations" by "The New York Times" published on Dec 30, 2019. Description: "China is relocating Uighurs and other Muslim minorities to urban areas as part of a contentious labor program. The Times obtained rare footage taken inside one."
video::dEkliuqQo-g[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* 2919-12: Muslim German Turkish Arsenal player link:++https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesut_%C3%96zil++[Mesut Özil] criticizes concentration camps on Twitter, and China stops broadcasting arsenal matches
** https://twitter.com/MesutOzil1088/status/1205439723302469632 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191214233550/https:/twitter.com/MesutOzil1088/status/1205439723302469632[archive])
** https://news.sky.com/story/chinas-state-tv-will-no-longer-show-arsenal-match-after-mesut-ozil-remarks-11887171
* 2019-11: "What happened to me" manga depicting Uighur torture hits 2.5m views
** https://wapipi.net/home/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/uy0830_en.pdf (https://web.archive.org/web/20191126162143/https://wapipi.net/home/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/uy0830_en.pdf[archive])
** https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/26/what-has-happened-to-me-manga-depicting-uighur-torture-hits-25m-views
* 2019-11 The Xinjiang Papers: leaked cables about Xinjiang internment camps policy, some reported by the New York Times and others by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, soure yet unknown. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_papers
** 2020-02-18 https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/20/more-evidence-chinas-horrific-abuses-xinjiang the "Karakax list" leaked spreadsheet contains detailed information on 331 citizens Karakax County in Xinjiang and sheds further insight on why certain people have been persecuted from <<human-rights-watch>>
*** https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/china-war-terror-uproots-uighur-families-leaked-data-shows-200218052952415.html
** https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html
** https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/exposed-chinas-operating-manuals-for-mass-internment-and-arrest-by-algorithm/
** 2020-02: more leaks containing detailed records of several citizens: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2020/02/asia/xinjiang-china-karakax-document-intl-hnk/
* 2019-07-31 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/world/asia/china-xinjiang.html "Doubt Greets China's Claim That Muslims Have Been Released From Camps"
* 2019-07-19 https://www.france24.com/en/20190712-37-countries-defend-china-over-xinjiang-un-letter "37 countries defend China over Xinjiang in UN letter"
* 2019-07-04 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-48825090 "China Muslims: Xinjiang schools used to separate children from families"
** https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/15/china-xinjiang-children-separated-families from <<human-rights-watch>>
* 2019-05-07 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/07/revealed-new-evidence-of-chinas-mission-to-raze-the-mosques-of-xinjiang
* 2019-05-07 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULaJVWOr4ko CNN does a few Xinjiang interviews and sends reporter to visit some of the concentration camps
video::ULaJVWOr4ko[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* 2019-02-24 https://fortune.com/2019/02/21/thermo-fisher-xinjiang-china-uighurs/
* 2019-02-17 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2186547/china-data-leak-exposes-vast-hi-tech-surveillance-operation "China data leak exposes vast hi-tech surveillance operation in Xinjiang", leak by SenseNets Technology.
* https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/world/asia/china-xinjiang.html
* 2019-03 https://shahit.biz/eng/ database of Xinjiang victims, with precise names, location, date of birth and ID card number of victims and testimonies
* 2018-12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=dsd1NkCKaNg In full: 'I begged them to kill me' - ex-Xinjiang detainee Mihrigul Tursun gives testimony in the US. Observers however rightly brought up the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_testimony[Nayirah testimony].
video::dsd1NkCKaNg[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* 2018-11 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-45812419 Xinjiang legalizes 're-education' camps
* 2018-08 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rights-un/u-n-says-it-has-credible-reports-that-china-holds-million-uighurs-in-secret-camps-idUSKBN1KV1SU
* 2018-07 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eak3WRtcdko Sairagul Sawytbai testifies to the existence of Chinese concentration camps in Xinjiang
video::Eak3WRtcdko[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* 2018-05 generic report https://jamestown.org/program/evidence-for-chinas-political-re-education-campaign-in-xinjiang/
* 2018-05 mapping internment camps with satellite imaging:
** https://www.albawaba.com/news/mapping-china's-internment-camps-its-ethnic-minorities-1136100
** https://medium.com/@shawnwzhang/list-of-re-education-camps-in-xinjiang-新疆再教育集中营列表-99720372419c List of Re-education Camps in Xinjiang 新疆再教育集中营列表 Shawn Zhang https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/8mbhad/satellite_imagery_of_xinjiang_reeducation_camps/
* 2018-05 Omir Bekali's account of Xinjiang education camps:
** https://apnews.com/6e151296fb194f85ba69a8babd972e4b
** https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/former-inmates-of-chinas-muslim-re-education-camps-tell-of-brainwashing-torture/2018/05/16/32b330e8-5850-11e8-8b92-45fdd7aaef3c_story.html?utm_term=.df8ea170b18f
** https://uk.businessinsider.com/what-is-life-like-in-xinjiang-reeducation-camps-china-2018-5
* 2017-04 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/world/asia/china-xinjiang-ban-muslim-names-muhammad-jihad.html "China Bans 'Muhammad' and 'Jihad' as Baby Names in Heavily Muslim Region".
Note that Muhammad is an incredibly popular name in Islamic countries, and thought to be the most popular name in the world with 150m people sharing it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_(name)#Transliterations
It is so prevalent, that it is often shortened to just "Md." and people are just called by their second name to reduce ambiguity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_name#Ism
* 2017-04 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/camp-photo-04262019171258.html
[[xinjiang-lop-county]]
.Image of prisoners wearing blue sitting down in Kaifaqu internment camp (TODO Chinese) in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lop_County[Lop county] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/洛浦县[洛浦县]) on April 2017. The image shows some prisoners identified to indicate that they are not criminals but rather detained purely for political reasons, their name from left to right: Mamtimin, Aziz Haji Shangtang, Eli Ahun Qarim, and Abdulla Haret. A fifth and sixth ones were https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/camp-photo-04262019171258.html[identified in another report]. This image has become emblematic of the prison camps. Wikipedia cites as a source: http://web.archive.org/web/20180821032854/https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1564669932542581[] which was down as of 2021-06. But that image has a semi cropped watermark, so it simply cannot be the original image. An image with the same watermark uncropped can be seen at: https://mvslim.com/re-education-camps-for-muslims-chinas-muslim-community-the-uyghurs-are-facing-a-new-level-of-oppression/[] it reads "[<<wechat>> logo]新疆司法行政" (Xinjiang judicial administration) Freewechat from <<greatfire>> has a dump of some of their WeChat posts: https://freewechat.com/profile/MzIwODIyNTU1NA== but we could not find the one containing that image specifically, although the watermark is the same. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/camp-photo-04262019171258.html[Source].
.Workers walking next to a prison-like security wall with concertina wire and barbed wire in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabancheng_District[Dabancheng] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/达坂城区[达坂城区]) <<xinjiang-re-education-camps,re-education camp>> circa 2019. https://www.dw.com/en/western-un-envoys-condemn-chinas-muslim-re-education-camps/a-49543438[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Dabancheng_reeducation_camp.jpg[height=400]
.Security towers and inmate buildings of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artux[Artux city] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/阿图什市[阿图什市]) <<xinjiang-re-education-camps,re-education camp>> circa 2018-12-03. https://apnews.com/article/think-tanks-australia-china-13278c6178b9da1c37cbbc5bd063e473[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Artux_city_reeducation_camp.webp[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI8bJO-to8I In Search of Concentration Camps in XinJiang - A Documentary on Urban/Rural China by Guanguan (2021) This was later featured in Western media, e.g. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10225133/Prisons-centre-Beijings-clampdown-Muslim-minorities-Xinjiang-caught-video.html[], which mentions without evidence that he is a Chinese student in Taiwan. <<rfa>> coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/guanguan-video-11182021184058.html[].
video::cI8bJO-to8I[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[xinjiang-core-socialist-values]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxnS4z-cSlI (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/220[GitHub reupload]) 2021 video showing dozens of Uyghurs standing on a large court being brainwashed by a woman saying on a loudspeaker: <<core-socialist-values,社会主义核心价值观>>,一定维护民族团结 (<<core-socialist-values,Core socialist values>> definitely maintain ethnic harmony). The echo of the speaker on the background buildings is eery. UNCONFIRMED. https://twitter.com/__Inty__/status/1381002964551168000[Source].
video::AxnS4z-cSlI[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUmom_z6nQ4 (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/221[GitHub reupload]) <<tiktok>> video of a few dozen Uyghur chilren being marched on the street with large bags, presumably during a displacement. The adults organizing it are a laugh, presumably at something cute one of the children did. Video markings: "@MaD DaN", location: "伯干村" (Bogancun, a town in Xinjiang https://goo.gl/maps/rt6jaT8oEjoXo95t8[according to Google Maps]), rolling banner TODO confirm, understand: "诗书达理之山人刨作原声". TODO identify Chinese music being sang on background, it is not clear if it is an edit or from the footage. The echo of the speaker on the background buildings is eery. UNCONFIRMED. https://twitter.com/Uyghurian/status/1380992770823835664[Source].
video::dUmom_z6nQ4[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcLbAveuemI Here is a trick to getting longer lashes by feroza.x (2019). In this <<tiktok>> video, American then 17-year old Feroza Aziz, alias feroza.x, starts what looks likea regular makeup video, but which soon turns out to be a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bait-and-switch[bait-and-switch] video drawing attention to the <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>>. This is somewhat similar to a <<keyword-attack>> with its <<dual-use-technology>> approach.
video::ZcLbAveuemI[youtube,height=400,width=600]
On 2019-09-22 Drone footage of Xinjiang prisoner transfer surfaced. TODO confirm the location and that these are political prisoners rather than "normal criminals".
* 2019-09-23 https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2019/sep/23/footage-blindfolded-shackled-prisoners-china-video Footage shows hundreds of blindfolded and shackled prisoners in China
* https://news.sky.com/story/chinas-detention-of-uighurs-video-of-blindfolded-and-shackled-prisoners-authentic-11815401
* <<reddit>>: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/d78aog/chilling_video_of_chinese_police_transferring/
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGYoeJ5U7cQ 2019 Drone footage of Xinjiang prisoner transfer. The prisoners are blindfolded and shackled. On the HUD of the footage we can see "dji", which was a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJI[popular drone manufacturer of the period].
video::gGYoeJ5U7cQ[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.Video still of 2019-09-23 drone footage of blindfolded Xinjiang prisoners being marched taken at time 00:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGYoeJ5U7cQ[Source].
[[xinjiang-data-project]]
===== Xinjiang Data Project (新疆数据项目)
* https://xjdp.aspi.org.au/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang_Data_Project
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/新疆數據項目
By the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Strategic_Policy_Institute[Australian Strategic Policy Institute], funded by the Australian government, which also published Also includes the <<uyghurs-for-sale,Uyghurs for sale>> report.
.Screenshot of the interactive map of the <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>> by the <<xinjiang-data-project>>. https://xjdp.aspi.org.au/map/?cultural=none&mosque=none[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xinjiang_Data_Project_screenshot_of_camp_map_2021.jpg[height=600]
[[xinjiang-model-camps-for-foreign-media]]
===== Xinjiang model camps for foreign media (新疆外媒示范营)
Starting in 2019, China officially invited foreign journalists to some of their model camps to show how happy people were.
It is hard to understand why they did this, as it just made everything worse for them, because everything was so obviously fake, and it actually allowed glimpses in some of the horrors. Why would a bunch of adults be playing games and learning useless stuff rather than be with their families working to earn money?
Online commentators have compared such camps to:
* <<nazi,Nazi>> model concentration camps which foreign people were invided to see, e.g. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-china-blog-48700786[commented by the BBC itsef]
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresienstadt_Ghetto[Theresienstadt Ghetto]
*** allowed a Red Cross visit in 1944
*** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0194445/plotsummary 1944 Nazi propaganda film about it
**** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZt92quVOsg contains a soccer match scene from it
**** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7nAfaLlqkE shows some scenes of children eating happily
*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Camp[Paradise Camp (1986)] is an Australian documentary about it
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnenburg_concentration_camp[Sonnenburg concentration camp]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village[Potemkin village]
* 2018-10-24 https://mobile.twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1055013584806256644 (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/226[GitHub reupload] https://archive.ph/BSJLA[archive]) 2 minute video by Hu Xijin 胡锡进, editor-in-chief of the <<global-times>>, showing happy women in a concentration camp playing ping-pong and dancing in the exercise area. Notice the similarity with the Theresienstadt videos, which also show sports events.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmId2ZP3h0c "Inside China's 'thought transformation' camps - BBC News" 2019-06-18. Accompagning article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-china-48667221[]. China gives BBC "access" to a chosen show camp where everyone claims they are happy and willing to stay. They are however clearly adults being treated like children, taking courses and even having to sing and dance for the camera. https://youtu.be/WmId2ZP3h0c?t=486[486s] is also golden, when the CCP officer Zhang Zhisheng explains how they are <<thoughtcrime,just preventing future crime from happening>>. How can they be so stupid? How can they not see that this is not what the West wants to hear? Amazing dark-comedy like stuff.
video::WmId2ZP3h0c[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.Man wearing traditional Xinjiang clothing and playing a traditional instrument inside a classroom setting inside a prison camp, as the CCP tries to show the world that they are happy and their culture is being respected, and only makes things worse. The man also shows on the video at: https://youtu.be/WmId2ZP3h0c?t=407[] made by the BBC when they got supervised access to the camps to film, nearby segment uploaded at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/169[]. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-china-blog-48700786[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Uyghur_playing_guitar.jpg[height=400]
[[forced-displacement-of-uyghurs-across-china-2020]]
===== Forced displacement of Uyghurs across China (2020, 维吾尔人被迫流离失所)
Many videos were published on <<tiktok>>, 2020-07-09 https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/china-uyghur-migration/ "Revealed: New videos expose China's forced migration of Uyghurs during the pandemic" has compilations of the most well known videos, with direct MP4 uploads that are easy to download.
<<github>> re-uploads at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/221
[[uyghurs-for-sale]]
.Advertisement published by Qingdao Decai Decoration Co. claiming to supply government-sponsored Uyghur workers from Xinjiang to other provinces. Source of translation: https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale["Uyghurs for sale" report]. Original website archive from  16 Jan 2020: http://archive.ph/r7T8r[]. The ad features a caricature of two dancing Uyghurs in traditional clothing. This is evidence of the CCP's mass forced eviction and slavery of Uyghurs. Another report at 2021-04-16 https://news.sky.com/story/amp/new-evidence-of-the-strict-controls-uighurs-face-in-factories-thousands-of-miles-from-home-12276248 "Batches of 50 to 100 Uighur workers are being advertised on the Chinese internet" suggests that a <<baidu>> search for "劳务派遣" leads to incriminating ads, but which they fail to translate. Report lead: <<vicky-xu>>.
.Uyghur workers at Qingdao Taekwang Shoe Manufacturing Co. Ltd (青岛泰光制鞋有限公司) in Laixi, <<shandong,Shandong>> (莱西市, <<shandong,山东>>) waving the Chinese flag, October 2019. Viewable on the pro-CCP China Ethnic Religion Net (中国民族宗教网) website: http://www.mzb.com.cn/html/report/191130765-1.htm[], and also shown in the https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale["Uyghurs for sale" report]. Company address: https://goo.gl/maps/EgkbtxgjEny7EU1YA[山东省青岛市莱西市李权庄镇工业园区泰光路71号].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Uyghur_workers_waving_China_flag.jpg[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx0JFgwATho&t=128 "New footage shows Uyghurs bussed across China for forced labour in factories". At the given timestamp, contains 30 seconds of footage extracted from 3 social media posts showing Uyghurs being sent in busses to work in far way regions.
video::M_aXcH1zDEE[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=128]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx0JFgwATho New footage shows Uyghurs bussed across China for forced labour in factories by Channel 4 News (2020) contains one of the many edits made with a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_ciao[bella ciao] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/啊朋友再见[啊朋友再见]) background, Chinese version showing uyghurs being sent in busses to work in far away locations in China. The music fits perfectly, literal translation of the Chinese version is "Ah, friend, goodbie".
video::Mx0JFgwATho[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[merdan-ghappar-s-video-2020]]
===== Merdan Ghappar's Xinjiang prison video (2020, 麥爾丹·阿巴的新疆监狱视频)
GitHub 上传 upload: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/374
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merdan_Ghappar
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/麥爾丹·阿巴
Original report by the <<bbc>>:
* https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/chinese-news-53816701
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-53650246
Self made video shows the ex-model chained to a bed in a camp. Text messages give further details.
Text messages and translation: https://medium.com/@millwarj/wear-your-mask-under-your-hood-an-account-of-prisoner-abuse-in-xinjiang-during-the-2020-3007a1f7437d
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg4sWv3dEvU&list=PLQReVuWUFgXOlOOmJGRgVDtp2XqED0-8Y is a playlist with dozens of videos of him being cute while modelling. Appears to be mostly a <<tiktok,Douyin>> dump mostly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUr97pK9qmU is particularly good.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX-jY1tgL_o Merdan Ghappar's video footage, terrible screen capture from the BBC original, but can't find a better one.
video::mX-jY1tgL_o[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYhcrXYA6tM Rare footage of former model held for "re-education" in China's detention system - BBC News (2020) Reportage with more context, including previous modeling work. They're incapable of adding the name "Merdan Ghappar" to the title or description however, what newbs.
video::SYhcrXYA6tM[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[xinjiang-cotton]]
===== Xinjiang cotton (新疆棉花, 2021)
Reports surfaced that <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>> people were being used to pick cotton, and boycotts followed.
Companies that boycotted, subset of <<western-companies-that-stood-up-against-the-ccp>>:
* 2021-03-25 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-56519411 "Nike, H&M face China fury over Xinjiang cotton 'concerns'", see also: <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>>.
Companies that supported:
* 2021-03-26 https://hongkongfp.com/2021/03/26/hugo-boss-tells-chinese-customers-it-will-continue-to-purchase-xinjiang-cotton-months-after-telling-us-news-outlet-it-has-never-used-it/ ""Hugo Boss tells Chinese customers it will continue to purchase Xinjiang cotton, months after telling US news outlet it has never used it". People https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/mdilxi/hugo_boss_tells_chinese_customers_it_will/[immediately commented] that Hugo Boss was the company who made <<nazi>> uniforms.
Here's a link to the <<weibo>> mentioned: https://weibo.com/2329770312/K7RDviZl4?from=page_1006062329770312_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&type=comment archive: https://archive.ph/tOcum
Hugo Boss秉持着对生产制造高品质产品的坚持,使用来自世界各地,包括原材料源自中国各大产区的面料。多年来,我们一直尊重一个中国原则,坚决捍卫国家主权和领土完整。我们与许多优秀的中国企业建立了长期合作,并将继续保持。新疆长绒棉是世界上最好的棉花之一,我们相信优质的原料一定会实现价值。我们将会继续采购和支持新疆棉花。
and the Google translate:
Hugo Boss adheres to the insistence on manufacturing high-quality products, using fabrics from all over the world, including raw materials from major producing areas in China. Over the years, we have always respected the one-China principle and resolutely defended national sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have established long-term cooperation with many outstanding Chinese companies and will continue to maintain them. Xinjiang long-staple cotton is one of the best cotton in the world, and we believe that high-quality raw materials will surely realize value. We will continue to purchase and support Xinjiang cotton.
Statement on Hugo Boss' website in English saying that they are ethical: https://group.hugoboss.com/fileadmin/media/pdf/sustainability/company_commitments_EN/HUGO_BOSS_Statement_on_Xinjiang.pdf (https://web.archive.org/web/20210326134037/https://group.hugoboss.com/fileadmin/media/pdf/sustainability/company_commitments_EN/HUGO_BOSS_Statement_on_Xinjiang.pdf[archive])
* 2020-12-14 reports that Uyghurs are being forced to work on the cotton industry emmerge:
** https://cgpolicy.org/briefs/coercive-labor-in-xinjiang-labor-transfer-and-the-mobilization-of-ethnic-minorities-to-pick-cotton/ "Coercive Labor in Xinjiang: Labor Transfer and the Mobilization of Ethnic Minorities to Pick Cotton"
** https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/nz0g306v8c/china-tainted-cotton "China's 'tainted' cotton"
<<blood-cotton-initiative-wuheqilin,"Blood Cotton Initiative" by wuheqilin>> is a <<holocaust-denial>> cartoon claiming it is all lies.
.Side-by-side comparison of black american slaves from 1908 and <<xinjiang-re-education-camps,happy Xinjiang workers>> working in cotton collection. This was posted by the verified account of Chinese government official Hua Chunying (华春莹) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpokespersonCHN/status/1375015592944537605[], archives: https://archive.ph/3PTiA and https://web.archive.org/web/20210326034948/https://twitter.com/SpokespersonCHN/status/1375015592944537605[]. Pure beauty. Does she have a brain? The images read: "The cotton planter and his pickers, H. Tees, West Point, Miss[ssisipy]", https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cotton_planter_and_pickers1908.jpg[source], and "Uighus people picking cotton in Xinjiang China". <<holocaust-denial>>, here we go.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xinjiang_cotton_vs_American_plantation_from_1908.jpg[height=600]
[[other-islam-countries-speak-up-for-uyghur]]
===== Why don't many Islamic countries speak up for the Uyghur persecution? (为什么很多伊斯兰国家不反对维吾尔族迫害?)
Either because those countries:
* are also dictatorships and completely corrupt to the brim
* or because Muslim schisms make them hate split groups even more than they hate other religions doe to the <<uncanny-valley>> effect.
Analyses:
* https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2020-09-10/long-shadow-xinjiang "The Long Shadow of Xinjiang"
* https://nationalinterest.org/feature/plight-uyghurs-why-muslims-wont-speak-their-brethren-112466
* 2021-05-15 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/competition-05142021190045.html "Beijing-backed Drawing Contest in Turkey Backfires as Students Submit Depictions of Xinjiang Abuses" by <<rfa>>
* 2021-04-08 https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/04/08/chinese-wolf-warrior-met-their-match-in-turkey-with-municipal-trench-at-embassy-gate/ "Chinese wolf-warriors meet their match in Turkey with municipal trench at embassy gate" after
Turkey's nationalist opposition has responded to a belligerent attitude from Beijing with workers from the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality digging a giant hole outside the Chinese Embassy in Ankara after the ambassador threatened the city's mayor and an opposition leader with action over their tweets commemorating the victims of China's violent crackdown on Uyghurs
* 2020-11-23 "Uighur scholar arrested in Saudi Arabia at risk of deportation to China", "Activists and human rights advocates have raised concerns that Aimadoula Waili may be tortured in a 're-education' camp if sent back to China"
* 2020-10-01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9CIZ9x3pIs "Uighurs in Exile: Arrested and deported back to China – BBC Newsnight", "Newsnight has found that Uighur people in the Middle East have been targeted by nations including Saudi Arabia"
* 2020-07-11: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/world/asia/china-iran-trade-military-deal.html "Defying U.S., China and Iran Near Trade and Military Partnership"
* 2018: vice-president https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jusuf_Kalla[Jusuf Kalla] said "we don't want to intervene in the domestic affairs of another country": https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-23/muslim-governments-stayed-silent-on-chinese-minority-uyghur/10630822
* https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/uk-muslim-activist-praises-jewish-community-for-speaking-out-for-uyghurs-635626 even the Jews are speaking lowder in some cases
.<<rebel-pepper>> 2019-07 cartoon showing <<xi-jinping>> claiming to have won the global opinion on the Xinjiang re-education camps because all other dictatorships support him, including <<other-islam-countries-speak-up-for-uyghur,Islamic dictatorships>>. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/XiJinping-uyghur-camp-cartoon-07162019155441.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xinjiang_I_won.jpeg[height=400]
[[pakistan-prime-minister-xinjiang]]
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=YlHPEgE3fjk <<pakistan>> Prime Minister https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imran_Khan[Imran Khan] refuses to acknowledge <<xinjiang-re-education-camps,Muslim Uyghur oppression in Xinjiang>> during interview, cites Chinese money by HBO (2021). Correctly mentions <<israel>> in his defense.
video::YlHPEgE3fjk[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[holocaust-denial]]
===== Holocaust denial (犹太人大屠杀否定论)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denial
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/犹太人大屠杀否定论
Once again, <<nazi>>.
.Holocaust denial cartoon by far-right cartoonist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Françoise_Pichard[Françoise Pichard] was a runner-up the <<iran,Iranian>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Holocaust_Cartoon_Competition[International Holocaust Cartoon Competition] of 2006, which obviously aimed at discrediting Israel. The cartoon shows two https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasidic_Judaism[Hasidic Judaism][Hasidic jews] and reads in French: "Qui l'a mis par terre? Faurisson. Myth des chambres a gaz" which can be translated as: "Who put it down? Faurisson. Myth of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_chamber[gas chambers] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/毒气室[毒气室])". Farisson is a reference to famous French holocaust denier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Faurisson[Robert Faurisson]. The <<ccp>> is doing the same as of 2020 in <<xinjiang-re-education-camps,Xinjiang>>, e.g. through works such as <<blood-cotton-initiative-wuheqilin,"Blood Cotton Initiative" by wuheqilin>>. http://iranianhistory.pbworks.com/w/page/16588754/iranianhistory6[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Holocaust_denial_cartoon_by_Francoise_Pichard.jpg[height=400]
[[holocaust-denial-palestine]]
.Holocaust denial cartoon suggesting that the Holocaust killed much less than Israel did during the Palestinian conflict TODO confirm artist, source image address suggests Moroccan https://www.toonsmag.com/naji-benaji/[Naji Benaji]. Palestine is <<evil-west,a tragedy>>, also mentioned at <<israel>>, but trying to justify its horrors by comparing it to the horrors of other countries. We must recognize and fight against injustices of all countries. One injustice cannot justify the other. https://web.archive.org/web/20201201110526/https://cst.org.uk/news/blog/2010/10/29/a-new-low-for-scottish-palestine-solidarity-campaign[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Holocaust_denial_cartoon_vs_Palestine.jpg[height=400]
[[blood-cotton-initiative-wuheqilin]]
.Blood Cotton Initiative by <wuheqilin>>. This pro-<<ccp>> propaganda work suggests that the <<xinjiang-cotton>> is a fabrication of <<evil-west,Evil West>>. It depicts Americans as wearing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan[Ku Klux Klan] in an usual CCP reminder that <<racist-west>>. It is basically a <<holocaust-denial>> cartoon. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blood_Cotton_Initiative.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base-ignore}/Blood_Cotton_Initiative_by_Wuheqilin.jpg[height=400]
.Side-by-side comparison of <<blood-cotton-initiative-wuheqilin,"Blood Cotton Initiative" by wuheqilin>> and the <<holocaust-denial-palestine,Palestine vs Israel holocaust denial cartoon>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Blood_Cotton_Initiative_by_Wuheqilin_holocaust_denial.jpg[height=400]
[[inner-mongolia]]
=== Inner mongolia (内蒙古)
* 2020-08-31 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/language-08242020101614.html "China 'Will End' Mongolian-Language Education Starting This Semester: Reports"
** 2020-09-04 https://www.smhric.org/news_681.htm "Southern Mongolia turns to police state as full-blown cultural genocide unfolds" contains images of arrest orders and the like
* 2011 Inner Mongolia unrest
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Inner_Mongolia_unrest
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011年内蒙古抗议示威事件
[[tibet]]
=== Tibet (西藏)
Events linked to reducing the teaching of the Tibetan language in schools and replacing it with Mandarin:
* 2020-04 https://www.languagemagazine.com/2020/04/23/tibetan-language-phased-out-as-schools-switch-to-mandarin/
* 2010 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Tibetan_language_protest
[[dalai-lama]]
==== Dalai Lama (达赖喇嘛)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalai_Lama
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/达赖喇嘛
==== Tibet "re-education" camps (2020)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_camps_in_Tibet
2020-09-22 the <<jamestown-foundation>> reported that <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>>-style camps were started to be built in <<tibet>>: https://jamestown.org/program/jamestown-early-warning-brief-xinjiangs-system-of-militarized-vocational-training-comes-to-tibet/ and were housing half a million people.
[[tibetan-unrest-2008]]
==== 2008 Tibetan unrest (2008年西藏骚乱)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Tibetan_unrest
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008年西藏骚乱
Good gory photos from the event: https://file.wikileaks.org/file/tibet-protest-photos/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20200410200709/https://file.wikileaks.org/file/tibet-protest-photos/[archive])
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=B-tEi4uLM_E "Hundreds of Tibetan protesters clash with police after anti-China protest" published by AP Archive.
video::B-tEi4uLM_E[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[tibetan-unrest-1987-1989]]
==== 1987-1989 Tibetan unrest (1989年拉萨骚乱)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987–1989_Tibetan_unrest
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989年拉萨骚乱
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=qMZgoRuPJBg "Troops stormed the Tibetan holy site the Jokhang Temple and beat monks"
video::qMZgoRuPJBg[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=3uQcGcGGepw "Latest Spate Of Violent Unrest In Lhasa And The Imposition Of Martial Law" by AP Archive
video::3uQcGcGGepw[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[hong-kong]]
=== Hong Kong (香港)
News source: https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/ Became larger than `r/china` during the <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>.
There is only one solution to Hong Kong's problem:
* give inhabitants people easy VISAs to leave China, with priority to the rich/educated ones. Give them free language courses on the country of arrival, and help them find jobs
* treat Hong Kong exactly like any other part of China, removing any special commercial treaty with the reagion, which it has enjoyed for many years
These have started happening seriously in response to the <<hong-kong-national-security-law>>.
Hong Kong related posts at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Ahong-kong+
* Hong Kong-Mainland China conflict
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong–Mainland_China_conflict
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中港矛盾
* <<hong-kong-dissidents>>
* <<lihkg>>
[[hong-kong-97-snes-video-game]]
==== Hong Kong 97 SNES video game (香港 97 SNES 电子游戏)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_97_(video_game)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/香港97_(遊戲)
1995 video game realistically depicts the fight of Hong Kong against the Communist Party predicted to happen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handover_of_Hong_Kong[at the handover], featuring Bruce Lee (often represented as <<entertainers-who-support-the-ccp,Jackie Chan>>) who returned from the grave to join the fight and kick <<jiang-zemin,Jiang Zemin's>> ass.
The dead body from the game over screen was taken from a still from a video of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_War[1992 Bosnian War]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCDWyzZyNdw
The track is a sample of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Beijing_Tiananmen["I Love Beijing Tiananmen" (我爱北京天安门)] Cultural Revolution song that was popular before <<tiananmen>> and later became an ironic protest song:
我爱北京天安门 +
天安门上太阳升
I love Beijing Tiananmen Square +
The sun rises over the Tiananmen
Full song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is_Z2K7guKs
.Cover of the Hong Kong 97. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hong_Kong_97_cover.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Hong_Kong_97_cover.jpg[height=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_aXcH1zDEE The venerable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angry_Video_Game_Nerd[Angry Video Game Nerd] made a review of Hong Kong 97.
video::M_aXcH1zDEE[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[hong-kong-protests-2014]]
==== 2014 Hong Kong protests (Umbrella movement, 雨伞运动占领区)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Hong_Kong_protests
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_Movement
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/雨傘運動佔領區
.A common logo used in the Umbrella movement, depicting an stylized umbrella with yellow background. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Umbrella_Revolution_icon_3.svg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Umbrella_movement_icon.png[height=400]
.Sea of seated protesters during the <<hong-kong-protests-2014>> gathering at the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty,_Hong_Kong[Admiralty] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/金鐘[金鐘]) on 2014-10-10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Umbrella_Revolution_in_Admiralty_Night_View_20141010.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Umbrella_movement_in_Admiralty_night_View_20141010.jpg[height=600]
[[hong-kong-national-security-law]]
==== Hong Kong National Security Law (香港国安法, 2020)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_national_security_law
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中華人民共和國香港特別行政區維護國家安全法
* 2020-01-06 https://www.ft.com/content/ff253c71-6efb-4ca7-9d6c-b5e43d9371ba "Hong Kong police round up dozens of pro-democracy politicians"
* 2020-11-12 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-54899171 "Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers resign after China ruling"
* 2020-08-30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWxuzuBXh1U "Chinese Police Arrest Hong Kong Activist Andy Li (李宇轩), 11 Others, for Attempting to Flee to Taiwan"
** 2021-01-4 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3116301/mainland-chinese-lawyer-who-assisted-one-hong-kong "Mainland Chinese lawyer who helped one of the Hong Kong fugitives in Shenzhen threatened with loss of licence"
* 2020-08-22 https://hk.appledaily.com/us/20200822/QS26FF4DBFE7PG2LJJEO4NSQTQ/ they are already trying to remove sensitive materials from history textbooks
** 2020-08-21 https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/chinese-news-53846482 "香港通識科課本大幅度修改涉政治取向內容引發爭議" appears to give more concrete details. An English infographic at: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/ig9xca/some_censorship_examples_of_the_latest_changes/
* 2020-08-10 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-10/hong-kong-media-tycoon-jimmy-lai-arrested-apple-daily-reports[] "Hong Kong Media Tycoon Arrested in Latest Blow to Democracy Camp"
<<jimmy-lai>> is the founder of <<apple-daily>>, the flagship newspaper under Next Digital and the biggest pro-democracy paper in Hong Kong, reported that nearly 200 officers were entering their offices.
Other notable arrests:
** <<agnes-chow>> https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/08/10/who-are-jimmy-lai-agnes-chow-two-hong-kong-democracy-advocates-arrested-monday/
The CCP is not even pretending anymore.
2020-08-12: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/hong-kong-media-tycoon-lai-released-bail-arrest-200811173810887.html[]: they were released on bail
* 2020-08-30 https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/29/asia/hong-kong-security-law-election-intl-hnk/index.html "Four Hong Kong student activists arrested for 'secession' over social media posts": the arrests against online freedom of speech begin https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-53616583 gives the names, all are abroad it seems:
Police in Hong Kong are seeking the arrest of six pro-democracy activists living in exile in Western countries, including the UK, media reports say.
The group reportedly includes former UK consulate worker Simon Cheng, well-known activist Nathan Law and US citizen Samuel Chu.
* 2020-07-08 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-protests-china-security/china-converts-hong-kong-hotel-into-new-national-security-office-idUSKBN24903Z "China converts Hong Kong hotel into new national security office"
The name of the hotel is Metropark Hotel (維景酒店), address: 148 Tung Lo Wan Rd, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: https://goo.gl/maps/1uR4RntpLMFaCYpq6
Using hotels as a base of operations is of coures common in occupied regions, see e.g.:
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Peninsula_Paris[The Peninsula Paris] (previously Hotel Majestique), which was used by the <<nazi,Gestapo>> and figures in the movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Shadows[Army of the Shadows (1969)]. An important quote from that movie when a prisoner of the Nazis dies, his friend says:
All debts will be paid. +
Toutes les dettes se paieront.
* 2020-06-29 https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2020/06/statement-us-secretary-commerce-wilbur-ross-revocation-hong-kong "Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Revocation of Hong Kong Special Status"
With the Chinese Communist Party's imposition of new security measures on Hong Kong, the risk that sensitive U.S. technology will be diverted to the People's Liberation Army or <<ministry-of-state-security,Ministry of State Security>> has increased, all while undermining the territory's autonomy. Those are risks the U.S. refuses to accept and have resulted in the revocation of Hong Kong's special status.
* 2020-06-03 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/britain-could-change-immigration-rules-for-hong-kong-citizens "Boris Johnson lays out visa offer to nearly 3m Hong Kong citizens"
* 2020-05-29 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52842303 "UK could offer 'path to citizenship' for Hong Kong's British passport holders"
* 2020-05-24 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/24/beijing-to-impose-hong-kong-security-laws-without-delay
* https://hkchronicles.com/ Blocked on early 2021 in Hong Kong: https://hkchronicles.com/d/view/announcement-on-blockage
.Over 100 police officers raid the <<apple-daily>> Hong Kong newspaper soon after the <<hong-kong-national-security-law>> started. A https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-53723266[Chinese source]. https://hongkongfp.com/2020/08/10/scores-of-police-raid-office-of-hong-kong-pro-democracy-newspaper-apple-daily/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Apple_Daily_raid.webp[height=600]
===== Hong kong national security department hotline
2020-11-06 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-54835955 "Hong Kong: Snitch hotline gets more than 1,000 calls"
An official source: https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/03_police_message/nsdrh.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20201106164104/https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/03_police_message/nsdrh.html[archive]).
The contacts:
* <<wechat>> id: NSD62717171
* SMS: 62717171
* Email: nsd-public@police.gov.hk
Related: <<cac-report-website>>
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/jp3s8a/hong_kong_snitch_hotline_to_report_people/ on <<reddit>>
* https://lihkg.com/thread/2272029/page/1 on <<lihkg>>
[[hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019]]
==== 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests (反对逃犯条例修订草案运动)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Hong_Kong_anti-extradition_bill_protests
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEvalUQuClE "Last Hong Kong governor Chris Patten: Gov't defense of extradition bill 'absolute nonsense'", Hong Kong Free Press
* <<blitzchung>>
* Glory to Hong Kong
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_to_Hong_Kong
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/願榮光歸香港
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=YhN6jipSHFI Hong Kong Yoga - Sammy J S2 (ep31) published by ABC Comedy on 2019-09-19. Very good.
video::YhN6jipSHFI[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[do-not-split]]
===== Do Not Split (不割席, 2020)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Not_Split
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/不割席
===== LeBron James opposes Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests (2019)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/勒布朗·詹姆斯
NBA is huge in China.
On 2019-10-05 (Friday) 7:41PM Daryl Morey, NBA's Houston Rockets manager sent a tweet with an image that read:
Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.
Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20191005025317if_/https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/1180312072027947008
Then Daryl was a coward, removed this tweet, and apologized on 2019-10-07 (Monday) 1:18 AM  https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/1181000808399114240 (https://archive.is/6Sdpn[archive]), so by then it was already deleted.
I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China
Then TODO date the uberstar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James[LeBron James] (not a Houston Rockets player), a big supporter of black rights in the US, criticized this.
https://apnews.com/article/dd96d002394f45a6859c280c889afcb7[LeBron's words]:
I don't want to get into a word or sentence feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn't educated on the situation
Related video of LeBron saying similar things on interview (TODO same?): 2019-10-15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjM43blzaRc "LeBron addresses Daryl Morey's tweet and Lakers' trip to China | NBA on ESPN"
Led to: <<sport-event-live-broadcast-image-attacks>>.
* 2019-10-15 https://apnews.com/article/dd96d002394f45a6859c280c889afcb7 "LeBron: Rockets' Morey 'wasn't educated' on China tweet"
* 2019-10-07 (Monday) "Rockets' general manager's Hong Kong comments anger China"
* 2019-10-07 Lakers vs. Heat NBA <<tencent>> Live Stream cancelled due to fan wearing the <<taiwan,Taiwanese>> flag
.Fan wearing Taiwan flag in 2019-10-07 Lakers vs. Heat showing fan and text (TODO from <<tencent>>?) saying that the match will be cancelled. https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/dtrx4b/tencent_nba_live_broadcast_got_cancelled_because[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/NBA_Taiwan_flag.jpg[height=600]
** https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49956385
** https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/07/business/houston-rockets-nba-china-daryl-morey/index.html
Some good LeBron cartoons:
* https://twitter.com/Christi71386739/status/1312730174497058816/photo/1 <<rebel-pepper>> 2019-10-15 "You are the king"
."Kneeling" by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Zyglis[Adam Zyglis] (2019) compares the NFL's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Kaepernick[Colin Kaepernick] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/科林·卡佩尼克[科林·卡佩尼克]), who kneeled during the playing of the U.S. national anthem during the 2016 season to protest against social injustice, vs NBA's LeBron James, who instead supports China's <<dictatorship,dictatorship unconditionally>>. https://twitter.com/adamzyglis/status/1185634052008808448[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Kneeling_by_Adam_Zyglis_NFL_Colin_Kaepernick_vs_NBA_LeBron_James.jpg[height=500]
.In 2020-10-04 American billboard company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outfront_Media[Outfront Media] refused to post this ad by the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Legal_and_Policy_Center[NLPC conservative think tank] critical of LeBron James' stand on Hong Kong. The ad shows the NBA superstar with a Chinese flag covering his mouth and the message "Silence is Violence." and URL http://freedom4china.com/[]. <<to-obey-is-to-betray,To obey is to betray>> comes to mind. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/billboard-company-refuses-to-post-ad-critical-of-lebron-james-stand-on-china[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Silence_is_violence.jpg[height=400]
[[falun-gong]]
== Falun Gong (法轮功, Qigong new religion/cult)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/法轮功
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Falun_Gong
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/610_Office
<<flg-religion,Religion>> created in the '80s by a Chinese dude called <<li-hongzhi>>.
With the support of the Communist Party to Qigong movements, it reached 70 million believers in 1999, at which point the commies decided they had to be shut down and banned the religion.
Li fled to the USA and lives near New York, where he continues to run the religion as of 2020.
* <<the-falungong-phenomenon-by-hu-ping-2003>>
.<<falun-gong>> believer arrested by police in Beijing <<tiananmen,Tiananmen Square>> in 2000-01-10. https://www.theepochtimes.com/spiritual-practice-continues-to-be-persecuted-in-china-amid-the-ccp-virus-pandemic_3296045.html[Source].
[[falun-gong-police-step-over-head]]
.Police steps over <<falun-gong>> believer's face in 2000 at Tiananmen. This images was http://content.time.com/time/covers/asia/0,16641,20010702,00.html[on the cover of the July 2, 2001 cover of Time Magazine "Crushing Falun Gong"]. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/27/anastasia-lin-miss-world-canada-falun-gong-practitioner-china-persecution[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Police_steps_over_Falun_Gong_believer_s_face_in_2000_at_Tiananmen.jpg[height=600]
[[zone-theory]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClvX7ED8UUI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_%26_Eric[Tim and Eric]'s Zone Theory. If you want to stop <<falun-gong>>, don't put them in jail like the <<dictatorship,dictators>>. Do it the same way you stop dictators: with <<funny,comedy>>. Otherwise, the dictators remain in power, and <<intolerance,next person in jail, will be you>>.
video::ClvX7ED8UUI[youtube,width=600,height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYJ1dbyDcrI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_%26_Eric[Tim and Eric]'s The Universe. Basically the same as <<zone-theory>> but from the believer's perspective. Source a popular mind blown meme: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mind-blown
video::FYJ1dbyDcrI[youtube,width=600,height=400]
[[aarvoll-shenyun]]
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=IAQ14AnAsmU YouTubber under pseudonym "Aarvoll" (TODO full real name, face shown in channel all the time) tells about his experience playing trumpet for Shen Yun in 2013 as a non-believer and Falun Gong in general. Reading the sacred books and doing Falun Gong exercises were mandatory. He also talks about <<flg-organized>>. Ciro agrees/finds what he says convincing. In one interesting anecdote, he tells how although Li Hongzhi claims to be a God, he looked like an average slightly overweight dude, and had a trumpet since he used to play it, but couldn't really play it because he hadn't practiced in so long. He also comments on the obvious fact that Li does not speak English very well, e.g. on the Shen Yun tour bus he was there one day answering questions, and a translator was needed.
video::IAQ14AnAsmU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[christine-marie]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwoO7Nekmpw&t=445 Christine Marie is the founder of the http://voicesfordignity.com/[Voices for Dignity] charity which takes care of people who decide to leave the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-Day_Saints[FLDS] (a major https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism[Mormon] denomination). Leaving that group is not an easy task given the importance it plays in members lives, see also "No Exit" from <<orange-papers>>. She was interviewed in VICE documentary "Polygamist Mafia: Escaping The Kingston Clan". While Ciro does not believe Falun Gong is as extreme as FLDS, he does really like the things Christine says. E.g., she calls "cult leaders" with the neutral <<flg-religion,religious>> form "<<li-hongzhi,prophet>>", just like Ciro, and mentions the important fact that "And the another thing that the public doesn't realise, is that there are also beautiful thing within those communities". This is the mindset of <<intolerance,tolerance>> that the world needs.
video::GwoO7Nekmpw[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=445]
[[amazing-cultivation-simulator-review-by-ssethtzeentach-2021]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJxM3POU92w https://store.steampowered.com/app/955900/Amazing_Cultivation_Simulator/[Amazing Cultivation Simulator] review by https://cirosantilli.com/ssethtzeentach[SsethTzeentach] (2021). Amazing Cultivation Simulator (<<baidu-baike,Baidu>>: https://baike.baidu.com/item/了不起的修仙模拟器/23624221[了不起的修仙模拟器]) is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RimWorld[Rimworld]-like Chinese game which was a large hit in China (https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/amazing-cultivation-simulator-is-a-rimworld-style-sim-has-already-sold-700000-copies-in-china-and-now-its-getting-an-english-release/[700k sales as of 2020]) and then went on to be translated into English. In it, you join a Qi Gong <<flg-cult,cult>>, and level up your Qi Gong magical abilities by practicing the Gong (练功). Falun Gong basically claims the same thing, but for real life. Ciro believes that a great part of the appeal of Falun Gong is the gamification of life development, much like that video game does, see also: <<promised-powers-or-knowledge>>. It is also interesting to note that such Qi Gong-like are present in a more or less popular video game, which shows that such ideas are widely known in China, while they are not widely known in the West. Notably, Qi Gong ideas are widely present in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxia[Wuxia] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/武侠文化(武侠), lit. martial knight-errant) novels, or slightly more specifically https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xianxia_(genre)[xianxia] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/修真小说[仙侠] lit. God knight-errant), the most popular version of Chinese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fantasy[high fantasy] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/古典奇幻[古典奇幻]). Another interesting point is how in the game you make the <<amazing-cultivation-simulator-review-by-ssethtzeentach-2021,"small fish" cult members work long hours for free>> https://youtu.be/wJxM3POU92w?t=259[], as Seth brilliantly puts it: "You are running sect. [...]. A sect has outer disciples that will happily do all your mundane, tedious labour for a competitive salary of about zero dollars. They are not "slaves" as per say, we don't use that word here, it's more like an internship, which never ends. But [...] they can become <<membership-rivalry-orange-papers,inner disciples>>".
video::wJxM3POU92w[youtube,height=400,width=600]
Less good ones:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eiut_qUNBI In Search of Miracle Man by Adult Swim
[[flg-important]]
=== Why is it important to discus Falun Gong's even if you don't believe in it? (为什么不信仰法轮功也很重要要讨论它?)
The main reason <<ciro-santilli>> emphasizes Falun Gong is that it shows how the CCP can mercilessly crush a 70 million strong group (according to CCPs own statistics) out of a population of 1.3B in 2000, i.e. 5% of the population, and of course not because of <<flg-bias>>, since Ciro is completely and totally unbiased.
If that number is correct, Ciro wonders curious what you would consider an important movement?
Anything much larger would take down the government and change China's history forever.
Aren't you concerned that you or your children might be part of the next 5% purge? See also: <<intolerance>>.
OK, maybe the fact that 69 million of those 70 million were likely old ladies didn't help much either. Tip to next <<li-hongzhi,prophet>>: make something that appeals to aspiring military officers.
Let's try to gather some well sourced footage showing huge numbers of believers on the streets:
* https://www.aparchive.com/search?query=falun%20gong&from=1&orderBy=OldestFirst#7e34a6 AP Archive: could not find a good one there
* rehashes of Falun Gong propaganda videos with good footage:
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7cz4Tkbwy8 contains old good footage
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDRUp50XkSs Chinese with English subs, above is rehashed from this one most likely
.Thousands of <<falun-gong>> practitioners in Guangzhou, China, 1998. https://www.theepochtimes.com/finding-the-balance-between-ancient-and-modern_2248694.html[Source].
.Thousands of <<falun-gong>> practitioners in Liaoning Industrial Exhibition, China, likely 1998. https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2016/5/21/157091.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Falun_Gong_Liaoning.jpg[height=600]
.Hundreds of <<falun-gong>> believers in Chengdu, China, 1998. https://faluninfo.net/falun-gong-the-practice/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Falun_Gong_Chengdu.jpg[height=500]
[[does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong]]
=== Does Ciro Santilli believe in or practice Falun Gong? (三西猴信仰或者练法轮功吗?)
No, <<ciro-santilli>> is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism[agnostic] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/不可知论[不可知论]) and therefore believes that all the metaphysics that <<li-hongzhi>> says is bullshit, just like any other <<flg-religion,religion>>.
Here are some things that he doesn't like about Falun Gong for example: <<things-ciro-santilli-dislikes-about-falun-gong>>.
Ciro believes Falun Gong can be split into two parts, like any other <<flg-religion,religion>>:
* the "self-help" "how to live well" part, including the physical exercises and meditation, which cannot be proven or disproved, like any other self-help and <<democracy-is-a-religion,political opinion>>
* the metaphysics, most notably, Li Hongzhi is a living God, and all other non verifiable things he claims like aliens, alternate dimensions, etc., see:
** <<flg-religion>>
** <<flg-verifiable>>
Ciro thinks that FLG's self-help part could potentially be good for you, just like many other meditative practices such as Yoga, Buddhist meditation, Tai chi, deep Catholic prayer, etc. As far as he has heard, all of it sounded good standard religious self-help: be peaceful, be good to others, etc. Like any other well managed religion, FLG does have good things to offer, see also: <<christine-marie,Christine Marie's interview>>.
However Ciro believes that the metaphysics is all complete and utter bullshit, child stories made up by Li Hongzhi, and just as real as Father Christmas or the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster[Flying Spaghetti Monster].
Also the "obligation to reach Salvation" is boring like for many other prophetic <<flg-religion,religion>>.
From a purely strategic point of view, the metaphysics is a trade-off:
* some people will believe you are a freaking living God
* others will laugh at you and say you are a charlatan
It may be argued however that Li played this card beautifully: since all Chinese power is concentrated in the CCP, any non-CCP movement dies out, so he was better off long run playing the metaphysics game. The only other choice would have been joining the CCP.
To Ciro it is obvious that Falun Gong is just one of the many very similar movements that came out of the Qi Gong Boom, such as: <<zhong-gong>>. It just happens to be the one that survived due to better luck and strategy.
The absolute truth is already known by the <<li-hongzhi,prophet>>, although he does not want to give clear evidence for reasons: <<flg-verifiable>>, and Ciro finds that utterly boring. There's no fun in living in a world where the absolute truth has been found.
For these reasons, Ciro cannot bother to read even into the self-help part: how can you read that when there is so much bullshit every other page?
Ciro would really like to know if <<li-hongzhi>> really believes in FLG himself, or is just a complete manipulating charlatan, but unfortunately we will never know that. Just imagine if before he died he published a video saying: "it was a joke, gotcha!". Now that would be **epic**!
Since Ciro is good-natured, it's hard for him to believe that he doesn't believe in anything, how can anyone be that evil? Maybe he believes in part of it, but made up some stuff to sell it better, maybe with good intentions that selling the fake part would also lead more people to see the good part?
Like any other prophetic religion, FLG gives tiny evidence that you can directly feel through meditation. The energies, which Ciro believe are real feelings. And then using that entry point asks you to believe a whole lot more, that you can't feel: <<flg-verifiable>>.
This becomes especially strong when a critical mass of believers is reached, and then they start interpreting all sorts of events as miracles, and you start to believe other believers without questioning them, and a circle is formed.
This post by a former believer gives what Ciro feels is a realistic account that matches Ciro's observations: <<me-and-li-by-ben-hurley-2017>>.
And yet, all those who love freedom, must oppose FLG ban, or be themselves enslaved by tyrants themselves: <<democracy-is-a-religion>>.
In any case, at least FLG got one thing right: the commies are <<ccp-evil,evil>>, and we have to get rid of them.
See also: <<flg-fake>>.
[[how-much-does-ciro-santilli-know-about-falun-gong]]
==== How much does Ciro Santilli know about Falun Gong? (三西猴对法轮功有多熟悉?)
He hasn't read their <<flg-canon,canon>> himself, no patience, but he has had <<flg-bias,constant contact with believers>> and so has an idea of its content.
Ciro has summarized his thoughts about <<falun-gong>> at: <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong>> and <<flg-religion>>
[[flg-religion]]
=== Is Falun Gong a religion? 法轮功是一个宗教吗?
If asked if they follow a religion, most FLG believers will say "no", and <<li-hongzhi>> explicitly says that in <<flg-canon>>, e.g. https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/jjyz52.htm[]:
Falun Dafa is not a religion, but future generations will regard it as one.
E.g. they call themselves "practitioners" or "students" (学员) or "disciples of the Great Law" (大法弟子, or mare accurately, of <<li-hongzhi>>'s Law) instead of "believers", and their peers "practitioner colleagues" (https://baike.baidu.com/item/同修[同修]). Non believers call them derogatorily "轮子"("little wheels"), or in friendly terms "轮友" (wheel friend).
And if you say you don't believe in their FLG metaphysics bullshit, they will often reply "he does not understand".
To them, it is not about belief, the truth is clear, and you just don't see it yet.
To this you should reply: "and you don't understand that <<li-hongzhi,Li Hongzhi>> is a master manipulator dude who deceived you and millions of others".
But <<ciro-santilli>> strongly believes that this is just a language barrier/FLG propaganda question (see also <<different-levels-of-truth>>), and that 99.9999% of people in the West would classify FLG as a religion just like <<christianity>> if they are told about FLG's beliefs:
* absolute truth comes from an enlightened <<li-hongzhi,prophet>>, who is perfect and has superhuman abilities
* weekly in-person meetings (学法 "study the Fa", or more verbosely "study the law (of the universe (of <<li-hongzhi>>))")or daily online meetings where they read from a <<flg-canon,sacred book>>, either written by the prophet, or transcribed from his presentations to disciples, including the disciples questions, much like traditional Chinese texts like <<analects>>, just like Christians read from the Bible over and over again.
In both cases, some believers claim that sometimes even reading the same text again gives them new insight.
* prescribed daily meditation exercise hours, somewhat like Muslim https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salah[Salah] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/礼拜_(伊斯兰教)[礼拜]) prayers which they call https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fazhengnian[发正念 (fa1 zheng4 nian4)], which means "send righteous thoughts". They seem to believe that this meditation helps external good magic things happen, so it is half meditation half prayer.
* longer "less mandatory" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong[Qigong-like] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/气功[气功]) exercises (lian4 gong1, 练功) followed by a meditation (打坐) and which they collectively call https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/修道_(道教)[修炼] "practice austerities". note that this term is borrowed from Taoism but possibly with different precise meaning. There are exactly 5 exercises (meditation being the fifth) some with a fun supernatural name, on <<flg-canon>> https://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/flg_2006_4.htm[] "The Falun Gong Practice System":
** Buddha Stretching a Thousand Arms
** Falun Standing Stance
** Penetrating the Cosmic Extremes
** Falun Cosmic Orbit
* memorization of the <<flg-canon>>, notably <<zhuan-falun>>, just like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafiz_(Quran)[Hafiz] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/哈菲茲_(稱謂)[哈菲兹]) in Islam
* higher intelligent beings ("Buddhas")
* <<promised-powers-or-knowledge,some believers who practice really well can also get some "supernatural powers">>
** other dimensions, which some select people with vision superpowers can see, this being one of the supernatural powers that may be developed, the "Celestial Eye" https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_21.htm[]:
[[flg-cross-dimensional-vision]]
A cultivator of a particular attainment level can only see the scenes on that level. He cannot see or believe the truth beyond that level. Therefore, he only believes what he has seen on his own level. When he has not gone up to such a high level of cultivation, he would think those things do not exist and are incredible.
and the "Supernormal Capability of Remote Sight" is a closely related ability: https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_22.htm:
A supernormal capability directly connected with the Celestial Eye is called the Remote Sight. Someone says that he can see scenes in Beijing, in America or scenes on the other side of the earth while sitting here.
And finally there is also the past-future vision ability "Supernormal Capability of Total Recall" https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_23.htm[]:
There is another supernormal capability which has a direct relation with the Celestial Eye. It is called Total Recall. Now there are six supernormal capabilities which are generally recognized in the world. They include the Celestial Eye, Remote Sight, and Total Recall. What is Total Recall? It is a supernormal capability with which one can know a person's future and past; if the ability is great, one can know the rise and decline of a society; if the ability is even greater, one can see the Law of the change of the whole celestial body.
* aliens that look like humans are amongst us, they gave us part of our modern technology, some are evil, others not so evil. E.g. https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/19980530L.html[]:
Science, however, is not something gods imparted to humans. Instead, it was passed down to humans by alien beings inside the Three Realms, and for the purpose of controlling humankind. People's belief in it has surpassed everything. But I tell you that precisely because of its shallowness, this science has caused the degeneration of morality in human society.
Despite this however, Falun Gong benefits from information technology enormously. For example, many (most?) believers use the Internet daily to study the Fa, and to organize their <<falun-gong-media,media outlets>>.
* meetings in which people tell their religious testimonies ("experience sharing" TODO Chinese name, possibly just "分享修炼的美好", e.g. https://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2015/9/29/分享修炼的美好-印尼召开修炼心得交流会(图)-316838.html[source]): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testimony#Religion
As Jesus put it in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2018%3A20&version=NIV[Matthew 18:20]:
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them
which highlights the critical believer mass effect of reinforced beliefs.
* an impending link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Judgment[final judgment]-like event, which will happen "very soon" (<<flg-verifiable,unspecified date>>), and in which the just will be rewarded
Ciro predict that when <<li-hongzhi>> dies, the claim will be that he went to another dimension so save us all, therefore putting this final judgment on hold, a bit like Jesus.
* non-believers are fundamentally different from believers. Although non-followers who do good things are actually doing FLG without knowing it.
FLG has a specific terminology for non-believers, which is translated in English as https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_new_4.html["ordinary people"] (常人), as opposed to Falun Gong Believers, which Li calls Falun Gong disciples (大法弟子).
Non-FLG people should therefore logically call Falun Gong believers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abnormal_psychology[abnormal people] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/異常心理學[异常人]) in return, much like Ciro likes to call the Chinese who call him 老外 as "老内".
Like other aspects of FLG however, this appears in other religions, e.g. my mother mentioned the funny term used by her Protestant's group term but Ciro forgot it, and you can see it in Harry Potter as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggle[The Muggles].
* xref:flg-organized[You can support FLG by doing X and Y, it is not mandatory, but why wouldn't you since you are saving other people?]. Explaining that Falun Gong is good contrary to CCP propaganda also known as "Fa-rectification" in the English translation jargon.
* alternate dimensions
* pre-civilization: civilization is actually much older than what we believe, and was super advanced, but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Societal_collapse[societal collapse] events led us to forget about it, a bit like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis[atlantis].
Notably, this also implies that the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution[theory of evolution] is wrong, since there existed modern humans hundred of millions of years ago (the current scientific estimates for anatomically modern humans is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_modern_human[500,000 years]): https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_14.htm
Archaeologists have found in the world a kind of organism called "three-leaves insect", which came into being between 600 million and 260 million years ago, and became extinct thereafter. An American scientist found a fossil of "three-leaves insect", on which there was also a human footprint, left by a shoe he was wearing, and clearly printed on the fossil. Aren't they joking with the historians? How could there possibly have been human beings 260 million years ago according to Darwin's theory of evolution?
* xref:flg-medication[Maybe FLG will make you healthier, but no promises, but it will make you a better person, and that's why you should do it, but if you really really believe, you get healthier]. But people who seemed to be believers also die, because deep within their hearts, there was a belief problem.
* <<falun-gong-believes-that-the-ccp-is-literally-a-manifestation-of-real-devils>>
From this, it is obvious that Falun Gong is just a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Age[New Age] (link:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/新纪元运动[新纪元运动]) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism[syncretic] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/綜攝[综摄]) religion combining https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong[Qigong], https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism[Buddhism], some aspects of <<christianity>>, and whatever other crazy things <<li-hongzhi>> believes in.
Synchronism is of course the easiest way to start a new religion, because it attempts to divert the irrational belief of people in some unprovable bullshit into a new unprovable bullshit, but that resonates more with the current political situation. This is exactly what Jesus did with Judaism. And it is then exactly what the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Islam[Islam did to Christianity].
Or you could call Falun Gong a <<flg-cult,cult>>, which is nothing but a new/small religion with negative connotation, and thus meaningless.
FLG is very similar to Scientology in Ciro's view: a new religion that mixes elements of both old and new. And just like any other religion, <<democracy-is-a-religion,their practice must be allowed>>.
But consider this: how to classify what a religion is?
Some would answer: science is what every one can perceive with their own senses.
But FLG followers claim to feel FLG energies when doing the exercises, and a few of them have the power of seeing the other dimensions.
On the other hand, how many of your friends have experienced the laws of quantum field theory or general relativity in a very direct way?
And aren't pro-democracy believers also taking actions based solely on a shared belief, possibly organized by a pro-democracy leader?
From a purely strategic point of view, the "religion" denomination would be:
* bad to FLG because the concept of freedom of religion carries considerable weight in the West. And if you are not a religion, you are more likely to be a <<flg-cult,cult>>, which carries a black mark instead.
* good for FLG because people who already have a religion would be less likely to try it out and start believing
Falun Gong's recruitment strategy is to focus on the exercises first, and in particular its <<flg-medication,health benefits>> and then as some people start to feel things, they start introducing the metaphysics.
Other new religions have also taken this "I'm not a religion approach", see e.g.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahá'í_Faith[Baha'i] https://youtu.be/9qDN0COSvds?t=287[].
* <<flg-daily>>
[[falun-gong-believes-that-the-ccp-is-literally-a-manifestation-of-real-devils]]
==== Falun Gong believes that the CCP is literally a manifestation of real devils (法轮功认为中共是真正恶魔的化身)
Unlike <<ciro-santilli>> which does <<is-chinese-politician-x-evil,not think most CCP politicians are actually evil>>, Falun Gong seems to believe that they literally as in they are representatives of, or evil supernatural beings themselves.
E.g. <<jiang-zemin>> is actually an evil frog in some alternate dimension, literally, not just memecally.
And those devils they are literally responsible for example for creating <<covid,Covid-19>>, which is itself a magic force which tests the evil and good: <<falun-gongs-view-of-epidemics>>.
And <<flg-trump,Trump>> likely represents a magical anti-devil force of the universe.
Some of the most direct <<flg-canon,canon>> suggestions we could find: https://en.falundafa.org/eng/HongYin5.htm[]:
The Red Devil uses lies and money to meddle with man
https://en.falundafa.org/eng/articles/20060209A.html[]:
All along, lowlife secret agents of the wicked CCP have been constantly gathering so-called "Falun Gong intelligence."
Falun Gong gives the CCP too much credit. The CCP are just a bunch of lazy and greedy people like you and me.
[[falun-gong-preaching]]
==== Falun Gong preaching (法轮功传教)
link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-air_preaching[Street preaching] is an important aspect of Falun Gong, using stands and leaflets on the streets much like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses[Jehovah's Witnesses].
Jargon:
* http://www.minghui.org/mh/glossary.html[讲真相]: "truth-telling"
* hongfa (TODO characters?)
The Falun Gong organization also specifies guidelines on how to preach, although these might not be <<flg-canon,canon>>, even though if they are not, it is extremely likely that <<li-hongzhi,LHZ>> is directly involved in their specification
Falun Gong has also used <<flg-telemarketing,phone call preaching>>.
All of this is part of their effort to "save people (救人)", i.e. convert them to Falun Gong.
<<li-hongzhi>> personally heavily emphasises the importance of preaching in <<flg-canon>> TODO link/quote, and because of this is it a de-facto religious obligation, and a major part of <<making-cult-members-work-long-hours-for-free>>.
.Falun Gong believers preaching on the street in London in 2016. This image taken from a believer website shows a typical local regular gathering of believers on weekends, or even week days if there are enough retired believers in the group. They will put on their exercise music, and do exercises to attract more followers. Someone will also stand on their stall giving out propaganda flyers, or asking people to sign petitions for Western governments to support Falun Gong, e.g. opposing their alleged <<flg-organ-harvesting,organ harvesting>>. In the case of touristic areas with Chinese people walking around, they will also ask the Chinese tourists to <<tuidang,quit the their CCP membership, possibly using a fake name>>. <<ciro-santilli>> has to say: it is very amusing to see those Chinese people trying to pretend to ignore the censored religion, when some of them are clearly curious about it, especially the younger ones who didn't see it live. Some just get mad, and say how the CCP is so great to them. https://truthinchina.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/london-uk-practitioners-explain-the-facts-about-falun-gong-in-st-martins-place-photos/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Falun_Gong_street_preaching_2016_London.jpg[height=400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=315&v=nD6792YoOmY from <<nigel-ng,Mikey Chen>> shows a parade/preaching event in San Francisco.
[[flg-telemarketing]]
===== Some Falun Gong people make phone telemarketing (一些法轮功人搞电话推销)
Ciro Santilli has seen Falun Gong people making phone calls to people in China with to explain why FLG is with his own eyes, and therefore is sure it has happened on some scale.
Particularly during <<covid>>, Falun Gong ramped up the telemarketing calls and some voluntary believers were making calls all day nonstop.
Ciro does not know how the called numbers were obtained and if callees voluntarily signed up for it, but that feels extremely unlikely.
Interestingly however, many of the callees seemed interesting in what they had to say, and they often had long chats, Ciro was surprised by that. Maybe they were just bored senseless due to the Corona lockdown. Or maybe <<most-chinese-people-like-their-dictatorship,many Chinese People actually don't like their Government>> and the CCP is fucked.
Also, of course, the callers received call scripts and guidelines to makes those calls, because obviously <<flg-organized>>.
Ciro strongly disapproves of this, Just like for any product, visual ads on the street are impossible to prevent, but any kind of advertising that generates notifications on feeds, or takes people's time, is unacceptable.
As you can easily find on <<google>>/<<baidu>>, such calls may be reported in the <<cac-report-website>>.
Ciro has not however seen them talking about making automated phone calls.
https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1940394/how-rampant-phone-scams-highlight-chinas-need-tighter also mentions that Falun Gong makes telemarketing in passing without any reference.
[[flg-cult]]
==== Is Falun Gong a cult? (法轮功是邪教吗?)
Does <<ciro-santilli>> think Falun Gong a cult? Yes.
Is the CCP a cult? Yes: <<ccp-cult>>.
Is <<christianity>> a cult? Yes.
Is democracy a cult? Yes: <<democracy-is-a-religion>>.
Is modern science a cult? Maybe.
Therefore, the only question that matters for all the above is the same: are they good or bad cults?
Falun Gong clearly share many many many characteristics with what many people classify as a "cult", see e.g.: <<orange-papers>>.
However, <<ciro-santilli>> strongly believes that so does any other existing religion e.g. Christianity, and that Falun Gong is not any worse or better than those other well known religions.
Ciro therefore believes that the only reasonable stances are to either:
* be against all religions (including Christianity and Falun Gong), and classify all of them as Cults
* allow both Christianity and Falun Gong to exist, and support religious freedom
but not "oppose Falun Gong" and support Christianity.
Some people will say: Falun Gong is a cult because it is too new and therefore obviously fake!
So, if I tell a lie today, will it become true in a thousand years? Or a truth today become a lie? The Romans called <<christianity>> the "Cult of Jesus"!
Try sending an email to <<li-hongzhi,LHZ>> asking him to <<flg-verifiable,prove his powers to you>> :-)
Others will say: Falun Gong is a cult because its prophet is still alive!
But then, worry not, because Li Hongzhi was born in 1951, and therefore will almost certainly die by 2040, unless he truly is a living God as he claims.
Now, for the really important question of weather Falun Gong is a "good" or "bad" religion, <<ciro-santilli>> has seen absolutely nothing in it that is worse than any <<flg-religion,other major religion>> say, e.g., <<christianity>>.
Some possibly neutral Cult analysts analyzing if FLG is good or bad:
* https://www.icsahome.com/articles/the-prc-and-falun-gong-langone
* https://www.culteducation.com/group/1254-falun-gong.html
In the end however, since there is nothing obviously completely creepy about FLG, all such discussions are basically equivalent to <<democracy-is-a-religion,"is the Left better than the Right">>, and cannot be answered.
One interesting linguistic aspect is that "cult" normally translates in Chinese as "邪教" which means "Evil religion".
As mentioned before, Ciro does not believe that FLG is an "Evil Cult", just another "Acceptable Cult", and therefore would not use "邪教" to describe it.
Amusingly, <<li-hongzhi,Li>> calls the communists Communist Evil Party (中共邪党) in cannon, well played: https://gb.falundafa.org/chigb/jiangfa5_2.htm
The word "Cult" is much more ambiguous in English however, and does not necessarily imply "Evil" in certain contexts, just "worship".
For example, People from <<ciro-santilli>>'s mother's Protestant Church in Brazil, all say that they are going "to the cult" ("culto" in Portuguese) when referring to when they are going to church to pray, sing and read the Bible together, here's a Wikipedia page in Portuguese page about it: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culto_(Evangelicalismo)
And obviously, the origin of the word "cult" is exactly the same as that of https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cultivate#Etymology["cultivate"] as in "cultivate the crops" (which is also how Falun Gong believers refer to practicing Falun Gong: "cultivation practice"). All of those come from the https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cult#Etymology[Latin "colō"], which means simply "to protect".
[[ccp-cult]]
===== CCP cult (中共邪教)
The CCP also has many cult-like characteristics, notably <<xi-jinping,"The Guru is always right">>, which is mentioned on <<orange-papers>> itself under "The Guru is always right." (highlight by <<ciro-santilli,Ciro>>):
The Guru, his church, and his teachings are always right, and above criticism, and beyond reproach.
In some cults, the guru is dead, but the principle is the same. I use the word "guru" loosely here; in many cults the charismatic leader has the title of minister, priest, yogi, swami, prophet, or all-knowing wise man. **Or even, "<<mao-zedong,Chairman Mao>>."** In any case, the leader is always right.
And they also claim that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholics_Anonymous[Alcoholics Anonymous] could be characterized as a cult. Very cool. What else could be powerful enough to get you off a physical addiction, than a mental addiction, right? The https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Mass_(miniseries)[Midnight Mass (2021)] miniseries by Netflix episode 2 makes that suggestion nicely on a side by side collage at about 8 minutes. It later mentions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_Recovery[Rational Recovery (RR)], which is a "non-religious" alternative to the AA.
<<mao-zedong,Mao>> is the Father +
<<xi-jinping,Xi>> is the Son +
The CCP is the Holy Spirit
Both Mao and Xi have produced their own sacred books which must be revered, much like <<li-hongzhi>>'s <<flg-canon>>:
* Xi's: <<xi-jinping-thought>>
** illustrated version for children: <<xi-jinping-thought-primary-school-textbook-2021>>
* Mao's: <<little-red-book>>
Furthermore, both of those books are based on speeches, just like just like Li Hongzhi's speeches become instant canon.
This devotion can also be seen in Xi's benevolent personification: <<xi-dada>>.
This is also observed by <<falun-gong>> itself as a response to the CCP <<flg-cult,accusing Falun Gong of being an Evil Cult>>. E.g.: https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2019/07/01/a102612683.html from <<ntdtv>>, and Falun Gong is completely right here.
* <<democracy-is-a-religion>>
* <<if-you-are-against-the-ccp-then-you-are-against-china>> is the <<ccp>>'s version of <<the-group-is-the-only-way>>
CCP in religious ceremonies:
* 2021-09 https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/pq6hyv/buddhism_with_chinese_characteristics/ | https://twitter.com/Jerry00107966/status/1438108277716373507
[[xi-halo]]
.Xi Jinping with a Halo edited in to make <<ccp-cult,the obvious more obvious>>. The texts reads <<xi-jinping-thought,"习近平思想" (Xi Jinping Thought)>>. Watermark reads "Gucci Minh @Laborwave", so presumably from https://www.instagram.com/laborwavedesigns/[], but I didn't have the patience to find the picture, but it very likey comes from there, a ton of great communist memes in that account. https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/77vfi8/uphold_xi_jinping_thought/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jinping_thought_halo.jpg[height=400]
.Side-by-side comparison between devotional pictures of <<xi-jinping>> (taken from the cover of <<xi-jinping-thought>>) and <<li-hongzhi>>. The stylistic resemblance is striking.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jinping_vs_Li_Hongzhi_prophet_pictures.jpg[height=400]
[[orange-papers]]
===== Orange Papers (橙色文件)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160205090248/https://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q0.html
Amazing website talking about Cults and many other things!
The key page of the website is the "Cult Test": https://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q0.html[]. This is a must read. It is basically the https://cirosantilli.com/tv-tropes[TV Tropes] of Cults.
Down as of 2020-04 archive:
* 2016 "Cult Test" archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20160205090248/https://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q0.html
* latest working homepage archive from 2019: https://web.archive.org/web/20190925201137/https://www.orange-papers.org/
TODO who is the author? Copyright says by "A. Orange". Is it the real name, or just a pun for "I ate an orange"?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Orangepapers/comments/5sh7kg/any_info_on_what_happened_to_the_orange_papers/ mentions the creator's first name is "Terry", and that the website went down due to financial trouble.
Claimed interview with him on the 2013 SAFE RECOVERY podcast: https://podfanatic.com/podcast/safe-recovery/episode/orange-papers-founder-terry-talks-about-the-truth-about-aa-1
The website also offered compressed archives, but Ciro could not find any of those on the Wayback Machine, although it is hard to be sure because there are many different timestamps available, the section reads:
Get this entire web site in a set of compressed packages so that you can read it later offline (and burn CDs and give copies to friends).
Archives are available in both Unix/Linux tarred-gzipped format, or Micro$uck Windoze winzip format.
Current as of 2016-12-07 (yyyy-mm-dd).
Total Size = 900 MB compressed (1.7 GB uncompressed), but no file is larger than 14 MB, to prevent file size problems with some systems, like Comcast.
Get either set; you don't need both, as the files contained are identical.
File names are of form:
* `Orange_Papers-alpha-2016-12-07.tar.gz`
* `Orange_Papers-imgs000-2011-01-01.tar.gz`
A mirror with many broken links and images: http://aorange1.tripod.com/
And the website also has a Free Tibet flag at the bottom.
Many of the points highlighted at are very very interesting and Ciro feels that they apply strongly to <<falun-gong>>:
* "Instant Community" and "Instant intimacy": you instantly join the cult family, and are very very likely to believe or at least consider anything anyone else in the cult says about their religious experiences, no matter how far-fetched, even though it is not <<flg-canon,canon>>
Conversely, this also poses a risk for the Cult Leader, as new community ideas can spread very quickly, and if you try to fight them off, they might create a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schism[Schism].
* "Denigration of competing sects, cults, religions, groups, or organizations": yes, <<li-hongzhi>> does this all the time, see: <<zhong-gong>>
* "Personal testimonies of earlier converts": see "experience sharing" at <<flg-religion>>
* "The group and its members are special", "Enemy-making and Devaluing the Outsider": see: "ordinary people (常人)" at <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong>>
* "Front groups, masquerading recruiters, hidden promoters, and disguised propagandists": <<falun-gong-media>>
* "The Guru is always right", "You are always wrong", "No Graduates", "The Guru Is Extra-Special", "Everybody else needs the guru to boss him around, but nobody bosses the guru around", "The guru criticizes everybody else, but nobody criticizes the guru.": obviously: <<li-hongzhi>>
** "Group-think, Suppression of Dissent, and Enforced Conformity in Thinking"
* Giggly wonderfulness and starry-eyed faith: <<flg-religion,notably visible during in experience sharing>>
There are also however some points which Ciro feels don't apply, and Ciro praises Falun Gong for those:
* "Dual Purposes": not much of that, most of their propaganda is "we are persecuted unfairly by China", not "let's help the poor"
* "The End Justifies The Means": Li has made it clear that believers must follow the laws of their countries. Cults that violate this tend to not last as long, this is the smart move for cult leaders.
And some points which Ciro feels apply which were mentioned in some other article, (or maybe in Orange Papers but he couldn't find them, TODO find reference?)
* "No time for fun": how could you possibly spend leisure time watching television, etc. when you could be saving the world instead?
* "Focus on the persecution of the Cult": while obviously people who have been persecuted have the right, and almost an obligation, to look for help and share their stories, it is also clear that this is a selling point for the Cult.
Why would a nation state attack a Cult? This could give the impression that it is because there is something powerful and true in the Cult, and actually menaces this nation state.
For example, Falun Gong puts huge emphasis on its persecution in China, much like the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyr[Martyrdom] of the Catholic Saints is highly emphasised.
This is especially interesting, because the website does not mention Falun Gong at all it seems: it really seems that all those cults are very similar.
It should also be mentioned though that these points extend to any type of human organization, e.g. <<flg-religion,other religions>>, <<democracy-is-a-religion,political parties>>, job associations, etc.
[[cult-speak]]
====== Cult speak (邪教话,Orange Papers, 橙色文件)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160205090248/https://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q0.html#cq_cult_speak
"Cult-speak": see also "Newspeak" from <<nineteen-eighty-four>> and some common Falun Gong Cult-speak see: <<flg-religion>>
Falun Gong's slogan is the quite direct to the point:
Falun Gong is good
This is in part to fight off the mountains of anti-Falun Gong propaganda created by the <<ccp>>.
Their core values are:
* Truthfulness (真, Zhēn). Self explanatory, and the opposite of the <<ccp>>. Although they sometimes violate that (unknowingly?) for the greater good of the cult, e.g. <<flg-transparent>>.
* Compassion (善, Shàn)
* Forbearance (忍, Rěn): definition according to Oxford Languages: "patient self-control, restraint and tolerance". So in other words: chill out and meditate. And don't do drugs or anything excessive like that.
The slogan and the core values are often placed together as:
法轮大法好。真善忍好。
Falun Gong is good. Truthfulness, compassion and forbearance are good.
[[careful-control-of-your-image]]
====== Careful control of your image (Orange Papers, 小心控制你的形象, 橙色文件)
The cult leader is a master at controlling how people view them.
One aspect of that, is after reaching a certain critical mass of mindless followers, to limit your public appearances to situations in which you have the most control, and notably being surrounded only by your believers.
Because of course: you are human, not a God, and you are going to fuck up from time to time, so why take any risks now that you are already established?
<<li-hongzhi>> does not announce where he is going for the most part, even though he is followed by millions: he just shows up unannounced, and local believers whisper to one another in short advance and come to see him when possible.
As a result, there are almost no recordings of Li Hongzhi except from the early days when he actually had to go out and get new believers hooked himself.
What if he farted, or worse, brain-farted during a presentation, like we all do from time to time? Don't want recordings of that, do we? <<flg-canon>> related to those private presentations is only published after careful review of course.
[[vissarion]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cv5hZfOmk&t=1177 Siberian Cult Leader Thinks He's Jesus by VICE (2012) In this documentary, which VICE was allowed to visit and interview <<russia,Siberian>> prophet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vissarion[Vissarion] (real name Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop Серге́й Анато́льевич То́роп, AKA "The Russian Jesus"), and they note how well he controlled his appearance. Ciro also heard similar stories of <<stalin>> and <<mao-zedong>> when they would retreat from the public eye for a while. Part of appearance control generally requires you to select select <<membership-rivalry-orange-papers,cult members of the inner circle>> to act for you, so you can minimize your surface of errors. This in exchange gives them greater status in the community.
video::W2Cv5hZfOmk[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=1177]
[[different-levels-of-truth]]
====== Different levels of truth (Orange Papers, 不同层次的真相, 橙色文件)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160205090248/https://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q3.html#cq_levels_of_truth
And closely related: "Deceptive Recruiting"
Falun Gong people don't talk freely about their funny beliefs like <<flg-religion,aliens are amongst us>> to outsiders.
Rather, they lure you in with the exercises first.
Ciro has personally heard the following said many times: "you should not tell this to non-believers, they are not ready for this truth yet".
Conversely, <<dictatorship,dictatorships>>, just like <<flg-cult,cults>>, also have practice different levels of truth, because in the end some level of decision maker has to know the actual truth of the world:
* <<brave-new-world-books>>
* <<internal-media-of-china>>
* <<chernobyl-2019-miniseries>>
Some other cults that come to mind:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Philosophy_and_Economic_Science[] just check that name. Sounds like a regular economy school, right?
[[the-group-is-the-only-way]]
====== Insistence that the group is THE ONLY WAY (Orange Papers, 坚持他们的团体是唯一的方式生活, 橙色文件)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160203122607/http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q1.html#cq_only_way
<<ccp>>'s version: <<if-you-are-against-the-ccp-then-you-are-against-china>>.
[[no-humour]]
====== No humour (Orange Papers, 不能有幽默, 橙色文件)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185341/http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q2.html#cq_no_humor
Basically exactly what is mentioned at <<funny>>. Notably:
* making fun of <<xi-jinping>> is not allowed for Chinese people
* making fun of <<li-hongzhi>> is not allowed for <<falun-gong>> believers
So we go ahead and make fun of both.
[[promised-powers-or-knowledge]]
====== Promised Powers or Knowledge (Orange Papers, 应许的功能或知识, 橙色文件)
* "Promised Powers or Knowledge": https://web.archive.org/web/20160114213408/http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q7.html#cq_promises
* "It's a con. You don't get the promised goodies": https://web.archive.org/web/20160114213408/http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q7.html#cq_con
Many/most Falun Gong believers believe that:
* <<flg-medication,Falun Gong has curative and general health benefits>>
* you will be saved in a soon-to-come-but-that-actually-never-really-comes <<flg-religion,Judgement Day like event>>
* some believers who practice really well can also get some "supernatural powers" (功能), but not everyone develops them. Luckily only so many people are that manipulable to believe they have obtained superpowers!
But of course, you are <<flg-verifiable,not allowed to just show your powers to other people, and most of all not to "ordinary people">> of course, because "reasons"
From <<flg-canon>> https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_34.htm[]:
[[flg-supernatural-powers]]
What will one develop in the course of his cultivation? He will develop supernatural powers which are called supernormal capabilities for short.
Do you want to use them among ordinary people? You are absolutely not allowed to use them among ordinary people at will.
But in the end, since  <<flg-fake,everything is fake>>, there is only one reward that you can possibly get if you are both lucky and crazy hard working: <<membership-rivalry-orange-papers,some attention from the master>>.
* <<amazing-cultivation-simulator-review-by-ssethtzeentach-2021,Amazing Cultivation Simulator review by SsethTzeentach (2021) (了不起的修仙模拟器)>>
[[making-cult-members-work-long-hours-for-free]]
====== Making cult members work long hours for free (Orange papers, 让信徒免费长时间工作, 橙色文件)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200219/http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q9.html#cq_work4free
Many Falun Gong members work long long hours for free to help spread their religion, either by:
* <<falun-gong-preaching,preaching on the streets by giving out leaflets or demonstrating their exercise>>
* working for <<falun-gong-media>>
because spreading those are religious obligations.
But on the other hand, why wouldn't do that if you believed that there is a <<li-hongzhi,living god on our Earth which most "ordinary people" don't know about>>, and that you are saving people's souls? If a religion doesn't make you do things for it, that belief is useless. In the case of Christianity however this is possibly in part linked to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism[Evangelical] belief of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_gratia[salvation by grace alone]. Quite convenient right, you don't really have to do anything concrete to be saved, only believe and repent.
Furthermore, a very similar mindset is present in entrepreneurs, who are often driven to do long long work for an ideal. Sometimes, e.g. in <<ciro-santilli>>'s case, even to make https://cirosantilli.com/ourbigbook-com[a not-for-profit].
And Ciro Santilli's mother would spend countless hours helping the less fortunate after her retirement in activities semi-linked to her Protestant church.
So this point is not so simple to criticize.
But it is sad to watch people waste their lives <<flg-fake,for something that is a lie>>.
[[membership-rivalry-orange-papers]]
====== Membership Rivalry (Orange papers, 让信徒免费长时间工作, 橙色文件)
https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132516/http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-cult_q7.html#cq_member_rivalry
While <<ciro-santilli>> hasn't personally witnessed any malicious internal competition in Falun Gong, this does make the more interesting point that:
Members vie with one another for the <<li-hongzhi,guru>>'s attention, and for status within the group. Everyone is trying to become part of the favored inner circle. The leader plays the members off against each other in order to maintain his hold over the cult.
and this is very true. Because since you, <<flg-fake,everything is a lie>> you <<promised-powers-or-knowledge,don't get the promised goods>>, and the only thing that is left for you to actually get is the guru's attention and the social status associated with it.
The inner circle status mechanic is also closed related to <<careful-control-of-your-image>>, see the <<vissarion,Vissarion>> video.
Some inner circle mechanics are also well shown in <<wild-wild-country-2017>> through Sheela.
[[flg-canon]]
=== Canonical Falun Gong texts (法轮功的经典著作)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teachings_of_Falun_Gong
It appears that Falun Gong cannon is present at: https://falundafa.org/
The two main books are:
* "China Falun Gong" (中国法轮功) AKA just "Falun Gong" published in April 1993. 2006 English translation https://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/flg_2006.htm[]. Wikipedia comments:
Falun Gong is an introductory book that discusses qigong, introduces the principles of the practice, and provides illustrations and explanations of the exercises.
The first edition contains one of http://qingqing.freebbs.tw/viewthread.php?tid=130###
* <<zhuan-falun>>
The initial versions of both of those texts contained versions of <<li-hongzhis-hagiography>>.
It contains <<li-hongzhi,LHZ>>'s approved texts/speech transcriptions, which are sacred.
The only sacred version is Chinese which is a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_language[sacred language], and of which there is only one perfect revision.
This is <<flg-religion,perfectly analogous>> to the role of:
* Arabic in Islam. Although Islam goes even further, and only the Arabic version can be recited in prayers. Non-Arabic-speakers have to just memorize sounds to perform Salah. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/plight-uyghurs-why-muslims-wont-speak-their-brethren-112466 suggests that this is a major reason why <<other-islam-countries-speak-up-for-uyghur>>
* Hebrew in Judaism
Protestants and later the Catholic church, have moved away from such really bad strategy however, the accessibility of Christianity is seen on the entrance of many many churches which have a sign "ALL are welcome". Perhaps this is also related to the fact that Christianism was already based on translating earlier Judaic texts to Greek, so the sacred language barrier was already broken. Well played.
<<ciro-santilli>> heard <<li-hongzhi,LHZ>> claims the specifically chose to reincarnate in China this last time.
The English translation is made by followers, and gets new revisions from time to time to reduce translation imperfections.
However, the Chinese language seems to be fundamentally sacred, and there might never be a sacred English version approved by LHZ.
LHZ is of course a de-facto God with superpowers, and can of course speak all languages, but https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=for%20reasons[for reasons] he didn't just write an English translation himself.
This is a reasonable command to download the English cannon for grepping:
wget -r -l inf --no-remove-listing --no-clobber --no-parent -w 2 https://en.falundafa.org/falun-dafa-books.html
TODO: need to find a way to wrap lines, otherwise grep might fail on sentences.
But funnily the Canon books appear to all be copyrighted, likely "to avoid other people from modifying his sacred text", which is funny since the dude's the voice of absolute truth of the universe, but you still gotta copyright that I guess.
Nothing else is canonical. LHZ seems to have said that there are enlightened followers, but has not specified who, so we can't derive canon from anyone else.
Notably, <<flg-organized,FLG media>> such as https://www.minghui.org/ is believer led and thus not canonical, even though believers have very high confidence in it, and LHZ <<flg-organized,directly supports it>>.
CCP <<ccp-cult,cult leaders>> such as <<xi-jinping>> and <<mao-zedong>> have also published their own canon books, e.g.:
[[zhuan-falun]]
==== Zhuan Falun (转法轮)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teachings_of_Falun_Gong#Zhuan_Falun,_the_main_book
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/转法轮_(书)
The main book of <<flg-canon>>.
Published in January 1995.
1998 English version: https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_01.htm[]:
Zhuan Falun is the main teaching and the most comprehensive work; it is an edited version of Li's nine-lecture series, 54 of which he taught across China between 1992 and 1994.
Believers very often read from this text when they <<flg-religion,"study the Fa">> in their gatherings. They often read one chapter per session, and can often just say "we read the Nth teaching" (第N讲, so apparently each chapter corresponds to a separate talk). Just like <<xi-jinping-thought>> (and other Chinese religious traditions)!
.Front and back cover of <<zhuan-falun>>, first edition (1994). It is said amongst believers that <<flg-verifiable,the Lotus flower on the back of these books have magically opened progressively as time passed>>. http://qingqing.freebbs.tw/viewthread.php?tid=165###[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zhuan_Falun.jpg[height=500]
.Side-by-side English and Chinese version of <<zhuan-falun>> circa 2010s. These covers are very widespread. Note how the Chinese cover is yellow, almost golden, to indicate that it is cannon. And translations in all other languages are blue, to indicate non-canon. Also note how the drawings of mystical elements have been removed in favor an abstract presentation. This is part of <<different-levels-of-truth>>. https://hkfalundafa.org/2-如何學煉法輪功.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zhuan_Falun_2010s_English_vs_Chinese.jpg[height=500]
[[does-ciro-santilli-support-falun-gong-or-just-use-it-because-it-is-censored]]
=== Does Ciro Santilli support Falun Gong, or just use it because it is censored? (三西猴是支持法轮功,还是仅仅因为它被审查而使用它?)
Ciro Santilli doesn't support FLG specifically, only freedom of religion. See of course: <<flg-bias>>.
Ciro uses it in his usernames simply because it is the most banned and censored one in China today.
He believe that <<flg-thoughtcrime,individuals should only be put in jail for what they do, not for what they believe>>.
He considers FLG <<flg-religion,a religion like any other>>, and he is against its ban, as that of all other religions.
He also believes that freedom of speech and democracy imply that FLG and other religions will exist. If you want freedom, you have to <<intolerance,accept other people's choices>>.
Otherwise, <<democracy-is-a-religion,democracy and communism can also be considered as religions>>, and banned.
See also: <<flg-verifiable>>.
[[flg-daily]]
=== How is it like to live with Falun Gong believers? (与法轮功信徒一起生活是一种怎样的体验?)
This will obviously vary from believer to believer, but here is <<ciro-santilli>>'s experience.
Like any other religion that is taken seriously, they spend several hours per week doing their standard religious activities: <<flg-religion>>.
Ciro has never seen them, or anyone we know from FLG say or do something that he consider morally incorrect because of FLG.
This does not prevent <<wife,his wife>> from working normally.
Ciro's mother-in-law, who is retired, dedicates all her time to Falun Gong when she is not taking care of the house.
Ciro's mother is also religious (link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism[Protestant]), and he gets a very similar feeling about both groups.
Like other religions, Falun Gong gives them meaning in life, and Ciro admires that they pursue their belief energetically, just as he persues his beliefs energetically.
Ciro much prefers that Ciro's mother-in-law does Falun Gong, which is a noble meaningful goal, rather than watch stupid crap on television.
Also, although he is <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong,agnostic>>, Ciro also lives in a similar way.
Ciro's religion is that of science and technology, and he pursue it fervently by trying to learn and teach it and spend several hours a week doing that, even when it does not give him money immediately.
If Ciro pursue his meaning, why should he prevent anyone from pursuing theirs?
Previously, Ciro's wife and mother-in-law would sometimes try to persuade him to learn Falun Gong, which was annoying.
But every time he told them very clearly that he knows where to download the books if I want to, and that he may never want to read them, and that his wife must either accept this fact or leave him.
And they have accepted that: they think Ciro's a good person, and they can accept that you can also be a good person even without doing Falun Gong.
Ciro does feel Falun Gong makes Ciro's mother-in-law more reluctant to use or actively search for <<flg-medication,medication or treatment>>. But he thinks it is also linked to the fact that she didn't have a very good education or a good health system around. However, if Ciro and his wife give her something, she will take it. Ciro's wife does not have any resistance to medication.
One thing that does worry Ciro is that Ciro's mother in law sleeps too little every night, doing one of the Falun Gong meditations late in the evening, and then waking up very early to a long series of reading and exercise sessions. But it is hard to say if she would be any different without Falun Gong, it could just be her nature.
[[flg-changed]]
=== Falun Gong is completely different in the West than it was in China (法轮功在西方与在中国完全不同)
I believe that it has changed.
But isn't that the case of every cultural religious movement that migrates to a completely new culture?
Main points which may have changed:
* It has become more organized.
But why shouldn't they organize to defend themselves now that they have the chance without being put into prison?
The CCP is highly organized and has way more resources.
* Less emphasis is given to the religious/mystical aspect, and more to the corporal exercises, and health aspect.
This may be because people in the "West" are:
** are "scientific-educated" atheists who wouldn't go for a "religion"
** already have other religions, which would view FLG as a taboo
Also maybe only the richest and most educated believers managed to escape China, and thus the movement carried that bias outside China.
If you know more ways in which it may have changed, let me know.
But once again, we can know nothing for sure about the past in China because of censorship.
Even if you saw something yourself, how can you be sure that it is representative?
And if it has changed, now that it has changed, maybe China should unban it?
[[falun-gong-has-been-funded-by-the-us-government-at-least-once-therefore-it-is-evil]]
=== Falun Gong has been funded by the US government at least once, therefore it is evil (法轮功至少被美国政府资助过一次,所以是邪恶的)
1.5M USD in 2010 for a FLG controlled internet freedom group https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8678760.stm
But well, if you are going to do something anyway, and someone offers you money, why wouldn't you take it?
Taking the money does of course give a "bad impression" that someone is trying to buy influence, but does it in itself imply that you are doing something bad?
But do you really think that the US government paid that to buy influence in FLG? What would they force upon that FLG group that they didn't already want to do? Isn't it more likely that the US government wanted them to continue doing exactly what they were doing?
Every government funds groups it supports, it is an all out war I suppose. Compare that to the propaganda funds of the CCP.
What about the funding of political campaigns, which vastly outnumbers 1.5M USD every year?
[[follow-the-law]]
=== Falun Gong is illegal in China, we must follow the law (法轮功在中国是非法的,我们必须遵守法律)
If a law is unfair, we must fight to change it.
It was perfectly legal for <<nazi,Nazis>> to kill Jews. Does it make that right?
But in the end, the commies don't even bother passing or following laws, they just fuck people anyways without one: <<rule-of-law>>.
The problem in <<dictatorship,dictatorships>> is that the people have no power at all to change the law because there is no <<democracy>>.
The excuse that "we have to do this to follow Chinese law in order to operate in China", is exactly what all <<western-companies-that-comply-with-chinese-censorship-requests>> do. If Chinese law mandated killing Jews, they would likely comply.
The trick though is to delegate the dirty work to Chinese branches and employees, as a way to distance themselves from the activity. This is also generally a regulatory requirement of the Chinese government however.
[[flg-fake]]
=== Falun Gong is fake (法轮功是假的)
The same can be argued about any other religion or political belief of type: it is better if we organize society in this or that way.
How can you disprove their belief, when as in any other religion, every affirmation made hinges on "miracles only happen around when true believers are around" or "only true believers can perceive evidence in their hearts / minds directly". He died of cancer or <<covid>>? Not a true believer, deep withing his heart, something was wrong. See also: <<flg-verifiable>>.
Conversely, do you understand the full sequence of experiments that imply quantum field theory? Have you seen videos of those experiments? Have you attended live demonstrations? Do you understand the construction of the experimentation apparatus? Yet, why do you believe it?
More importantly: what do you propose that should be done about it? Should we kill followers? Or is jail enough?
Also do let me know when you have achieved irrefutable proof that democracy/freedom of speech are the optimal ways to organize the government: <<democracy-is-a-religion>>.
See also: <<flg-religion>>
[[flg-verifiable]]
==== Falun Gong never makes any predictions that can be reasonably verified by non-believers (法轮功从不做任何非信徒可以合理验证的预言)
Exactly, just like any other <<flg-religion>>, this is why <<ciro-santilli>> is <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong,agnostic>> and thinks Falun Gong metaphysics is bullshit.
Notably, <<li-hongzhi>> explicitly forbids display of magical powers gained by believers to non-believers: <<flg-supernatural-powers>> for "reasons". What a convenient coincidence, that prevents any verifiability!
Just like in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter[Harry Potter], Falun Gong believers are part of the magical <<flg-religion,Hogwarts world which non-believers, The Muggles>>, cannot access.
The closest claims to observable Ciro has heard are:
* when pictures are taken in sacred events, notably <<shen-yun>>, sometimes you can see magic Falun energy wheels in the pictures
* in the homes of some followers, small magic good plants-like fungi-like things have grown
[[flg-fungi]]
.Image of the magic good small plants that grew on a <<falun-gong>> believer's home. They took a photo and it published on <<falun-gong-media,Minghui>> as a 2018 Chinese New Year good wish page to <<li-hongzhi>>. They seem to identify those fungi as mini-link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udumbara_(Buddhism)[udumbaras], which is just a fancy name that Buddhism scriptures use to refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_racemosa[cluster fig flowers] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/聚果榕[优昙婆罗], amongst a billion other existing phonetic transliterations) emphasising their magic properties. Here's a 2007 from <<epoch-times>>: https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/7/10/7/n1859364.htm[], and another one https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/9/5/3/n2514838.htm[], and another one from 2011: https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/11/11/25/n3440323.htm[]. Only the most relevant news on that newspaper. Ciro could not find <<flg-canon>> mentions however. If any biologist reads this, for the love of God send me a Wikipedia page with the possible species. TODO transcribe the Chinese 吉林市大法弟子恭祝师新年快乐。(优昙婆罗花) 创世主救度众生YADA YADA。(Falun Gong practitioners from <<jilin>> wish The Master a happy (Chinese) New Year (udumbara Flower) The creator of the world saves all living things, ...) This type of "congratulate the Master for New Year, congratulate the Master for his birthday etc. by sending photos to <<minghui>> for selection is common practice in the Falun Gong community. https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2018/2/17/168396p.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Falun_Gong_magic_fungi.jpg[height=600]
* the <<flg-canon,sacred books>> of some believers had a closed lotus flower when they were bought, and after several years, the flower opened
but Ciro suspects they are not even <<flg-canon,canon>>, just believer oral culture.
Of course, like every other religion, reality happens to be is constructed in a way that prevents non-believers to verify anything with their eyes in a reproducible way.
Or a Jesus put it in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4&version=NIV[Luke 4]:
[[luke-4]]
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
"'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Ah good old <<li-hongzhi,prophets>>, their tricks haven't changed a bit in 2 thousand years! This is why <<ciro-santilli>> follows instead the religion of <<democracy-is-a-religion,science and freedom of speech>>, because those religions instead say:
Test your God. Test your God a billion times. And if your God proves wrong just once, disbelieve it.
The Pontius Pilate Scene from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_(film)[The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)] comes to mind, quotes:
Pontius: It's also said that you do miracles? Is this good magic or bad magic? Can we have some sort of demonstration?
Jesus: No, I'm not a trained animal, I'm not a magician.
Pontius: Well, that's disappointing. This means that you are just another Jewish politician.
Pontius: It's one way to change the way that people live, but you want to change the way that they think and that they feel.
Jesus: All I'm saying is the change will happen with love. Not with killing.
Pontius: Either way it's dangerous. It's against Rome. It's against the way the world is. In killing or loving, it's all the same. It simply doesn't matter how you want to change things, we don't want them changed.
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=pXGsio9H1xs The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) - Pontius Pilate Scene (5/10) | Movieclips.
video::pXGsio9H1xs[youtube,height=400,width=600]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurama[Futurama] also has an interesting take:
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObbVO3A3BvA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bender_(Futurama)[Bender] meets God in Futurama S03E20 "link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfellas[Godfellas]". In their talk, they comment on how "if as God you give them everything, they will grow dependent on you, and if you give them nothing, they will despise you". And so the best approach as a God might be "to influence things as if you weren't there".
video::ObbVO3A3BvA[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[against-censorship-and-flg]]
=== Many people both are against both censorship and Falun Gong (我要民主,但是我还要禁止法轮功)
Ciro know that, and that supporting FLG is "bad" for his public image with most Chinese, including those that are against censorship.
But <<dictator-needs-gfw,without censorship, there will be democracy>>, and with democracy FLG followers will have voting rights, and FLG will become legal.
Ciro thinks that the situation is very similar to <<flg-religion,Scientology>> in the USA today: most people dislike it, but believe that you can believe whatever you want.
Democracy and Communism <<democracy-is-a-religion,can also be considered as religions and persecuted>>.
Isn't it convenient when a dictatorship gets rid of those weirdos for you? But not so much when suddenly you or your family is the weirdo...
If you are not ready to accept the beliefs of others, dictatorship is the only choice for you.
It is also interesting to note how Falun Gong is a good source of <<censorship-circumvention>> material.
[[democracy-is-a-religion]]
==== Why does Ciro Santilli say that democracy is a religion just like Falun Gong? (为什么三西猴说民主就像法轮功一样是一种宗教?)
Because it also specifies irrational and fundamental aspects of how one should live, notably voting and freedom of speech.
Just like the <<ccp-cult>> has one fundamental belief: <<stability,the Party is always right>>.
Ban <<falun-gong>>, and you have banned democracy.
Accept democracy, and you will have <<falun-gong>>.
There is no in-between.
[[flg-stability]]
==== Falun Gong had to be banned because it was a threat to the stability of the country (法轮功必须被取缔,因为它威胁到国家的稳定)
Then they link to the Taping Rebellion:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Heavenly_Kingdom
Of course FLG was a threat to the stability of the country.
It is, as <<ciro-santilli>> has said, a highly organized political power: <<flg-political>>.
However, <<democracy-is-a-religion,democracy>> is a threat to the stability country in the exact same way:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution
Anything that goes against a dictatorship is a threat to the stability of the country.
Now read: <<stability>>
[[many-people-say-they-do-falun-gong-only-to-get-visas-to-the-usa]]
=== Many people say they do Falun Gong only to get VISAs to the USA (很多人说他们修炼法轮功只是为了拿到美国签证)
<<ciro-santilli>> heard this a few times, and I believe it has happened.
But I don't see how this is relevant at all to this discussion:
* if they are not really FLG believers, they should be prosecuted, but this says nothing about the real FLG believers,
* if they are, then why wouldn't they seek a VISA, since they are in constant threat of going to jail or worse in China, and the USA law gives them that right?
Sample news:
* https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/09/28/652218318/thousands-could-be-deported-as-government-targets-asylum-mills-clients
[[flg-witness]]
=== I have personally seen people do bad things because of Falun Gong
Either direct suicide or <<flg-medication,dying because of not taking medication>>.
First, I'm not saying I don't believe you, and I'm sorry about what happened.
But your testimony is worthless unless you give the following:
* clear unique personal identification
This is because the CCP has thousands of <<wumao,wumaos>> who could make fake reports.
There are basically two ways to do that:
. your testimony is done in video form on YouTube clearly showing your face as you make it
. links between a notable social media presence that is hard to achieve, e.g. Twitter with many followers, Stack overflow with a lot of rep, and the account
Either of those must contain / link to information that uniquely identifies you. Generally, full name, city and date of birth is enough.
* a precise testimony that states exactly what you saw happen with your own eyes, or heard from people that are very close to you.
The testimony must include:
** when the events happened
** where they happened, in which city at the very least
** the full names of who did what
This is to:
** make it easier to verify the truth of the event
** uniquely identify the event so we don't count a single event multiple times
If you do provide all of the above, I add your report to a list of reports that I will maintain. This list does not exist yet because there were no valid reports yet.
Next consider this:
* are you sure that Falun Gong made the person do the bad thing, and that the person wouldn't have done it anyway?
Did someone from Falun Gong told the person to do it?
I bet that if you look into patients of psychiatrists, you will find more suicides than average. So should we ban psychiatry?
* are you sure that the order came from <<li-hongzhi,LHZ>>, and that it was not just some disgruntled local leader using Falun Gong for his personal madness and doing things he did not approve?
Branch Davidians were inspired by <<christianity>>. So should we ban Christianity? What about the majority of Christians who have never done anything bad?
* only statistics have any meaning, and it would require a very large number of reports to make up statistics, so you will likely be wasting your time. I will do my part and maintain a list however.
* if we ask for FLG believers to compile a list of horrors they have suffered, which they have already been doing since the start of the persecution, I bet that their list will be much longer than yours, because they are so <<flg-organized,well organized>>
[[flg-persecution]]
=== Falun Gong does not have proof of their persecution claims (法轮功没有被迫害的证据)
How much proof do you think they would be able to get when there is no freedom of the press?
Do you think that forbidding a <<flg-important,70 million>> person religion could have gone smoothly?
Do you think the thousands of personal accounts of human rights violations that exist are all fake, and don't indicate that many, many more have taken place but fallen under censorship?
Conversely, there is no reliable proof that FLG is bad as claimed by CCP that has been verified by international media.
[[western-media-has-exaggerated-reports-on-falun-gong-for-propaganda-reasons]]
==== Western media has exaggerated reports on Falun Gong for propaganda reasons (西方媒体以宣传为由夸大法轮功报道)
Possibly true, but which reports are you talking about specifically?
All that I care about is:
* it is censored today
* if you do it you go to jail
* there were tens of millions of followers at the time of the ban
which I think are undeniable.
The only question that matters is: should it be banned or not?
And as usual: <<censorship-makes-no-one-trust-your-country>>, so which reports can we trust more?
[[sun-yi-falun-gong]]
==== Sun Yi (孙毅, 2008)
Documentary about him, TODO are the producers Falun Gong believers?
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_from_Masanjia
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/求救信
Masanjia re-education through labor camp where he was kept:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masanjia_re-education_through_labor_camp
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/馬三家女子勞教所 TODO the Chinese page says female-only, weird
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-45976946 "The SOS in my Halloween decorations"
[[flg-thoughtcrime]]
=== Someone from movement X did something bad, therefore the movement should be banned (X运动中的某个人做了坏事,因此该运动应该被禁止)
By this logic, everyone should go to jail. The law should only punish individuals.
The communist party, which has had continuous power since 1949, killed millions during the <<cultural-revolution>>. Surely they must be banned, no?
But the CCP has changed so much since those days, <<ciro-santilli>> hears you say.
Ciro agrees. And <<flg-changed,so has Falun Gong>>.
See also: "thoughtcrime" from <<nineteen-eighty-four>>.
Or if you like shitty movies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_Report_(film)[Minority Report (2002)].
[[movement-x-tells-people-to-do-something-bad]]
==== Movement X tells people to do something bad, therefore the movement should be banned (运动X告诉人们做坏事,因此运动应该被禁止)
E.g. kill.
Yes, convincing someone to do something bad is as bad as doing it yourself of course, and must be forbidden.
Now proceed to prove that FLG made and will continue making people do bad things, going through:
* <<flg-witness>>
* <<flg-changed>>
[[tiananmen-square-self-immolation-incident]]
===== Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident (天安门自焚事件, 2001)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/天安门自焚事件
This has been one of the major anti-Falun Gong propaganda pieces by the CCP, and one of the most refuted by Falun Gong propaganda even as of 2020.
<<ciro-santilli>> believes that:
* as usual from the pre-Internet age, we will never know the truth for sure, because China has <<censorship,no freedom of the press>>, and <<censorship-makes-no-one-trust-your-country,no one believes anything that the Chinese government says>>
* it is possible that they were Falun Gong believers. What would expect from <<flg-important,banning a 70 million person religion>>?
* it is very unlikely that they had approval or instructions from <<li-hongzhi>>. Li Hongzhi's literature maintains that suicide is very bad for you, e.g.: from 2003 <<flg-canon,canon>> https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/20030420L.html
Question: Some people can't give up Dafa, but also can't let go of their humanness. On the surface they are cultivating and doing some Fa-rectification things, but they are in fact stirring up trouble and creating disturbances, with some even committing suicide or being gay. What will become of these people? Will they go to the dimension of demons? And what will happen to those who stick up for them?
Teacher: I know about all of that. Unless I have absolutely no choice I don't want to expel them, so I'm observing and watching these things. It's best that these people, if they want to do themselves justice, wake up quickly--wake up quickly! If you're determined to do that, then tell Dafa disciples about the things you've done, and that could help. Time is running short. I'm really worried about you. Don't take Master's mercy so lightly. The Fa has standards.
and from 1998 canon https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/19980329L.html
Many people who are capable of cultivating get sucked into them, and some of them engage in suicide - it's a mess
* maybe people should be allowed to choose how they want to die, see also:
** <<flg-medication>>
** <<honour-suicides-in-chinese-history>>
[[honour-suicides-in-chinese-history]]
====== Honour suicides in Chinese history (中国历史上的荣誉自杀, Qu Yuan, 屈原, Wu Zixu, 伍子胥)
As https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Suicide_in_China&oldid=992138770#History[mentioned on Wikipedia], China has a long history of suicide for altruistic/moral/honour reasons in Confucian tradition, some of which are still celebrated to this day.
The <<analects>> paragraph <<analects-translation-by-robert-eno-2015,15.9>> says:
The Master said, The gentleman who is resolute and ren does not seek to live on at the expense of ren, and there are times when he will sacrifice his life to complete ren.
<<mencius-book>> paragraph <<mencius-translation-by-robert-eno-2016,paragraph 6A.10>> says:
I love to eat fish; I also love to eat bear paws. If I can't have both, I will forego the fish and eat the bear paws. I love life; I also love right. If I can't have both, I will forego life and choose to do right. Life is truly something I love, it is just that there is something else I love more, and so I can't hold on to life by devious means. And death is truly something I hate, it is just that there is something I hate more than death, and so there are dangers I will not avoid.
If a man loves nothing more than life, then won't he use whatever means are required to hold onto it? If a man hates nothing more than death, then won't he use whatever means are required to avoid danger? Yet there are things men won't do in order to avoid danger and live, and from this we know that there are things men love more than life and hate more than death. It is not just worthy men who have such feelings, all men have them; worthies are simply those who do not lose them.
Notable historical figures who committed suicides are are still celebrated to this day include:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qu_Yuan[Qu Yuan] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/屈原[屈原], 340-278 BC), is celebrated in the <<dragon-boat-festival>>, the third most important festival in modern China.
He committed suicide by drowning himself in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miluo_River[Miluo River], modern <<hubei>>, while holding a rock, after his country's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)[Chu] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/楚国[楚国])) capital was taken by the Qin enemies during the <<warring-states-period>>.
He is a symbol of patriotism respected to this day.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zixu[Wu Zixu] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/伍子胥[伍子胥], ???-484 BC)
These sound exactly like examples that <<xi-dada>> would want his army to keep in mind: ultimate sacrifice for the motherland.
[[flg-political]]
=== People from movement X are only in it for political power (X运动的人只是为了政治权力)
For every desire of the masses, there will be amoral representatives that will step to use that power.
Still, those representatives cannot gain power if there is no backing desire from society.
The only advantage of <<richer,democracy>>, is that those representatives have to pretend harder to do things for that group to retain their power.
Falun Gong believers obviously have the right to do politics, just like any other person, and Ciro greatly encourages this.
But Ciro does not like that Falun Gong tends to not call itself a political force, when it clearly is. But full disclosure is not a legal obligation, and many many media outlets don't really disclose their obvious political connections. See also: <<flg-transparent>>.
Falun Gong directly contacts Government officials, http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/a25124-European-Falun-Gong-Practitioners-held-an-Anti-torture-Exhibition-during-the-European-Union-Meeting-in-France.html#.XyHSa2OYWV4[demonstrates in front of government buildings] and <<flg-trump,supports Trump>>, how can that not be politics?!?! Just call it for what it is, and no one will be able to criticize you for it!
<<li-hongzhi>> directly says that FLG should not be involved in politics in <<flg-canon>>, e.g. https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/jjyz52.htm[]:
Never get involved in politics, nor interfere with state affairs'.
But at the same, he also greatly encourages <<falun-gong-media>>, which obviously a political influence method. As usual, everything in Falun Gong is explained in an indirect roundabout way.
Other related canon mentions https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2003/3/21/33575.html "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference":
Question: When elections were held in our district, there were people who went to help a few congressional candidates that supported Dafa. But some people thought we shouldn't get ourselves involved in politics, and that we shouldn't rely on ordinary people to do things for Dafa. Is that understanding correct?
Teacher: It's correct in principle, but for this specific matter you should look at it this way. If you say Dafa disciples can't get involved in ordinary society's politics, I wouldn't say that's 100% correct. What I told you was that Dafa doesn't get involved in politics. And a lot of our Dafa disciples work in politics, that's their job. So if there's a government election, should you take part in it? If you take part in it and cast your vote, well then you've gotten involved in politics. A Dafa disciple cultivating in the ordinary society means that you try your best to cultivate while conforming to the ordinary society, and then there won't be a problem. You, too, are a member of the ordinary society. And the existence of the ordinary society is necessary for Dafa, for the cosmos, and for sentient beings. We can only help maintain it and can't disrupt it. When you're supposed to vote, just go vote, that's not a problem. If you say that a certain Congressman is your personal friend, and you'd like to help him do something, then of course there might be things that involve elections and you'd be doing volunteer work—that doesn't matter. But our Dafa as a whole doesn't get involved in politics, and we can't do anything political in the name of Dafa. For Dafa disciples, validating the Fa should be the priority, though.
The last time there was an election in Taiwan, I had a veteran practitioner call the person in charge of the Taiwan Dafa Association and make it clear to the public that Dafa Associations take no stance on elections. If an individual practitioner wants to support someone, that's his personal business and it doesn't represent Dafa. There were Dafa disciples supporting both of the parties. The Falun Dafa Association has no political opinion regarding any party's election, and it doesn't get involved. As individual practitioners you can support whoever you'd like. That's how it works.
The last paragraph is really great, as it indicates how Li's communication works. His top tenants are known, and their word is as good as the master's.
https://en.falundafa.org/eng/lectures/20040412L.html[] also has some good quotes:
Question: During Taiwan's presidential election, some students' human attachments got stirred up. Was it a test arranged by the old forces? What's the right way for us to handle this?
Teacher: Even if the sky were to fall, a cultivator's righteous thoughts would stay unshaken--that is cultivation, and that is remarkable. (Applause) A cultivator is not attached to anything in this world. Dafa disciples' cultivation takes a different form today. In cultivation you do your best out in the world to conform to ordinary society, you have normal jobs in ordinary society, and you have your families, jobs, and all that--you are closely tied to society. With the Taiwan election, some students thought a certain person was pretty good and so they wanted to vote for him, while others thought a different person was pretty good and wanted to vote for that one. People have their own, different views, and there's nothing wrong with that. A person's own actions out in society don't represent Dafa. But you can't be attached to those things the way ordinary people are.
Whoever you vote for, I can't, as your Master, say that you're wrong, nor do I get involved in those things. That's because the path I ask you to take has you cultivate in ordinary society. Cultivators can only benefit a society. You cultivate in ordinary society but you don't steer human society in one direction or another.
So for each student, it's fine for you to vote as an individual for whomever you want. It's just that you can't be too attached. But through the persecution against Dafa disciples in Mainland China, Dafa disciples have seen through something, and so some are thinking, "Whoever is close to the evil that's persecuting us, I won't vote for him." (Applause) And as your Master I have no objection to that either. (Audience laughs, applauds) Those are the students' own thoughts, and as your Master I haven't told you who to vote for. Still less will I tell you to take any group action, and that's not allowed. (Audience laughs)
.https://youtu.be/ArfGyo6HQ_E?t=1175 Ciro really liked what https://www.holycross.edu/academics/programs/religious-studies/faculty/mathew-schmalz[Doctor Matthew N. Schmalz] said on this VICE documentary about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyung_Jin_Moon[Hyung Jin Moon]'s and his https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_movement[Unification movement] ("the Moonies" split-off religion. "I think that any new religion needs a constituency. And especially for a group that is new, that is relatively small, making connections with other groups that might have similar commitments is something that can be quite productive if you are a leader of a new religion". As long as everyone plays the democracy game through democracy rules, peace tends to be maintained, and it is easier for multiple different beliefs to coexist. Falun Gong has obviously gone in this political direction, and that is a positive sign about the religion.
video::ArfGyo6HQ_E[youtube,height=400,width=600,t=1175]
[[flg-trump]]
==== Falun Gong supports Donald (Trump, 法轮功支持特朗普)
<<ciro-santilli>> believes without non-circumstantial evidence that the huge majority of Falun Gong believers strongly supports Trump.
Ciro feels that Falun Gong's support of Trump is a fundamental religious issue to the group.
Falun Gong seems to believe that Trump is perfect and that everything that he says is true and good. He is essentially a supernatural force of good, as well shown at: <<you-are-not-alone-by-tony-chen-music>>. And his opponents, e.g. Biden and the Left, are the opposite.
Like everything else concrete, it is not clear if <<li-hongzhi>> has directly supported this or not.
Ciro feels without proof however that it is extremely likely that he has given very clear private directives to his top tenants to support Trump, notably to the heads of the key <<falun-gong-media>> organizations.
And then this belief gets pumped endlessly through the Falun Gong media, which completely unilaterally praises and supports Trump and criticizes his opponents, so that all believers understand that this is Li Hongzhi's desire.
Edit: around 2021-05-15, this got published on <<minghui>>: https://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2021/5/18/大纪元新唐人媒体法会讲法-425888.html[]. It is not on <<flg-canon,falundafa.org>> yet, but is extremely likely to be uploaded later and can already be consiered canon. The title is "Fa Teachings at the <<epoch-times>>/<<ntdtv>> media meeting", and it contains the first, unumbiguous support of Trump done in Canon. Although such support took a long time to come out publicly in canon, <<flg-transparent,which ciro-santilli condems>>, it was a huge positive step forward towards transparency, as it makes Falun Gong's pre-exising but unannounced religious support for Donald trump publicly official. The key quote on Google Translate is:
Everyone knows that the former president of the United States could not be re-elected, and he was taken down by improper means. I only talk about this phenomenon. Isn't it a manifestation of the current state of society? Everyone knows that the former president wants to talk about traditions and restore traditions. What he has to do is to change the moral quality of people and society in a better direction, and to restore society to a better social state. Is he going against the current heavenly principle? Because God's law is not working. Is he against the trend of this society? He is going against the current, and he wants to suffocate the current. If it's a country, maybe he can do it; what about the entire human society, it's too difficult. So, if the entire universe is like this, can it be intercepted? Unstoppable. So, those gods who took him down and those bad gods in the old universe were as timid as they had stolen things in their hearts. They knew what he was doing was good. Do not you know? all know. Although those gods are corrupt, at least he still understands these things
which therefore clearly says Trump is a manifestation of supernatural forces of good, and also clearly says that the 2020 American election was in fact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempts_to_overturn_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election[stolen by the Democrats as per Donald Trump's accusations].
It could have been even more direct, but <<ciro-santilli>> considers this more than direct enough. A Brazillian saying comes to mind: "Para bom entendedor, meia palavra basta" (For the Connoisseur/Expert, half a word is enough). This was notably used as part of an relentless advertisement campain when Ciro was young (certainly too young to drink) for the overly-long-named beer brand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasil_Kirin[Schincariol], suggesting that you could just call is "schin", e.g. to order it at a bar. Sample ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS-UWr1RIQU[]. Anyways, back to Falun Gong, when it is the word of <<li-hongzhi,Living God himself>>, even a quarter-word is enough I guess.
Prior to that, the most direct public suggestion we can find that Li Hongzhi directly supported Trump was in 2020-11-08 https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/11/8/n12534746.htm when the <<epoch-times>> published a poem by <<li-hongzhi>> which Ciro believes is clearly directly supporting Trump, since it was released just after Trump was announced to have lost the presidential elections, amidst claims of electoral fraud under investigation, which Falun Gong media fully and completely supported. The official translation can be found in <<flg-canon>> https://en.falundafa.org/eng/articles/20201108A.html[]:
On the General Election
In this majestic universe, the communist devil is making trouble +
Fraud and corruption are harming a great nation +
All the machinations make people only more despondent +
When will justice be upheld and our conscience restored? +
Hongzhi Li +
To be completely fair, Trump has been vocal about China's threat way before <<covid,COVID>>, and correctly so in Ciro's opinion, and therefore is a much needed ally of the Falun Gong movement, and to anyone that opposes China's threat, like Ciro does.
Furthermore, Ciro does believe that there might be a Democrat bias to media, and that certainly <<hate-speech,social media like Twitter should never ever censor any political statements as it has done for Trump>>.
And of course, so long as those pro-Trump campaigns respect the laws of the country, Falun Gong is free to do it and must not be interfered with. As if other major American media didn't have political agendas: <<usa-based-media-bias>>.
This is exactly the same, in fact, as to how <<flg-religion,religious affiliation>> has a huge impact in how the average American votes: https://theconversation.com/how-strong-a-role-does-religion-play-in-us-elections-133224[].
It seems that Trump's immigration policies have turned Asian Americans towards the democrat opposition however as of 2019: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/13/18308137/asian-american-voters-immigration-democrats-donald-trump[].
One saving point of the republicans for Asians is the opposition to university quotas instance, which many Asians feel blocks their high performing kids from top schools for less deserving students. This is suggested for example at: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/02/yang-asian-americans-affirmative-action/605917/ "Opposition to affirmative action was pulling Asians toward the GOP. Then Yang's campaign began to gather momentum."
* NBC News claims that the <<epoch-times>> has donated to Trump propaganda: $1.5 million https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121
* after the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election[2020 United States presidential election], <<falun-gong-media>> such as <<epoch-times>> was one of the very few medias to not immediately dismiss https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-election_lawsuits_related_to_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election[Trump's accusations of electoral fraud], as baseless e.g. on 2020-12-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20201212014230/https://www.theepochtimes.com/ the front page read "Election outcome unclear amid legal challenges", at which point most had been shot down. And earlier their editorial had clarified https://web.archive.org/web/20201107223813/https://www.theepochtimes.com/[] "Why The Epoch Times Won't Call the Presidential Race Until All Challenges Are Resolved".
** 2020-12-16 consider this sample <<ntdtv>> screenshot of the latest videos published at the time: https://archive.vn/Sxn8m[], where it can be seen that about 80-90% of the videos are supporting Trump's electoral fraud claims.
While Ciro agrees that reporting such events impartially is important and has merit, the fact that so few medias took the lawsuits seriously at all is still indicative of their strong Trump support.
Ciro is also extremely opposed to censorship of such viewpoints, as done by YouTube, as mentioned at <<fake-news>>, when they started taking down any videos that upheld the electoral fraud viewpoint.
* <<me-and-li-by-ben-hurley-2017>> says how after his conversion to Falun Gong:
My social beliefs had transformed from those typical of a left-leaning family to take on a very conservative hue.
Other election/politics related <<flg-canon>> mentions https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2019/6/2/177872.html[Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference]:
Question: Misleading news is everywhere in this Internet age, and it's often hard to tell real news from fake. In the upcoming Taiwan and U.S. general elections in 2020, will fake news cloud people's judgment?
Master: Degenerate things are common in this troubled world, and it's hard to accomplish good things. That's how things are in a troubled world. Many people didn't expect Trump to be elected in the last U.S. election, but he was. Some people believe that things are supposed to go a certain way, but then they turn out otherwise. I have always said that divine beings are in control of human affairs, and that it is they who have the say. But if I speak too much about it or get into the specifics, it might negatively impact our saving people, so I won't go into it.
As usual, Hongzhi beats round the bush, as per <<different-levels-of-truth>>. Ciro feels it <<flg-transparent,would be better for Falun Gong if he just publicly said that believers must support Trump>>.
One wonders how Falun Gong views Trump's ideology of "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_Access_Hollywood_tape[grabbing them by the pussy]". But sure, that was in 2005, he must have converted to Good since.
Analysis of Trumps electoral fraud claims:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-election_lawsuits_related_to_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election
* 2020-11-2020 https://www.ft.com/content/20b114b5-5419-493b-9923-a918a2527931 "Lawsuit tracker: Donald Trump's legal battle runs into repeated dead ends" gives the precise names of several of the cases
* 2021-01-05 https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-lawsuits-election-results-2020-11 "Trump and Republican officials have won zero out of at least 42 lawsuits they've filed since Election Day" gives an update on several of the cases at that date
* 2021-03-31 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-trump-statue-idUSKBN2BN0RU "Be at peace, meditate, Trump Buddha statue designer tells former president" shows Trump Buddha statues by Hong Jinshi. This could be a huge hit with the Falun Gong community!!!
[[you-are-not-alone-by-tony-chen-music]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWjFeo0BgU You Are Not Alone by Tony Chen Music (陳東音樂, 2020) is a timeless classic devotional Trump support song. by Tony who https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AZ-jCiXCpI[is a Falun Gong believer]. This is consistent with Ciro's understanding of FLG's view of the world, where <<falun-gong-believes-that-the-ccp-is-literally-a-manifestation-of-real-devils>> ("I see the true light - You are the Chosen One to fight the Red Demon") and therefore Trump is the manifestation of a supernatural force oof Good. The Chinese version is even more open about Trump's God-like status: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZrVbX8jV_o[], and contains perls such as (official translation) "I see hope - you are the Chosen One to save the world" and "Trump, Trump, you are not alone! Gods and Buddhas are here with you!". The extensive use of Trump's slogan "Make America great again" is also in line with Falun Gong's belief that the world was Good before, but has become Evil today. <<epoch-times>> made a https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/18/2/1/n10105396.htm[profile of Tony in 2018].
video::WaWjFeo0BgU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
=== Does Ciro Santilli believe in the allegations of human rights violations done to Falun Gong believers?
Besides the obvious prohibition of their most fundamental belief, so e.g. being tortured.
Let's just focus on the evidence:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CedVnJOgwg4 "Undercover video reveals brutal treatment of Falun Gong prisoners inside Chinese labor camps" by "FOX 11 Los Angeles" published May 21, 2019. Names mentioned: Fuquan Yin,
[[flg-organ-harvesting]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli believe in the allegations of organ harvesting made by Falun Gong believers?
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Gong_practitioners_in_China
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/對中國共產黨摘取法輪功學員及良心犯器官的指控
In short: Ciro believes that it has happened to many people.
Long version follows.
It is obviously very hard to prove and quantify it definitely, much like it was hard to prove the Holocaust: bodies were cremated, and bribes were paid.
Even if we had a video showing the whole process, showing the whole money flow from the donor to the prison guard, it would still be hard to quantify it, so I do have some room for doubt in this opinion.
But consider the following, which is based on what Ciro has heard.
Even Chinese officials have admitted that in the past, if the body of the executed person is not claimed by family, then the organs can be extracted even without the consent of the prisoner:
* 2014-12-04 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-30324440 "China to stop harvesting executed prisoners' organs"
* https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/07/china-still-using-executed-prisoners-organs-transplants-vatican
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-the-face-of-criticism-china-has-been-cleaning-up-its-organ-transplant-industry/2017/09/14/d689444e-e1a2-11e6-a419-eefe8eff0835_story.html
Perhaps now that they claim that there is a large voluntary organ donor database, then this has stopped or been reduced, but let's focus on that period when the extractions were widely done.
From this, even though China does not publish execution statistics, we can imagine that a large part of the organs come from prisoners sentenced to death.
Then, consider that a <<flg-important,70 million>> person religion was banned, leading to a huge influx of prisoners from that religion.
FLG followers are just de-facto criminals like any other, and so extracting their organs is also de-facto legal.
Also, people from that religion don't drink alcohol, smoke or take drugs, and their organs are of good quality.
Furthermore, FLG prisoners continue to not bow down to the government even in prison, e.g. by doing their <<flg-religion,Falun Gong meditation>>, which makes them clearly identifiable and dangerous to the system.
Finally, add to that mix the <<corruption,huge level of corruption found in dictatorships>>.
Don't you think, then, that it is extremely likely that it has happened many times that such people have been selected to be executed earlier than others on average, due to the monetary value of their organs?
* https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-019-0406-6 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191118135832/https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-019-0406-6[archive]) "Analysis of official deceased organ donation data casts doubt on the credibility of China's organ transplant reform" by Matthew P. Robertson, Raymond L. Hinde and Jacob Lavee published at "BMC Medical Ethics" which is part of Springer Nature in 14 November 2019
* The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China's Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem, by Ethan Gutmann, 2014
** <https://www.amazon.com/Slaughter-Killings-Harvesting-Solution-Dissident/dp/161614940X>
** <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Gutmann#The_Slaughter:_Mass_Killings,_Organ_Harvesting,_and_China's_Secret_Solution_to_Its_Dissident_Problem>
* 2020-11-29 (not of prisoners) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55097424 "Chinese doctors jailed for illegal organ harvesting"
.https://youtu.be/0Jorm1di7uA?t=700[] Asian boss street inverview with several South Korean people asking how they see China. The only positive view is an old man who received an organ transplant from someone sentenced to death. On <<reddit>> at: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/pve1lr/koreans_interviewed_about_their_views_on_china/[].
video::0Jorm1di7uA[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=700]
===== 2018 China Tribunal
2018 https://chinatribunal.com/
This is a mock tribunal, i.e. one without any power of law, and was of course initially lobbied/organized brought up by FLG: https://endtransplantabuse.org/
However, Ciro Santilli believes that none of the lawyers/jury members are Falun Gong believers, and that they are trying to honestly decide if there is enough evidence or not for organ harvesting in China.
They also have non-FLG witnesses.
Whether you believe in their partiality or not, I highly recommend watching some of what the witnesses, which I find very convincing and informative:
* https://youtu.be/oW3IaaXWE8s?t=7225 Swedish man who spent several years in prison in China
A notable precursor to mock tribunals is the link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Tribunal[Russel Tribunal].
* Dr. Enver Tothi, has spoken openly about his organ harvesting activities in the 1990s in several tribunals in Europe
** 2020 https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/surgeon-who-harvested-organs-slaughtered-21040274 "Surgeon who harvested organs of slaughtered dissident now London Uber driver"
** 2019 in EU parliament: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-9n897jIo
** 2017 Him speaking in : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoXKMw4slHY at Ireland's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoXKMw4slHY[House of the Oireachtas]
[[things-ciro-santilli-dislikes-about-falun-gong]]
=== Things Ciro Santilli dislikes about Falun Gong (三西猴不喜欢法轮功的事情)
But also as explaining why I don't think it justifies the ban.
This section also gives me more credibility as a balanced critic >:-)
* <<flg-religion,Falun Gong downplays the fact that they are a religion>>
[[flg-organized]]
==== Falun Gong downplays the fact that it is highly organized (法轮功淡化了它高度组织化的事实)
Many FLG practitioners claim that they are not at all organized, or that they have no political interest, and I truly believe that they mean it.
But it is obvious from the size of the <<falun-gong-media>>, namely:
* <<ntdtv>>
* <<epoch-times>> newspaper
* <<shen-yun>> dance troupe
that in practice they do have are a highly organized hierarchical structure, and very likely with <<li-hongzhi,LHZ>> at the very top, e.g.:
* Shen Yun's 2018 libretto says that their Artistic Director and founder is "D.F." (likely an abbreviation for Da Fa, which is an abbreviation for Falun Gong Dafa, which is a full name of Falun Gong), with a picture of LHZ on top. It also amusingly says that D.F. is a "Distinguished Professor of Music and Dance at Fei Tian College in New York", which is likely where many of Shen Yun's dancers are trained, and therefore controlled by himself to a large extent. It's Falun Gong's dance-only-for-now https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University[BYU].
* LHZ mentions NDTV, Epoch Times and Shen Yun extensively on his <<flg-canon>>. TODO link to source, this based on unintentionally overhearing to my family members reading it.
Furthermore, Falun Gong practitioners directly lobby foreign governments to take action against human rights abuses in China, e.g.:
* https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+MOTION+P7-RC-2013-0562+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
* https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-court-cisco-must-be-held-accountable-aiding-chinas-human-rights-abuses
Like any other religion, they have all the right to take those actions, and it is definitely in their best interest, and perhaps in the best interest of the whole world, that they do so.
The only thing that annoys me is their lack of self perception on this matter: the large majority of Western people would definitely classify them as an organized political force after having observed their activities. When they say otherwise, they are hurting their own credibility.
[[flg-transparent]]
===== Falun Gong media is not transparent about its affiliation (法轮功媒体对其隶属关系不透明)
Agreed, and it is a point that hurts more than helps their cause.
This is very clearly put as well at "Front groups" of the <<orange-papers>>.
But the media is not legally obliged to state their affiliation.
And if that were the case, then we should force _all_ newspapers to start taking polls of how many employees follow which religion and support which political party, and then put that in their print.
But <<xinhua>> is learning well from this, e.g. <<new-china-tv>>.
[[flg-intolerance]]
==== Falun Gong dislikes several other groups like homosexuals and some other religions (法轮功不喜欢其他几个群体,如同性恋者和其他一些宗教)
Like most <<flg-religion,old religions>>, related: <<hate-speech>>.
<<flg-canon,Canon quote>> from https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/19980904L.html[]:
Question: Why is homosexuality considered immoral?
Teacher: Think about it, everyone: Is homosexuality human behavior? Heaven created man and woman. What was the purpose? To procreate future generations. A man being with a man, or a woman with a woman - it doesn't take much thought to know whether that's right or wrong. When minor things are done incorrectly, a person is said to be wrong. When major things are done incorrectly, it's a case of people no longer having the moral code of human beings, and then they are unworthy of being human.
<<ciro-santilli>> strongly disagrees with that view, because it is the type of thing that makes people feel bad for characteristics that they have, but cannot change.
Also, it is very hard to pass any kind of law that forces people not to be racist/discriminatory, because there is always the lingering question: what if they are right about a particular point?
Because clearly everyone has innate characteristics that make them better suited for certain activities than others, we when we select candidates for a job, we are basically discriminating amongst candidates.
Also any such law can have the opposite effect, acting as a justification for further hate.
You and I dislike certain personality traits without any logical reason.
Democracy dislikes dictators, and it is not necessarily rational.
===== Falun Gong on races
<<li-hongzhi>> clearly classifies races as a metaphysical concept e.g. on <<flg-canon>> https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/19990502L.html[]:
Strictly speaking, Indians, Egyptians, Persians, the yellow race, the white race, and the black race are the six major races of the present Earth. All the other ones are mixed races.
Mixed race people seem to have some metaphysical defect/peculiarity, https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/1997L.html[]:
Question: What did you say last time that a person of mixed race has lost?
Teacher: He has lost the body that comes from the top down through to here. Let me put it this way: People of the yellow race have people of the yellow race up there, and people of the white race have people of the white race up there. He's lost this thread.
but they can still go to Heaven:
Question: Can a person of mixed race succeed in cultivation?
Teacher: Whether someone can cultivate and whether he can succeed in cultivation are all up to the person himself. If a person of mixed race can persist in cultivation, he can reach Consummation just the same. When he succeeds in cultivation his Primordial Spirit will return to wherever he came from.
[[flg-medication]]
==== Falun Gong believers are less likely to take necessary medication (法轮功信徒不太可能服用必要的药物)
Based on what <<ciro-santilli>> saw and heard, he does believe, without any clear statistical evidence, that it is very likely that it hs happened to in many cases that some Falun Gong believers refused to take modern medications and died of diseases that could be otherwise cured.
But consider the following:
* what matters are statistics. Maybe FLG people live longer than non FLG in average. But we will never have statistics because of censorship: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/27529/have-many-falun-gong-practitioners-forgone-medical-treatment-and-died-of-treatab
* maybe people should be link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_legislation[allowed to choose how they want to die], and not to take medication if they don't want to
As the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks_and_Recreation[Parks and Recreation] caricaturally liberal character https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Swanson[Ron Swanson] puts it https://youtu.be/_UlNnETAZeI?t=48[about the United States]:
The whole point of this country is if you wanna eat garbage, balloon up to six hundred pounds and die of a heart attack at forty three, you can! You are free to do so. To me that's beautiful.
<<freedom-with-a-capital-f>> also comes to mind.
* maybe the number of people killed during persecution vastly outnumbers those who died because they would not take medication
* several <<flg-religion,religions>>, including <<christianity>> have miraculous cure claims. My impression is that claims were mostly notable in the old times apparently, likely because people noticed that Christians were still dying of all kinds of diseases like everyone else, no matter how devout!
* maybe the main reason why communists banned Falun Gong is the political threat it posed, but that a ban was unjustified given the situation. Christian crosses are being taken down as of 2016, have they stopped taking their medications as well? See also <<rule-of-law>>.
* maybe many of those people would also have died soon even if they had taken medication
* maybe not all Falun Gong believers thought that it was wise to stop taking medication. But their religion was banned anyway. Who can agree and follow all the innumerable prescriptions of any religious or legal system? See also: <<flg-thoughtcrime>>.
* all the following also reduce people's lifespan:
** riding motorcycles vs. cars/buses
** smoking
** moving to a poor country to do charity there
** eating fast food
Forbidding them also has huge humanitarian costs (more expensive vehicles, creation of a black market, ...). So why not forbid them as well?
Especially In the beginning, Falun Gong did put a lot of emphasis on its health benefits, just <<zhong-gong,like all the other contemporaneous Qi Gong practices>>, and it is likely that especially many in the first generation of believers do believe it more than others.
For example, the main initial public announcement of Falun Gong was at a <<history-of-falun-gong,Health Exposition in Beijing>>.
In <<flg-canon>> itself, this is not super explicit and emphasised as far as Ciro can see. Zhuan Falun https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_74.htm[] has a chapter entitled "On the Issue of Healing Illnesses", that contains:
Let us talk about the most common illnesses, like tumors, infections or osteoproliferation etc., found in the human body. In another space, a very deep space, there lies an evil intelligent entity.
and the general very beaty-around-the-bush suggestion that if you do master Falun Gong fully, you will be healthy. But with the usual disclaimer that "you have to become a master", and since "there are no graduates", no one is ever a master for sure, and as usual "you don't get the promised goodies", as as mentioned at: <<orange-papers>>.
https://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/mgjf.htm contains some more direct quotes that suggest that you can take medicine, but you have to try and bear the pain first, and if you can't, it's a sign that you haven't practiced Falun Gong well enough:
So when you take medicine now you're killing this sickness or the virus at the surface. Medicine can truly kill viruses at the surface. Yet a practitioner's gong[7] is automatically destroying viruses and karma. But as soon as medicine kills the surface virus that has seeped over from other dimensions, the virus—karma—over on the other side will know, since everything is alive, and it will stop coming over. Then you feel that you've recovered because you took the medicine. But let me tell you that it nonetheless accumulates over there. Life after life human beings are accumulating this stuff. When the accumulation reaches a certain extent, the person becomes incurable and when he dies he's totally destroyed. He loses his life—forever loses his life. That's how horrifying it is. So here I've explained to you the relationship. It's not that people aren't allowed to take medicine. When an everyday person gets sick he definitely needs medical treatment.
But how do we cultivators deal with it? Aren't we purifying your body? Like the annual rings of a tree, there is karma at the very core, and at every layer, life after life, of your body. When you practice cultivation, I keep pushing this karma outward from the center; I push, and push, and push, and push until I completely push the karma out for you. And not all of this can go through the surface of our bodies. You wouldn't be able to bear it if all of it were to go through the surface of your body. Only a portion of it comes out through the surface. But you still feel that you're suddenly getting sick, you find it terribly uncomfortable and painful, can't bear it, regard yourself as an everyday person, and go take medicine. Then you can go ahead and take medicine, as we've never said that everyday people can't take medicine. We only say that your enlightenment quality isn't up to par and that you didn't pass this test well.
Ciro does however believe that newer generations believe in this much less, notably because the first believer generation is all basically old or dead, and soon will be entirely dead. This might also have been de-emphasised to reduce the bullshit aspects and help the international spread of Falun Gong. Not even Falun Gong believers are that blind. And this perfectly mimics the beginning of Christianism, where the first generations gave much more emphasis to miraculous cures.
<<me-and-li-by-ben-hurley-2017>> has an anecdote on this, which Ciro feels sounds believable:
[[me-and-li-tumor]]
I think it was Lynn's* death that finally made me realise it was time to leave. I'd seen the writing on the wall about a year prior when I saw her at a yearly "Fa conference" for believers of Falun Gong, otherwise known as Falun Dafa, to exchange experiences and grow spiritually together. An executive assistant at a Queensland valuation firm, I'd gotten to know her over the years in various events as a warm and level-headed lady who had time for everyone. But I'd noticed she had developed a bulge on the side of her head and I was trying not to look at it when I talked to her. I saw, or at least I believed I saw, some pain in her smile. She was probably questioning herself over and over again what "attachments" she hadn't let go of that were causing this sickness to spread through her body and endanger her life. I wanted to tell her to just go to a hospital, although I wasn't at this stage resolute enough in my gradual return to logic. Another part of me feared that by looking at it I was acknowledging it — something you don't do with illnesses in Falun Gong because Master Li Hongzhi teaches that his pupils don't get illnesses. He can cure you but only if you don't have any loopholes in your belief in him and his teachings. Some people with solid beliefs can actually die due to others around them having flaws in their thinking, Li says. Just thinking the wrong way is perilous when you're a Falun Gong practitioner.
I later heard through the grapevine of Lynn's death. The cancer went into her brain and she passed away in extreme pain, probably believing to the end that it was her fault she was in this awful predicament. In a way, I guess it was.
and more interesting anecdotes follow, see source.
And Ciro has felt this first hand with his <<wife,mother-in-law>>. Whenever she has a health worry, first she tries to hide it. But then she casually mentions it without much thought because she speaks all the time the poor lady, may she be blessed. And then, when Ciro says: OK, let's try and treat it, even for trivial things that might have simple treatments, she immediately smiles a compassionate smile of "I'm a Falun Gong believer, I don't need that". This makes Ciro really mad. He tries to not show it, because he thinks people should be able to choose how they die. But Li promises the powers of <<flg-cross-dimensional-vision,remote, cross dimensional and past/future vision>> to some believers, and yet, blinds some of them to the obvious fact that they are aging, and, slowly but surely, their own bodies are starting to fail, like everyone else's will at one point.
It is also interesting to note how the Chinese government itself supported Falun Gong and <<zhong-gong,other Qi Gong practices>> for their health benefits, which is why they grew so large in the first place. <<li-hongzhi>> was even <<history-of-falun-gong,awarded prizes and recognized as a Qi Gong master by state backed organizations in 1992 and 1993>>. And the CCP still has a tendency to support certain non-scientific traditional practices: <<support-for-non-scientific-traditional-practices>>.
[[freedom-with-a-capital-f]]
.https://youtu.be/kIpaDW3RwtY?t=244 one random thing ex-KGB spy undercover in the USA Jack Barsky mentioned in this BuzzFeed Multiplayer interview stuck to his mind: "The one thing that you have here, that I believe cannot be found anywhere else in the world is called Freedom, with a capital F". If people want to die in a certain way, or believe that some bullshit will cure them, they should be allowed. Natural selection will take care of the rest.
video::kIpaDW3RwtY[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=244]
See also: <<honour-suicides-in-chinese-history>>.
[[falun-gongs-view-of-epidemics]]
===== Falun Gong's view of epidemics (法轮功的流行病观)
<<li-hongzhi>> has said in <<flg-canon,canon>> things that lead certain believers (including e.g. <<wife,Ciro's mother in law>>) to believe that because they are good Falun Gong believers, that they are more safe from disease from evil people.
For example, in the 2003 "Fa conference" at the time of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome[SARS] he https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/20030420L.html[said]:
You must have seen the epidemic that's come along in China now, right? Hasn't a huge epidemic arrived? To put it in human terms, it's Heaven punishing people. What it's targeting, we Dafa disciples know full well: it's targeting those who don't deserve to be saved, who are impossible to save while Dafa disciples clarify the truth, and who aren't useful to the evil rotten spirits. This is the first round of cleansing. Heaven is punishing the evil, yet China is still lying to cover up the number of deaths, and I'll tell you, it's huge, and it hasn't peaked yet.
Such beliefs have of course carried over directly to <<covid,COVID-19>>. Of course, epidemics make the moral question much more difficult, because not taking care of yourself means you can kill others besides yourself.
An amazing quote from https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2020/3/20/183715.html[]:
Stay Rational
Pandemics and plagues are part of a divine plan and inevitable in the course of history.
Stay rational. Believe in God ;-)
Epidemics are also likely moments where religious grow due to more people being more desperate and looking for solace that cannot be found in this shitty world.
It is indeed tempting to believe that the virus magically kills only the Evil. What reality could be so fucked up where the innocent suffocate to their death? And yet, here we are.
[[falun-gong-liturgical-calendar]]
==== Falun Gong liturgical calendar (法轮功教会年历)
Exactly like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_year[other religions], Falun Gong has some important dates that are celebrated to keep believers engaged. Those are:
* May 13th: <<li-hongzhi>>'s claimed birthday, although the Chinese government and some scholars disagree with that date, which suspicioiusly seems to coincide with the Buddha's birthdate
Also known as "Dafa Day".
The international Falun Gong conference, usually called just "Fa Conference" (法会), also happens around that date in New York, the state where Li Hongzhi lives in <<dragon-springs>> for the same reason, e.g. in 2019 it was on May 17 https://www.ntd.com/over-10000-share-stories-of-self-improvement-at-falun-dafa-conference_331440.html
There are other more local Fa conferences held throughout the year however also.
[[li-hongzhi]]
==== Li Hongzhi (李洪志, LHZ, Falun Gong prophet)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李洪志
Li Hongzhi is the creator of <<falun-gong>>: link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi[].
Falun Gong people call him "master" (师父), which is a common traditional term used to respectfully address experienced teachers in a disciple (弟子)/teacher relation, e.g. Kung Fu or other crafts.
However they also believe that he has many many God-like powers and is comparable figures such as Jesus and Buddha himself.
Notably they believe that he has superpowers, and that everything that he says is the absolute truth of the universe, see also: <<flg-religion>>.
The term "master" is also used for example in the fictional film The Master (2012), which is likely inspired in <<flg-religion,Scientology>>.
<<ciro-santilli>> however prefers to call him <<flg-religion,prophet>>, since he feels LHZ is indistinguishable from <<flg-religion,any other religion>>. Guru/<<flg-cult,cult leader>> could also apply.
It's funny that even though Falun Gong only came up recently in the 80's, we still know relatively little about Li. One is kind of reminded of Jesus! See also <<li-hongzhis-family>> and <<li-hongzhis-hagiography>>.
One should note however that this is partly by design: at some point in the 90's, Li relatively stepped away from public view. This is because once you reach a critical mass of followers, it is better to let them to the preaching for you, while you hide your obvious human defects in a corner. See also comments at <<vissarion,Vissarion>>.
Li Hongzhi footage:
* 1999-06-12 AP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_onSZlvWSQ USA: "CHINA: FALUN DAFA CULT POSES NO THREAT CLAIMS FOUNDER" Li Hongzhi talks to media in New York
.<<li-hongzhi>> is Falun Gong's prophet/cult leader/living God. He's a cute North-Westerner 东北人 like <<wife,Ciro's wife>>. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi.jpg[height=400]
.<<li-hongzhi>> practicing one of his exercises with one of his cute prophet outfits in an extremely nice Chinese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_garden[rock garden] (https://baike.baidu.com/item/假山/8466165[假山园林]), see also: <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,stone garden>>. TODO exact location and date. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Li_Hongzhi_Falun_Gong.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_stone_garden.jpg[height=600]
[[li-hongzhi-blue-halo]]
.<<li-hongzhi,Li>> in front of a light blue background (similar to <<xi-jinping-portrait-blue,CCP official portraits>>) with a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(religious_iconography)[halo] suggestion around his head. https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/11/5/12/n3254555.htm[Lower quality version] on <<epoch-times>>. https://www.epochweekly.com/144/7046pg.htm[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_blue.jpg[height=400]
[[li-hongzhi-lotus]]
.<<li-hongzhi,Li>> going https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Saiyan[Super Saiyan] (https://baike.baidu.com/item/超级赛亚人/6974315[超级赛亚人]) while casually sitting on a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_lotus_in_religious_art[giant Lotus flower] with a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(religious_iconography)[halo] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/圓光[圆光]) on his head. Text at bottom: 法轮修炼大法-李洪志 (TODO confirm 3rd and 4th characters, transates something like Falun Practices Dafa - Li Hongzhi). http://photo.minghui.org/images/master_li_pics/E_fx_1.htm[Source] on <<minghui>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_lotus.jpg[height=600]
.<<li-hongzhi>> really turning into a proper Buddha, including https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha[physical signs] such as the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushnisha[Ushnisha] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/肉髻[肉髻]) on the head and the https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha&oldid=972021136#The_80_secondary_characteristics["ears as longs as lotus petals"]. He also has a super powerful https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aureola[Aureola]. On the top right corner we see an <<ntdtv>> watermark. On the bottom left we see a few Western Catholic and Roman looking divinities, representing Falun Gong's syncretic beliefs. The subtitle on center bottom reads in traditional Chinese: "真的有这样光辉形象" (there truly is such a glorious image) https://www.bannedbook.org/bnews/tculture/xiulian/20190123/1068931.html[Source] on <<bannedbook>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_Buddha.jpg[height=400]
.Side by side comparison of <<li-hongzhi>> vs https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Saiyan[Super Saiyan] (https://baike.baidu.com/item/超级赛亚人/6974315[超级赛亚人]) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goku[Goku] from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball[Dragon Ball] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/孙悟空_(七龙珠)[孙悟空_(七龙珠)]). There is more than just visual similarity to this comparison, since Goku is based on Sun Wukong from <<journey-to-the-west>>: they have the exact same name in Japanese/Chinese, Goku is monkey like with a tail and https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Great_Ape[giant monkey form], has both have an extending stick weapon (https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Power_Pole[The Power Pole, 如意棒], full Chinese name https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/如意金箍棒[如意金箍棒], lit. "as [large as] one wants Golden stick). Notably, the orange color of Goku's clothing is likely inspired from Buddhism, and so are their https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aureola[Aureolas]. <<ciro-santilli>> watched Dragon Ball Z this when he was 10 years old.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_vs_Goku_Super_Saiyan.jpg[height=600]
.Dubstep <<li-hongzhi,Li>> can <<flg-religion,liangong (练功)>> at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubstep[dubstep] speed. https://giphy.com/gifs/dubstep-gifs-dubstepgifs-xUOwFY1prqgUdPuFvW[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_dubstep.webp[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7JK576nxm0 音乐视频:《师尊的手》<<falun-gong>> music video "The master's hand" contains some a bit of good old time <<li-hongzhi>> footage.
video::_7JK576nxm0[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[falun-gong-is-dangerous-because-li-hongzhi-has-too-much-power-over-followers]]
===== Falun Gong is dangerous because Li Hongzhi has too much power over followers (法轮功是危险的,因为李洪志对追随者的权力太大)
Ciro agrees that there is danger in every religion, and especially new religions.
However the same point can be made about political parties and in particular the CCP and its chairman.
Couldn't a charismatic leader chairman gain more and more power (like Xi seems to be doing), and eventually start a war and kill millions? Or just kill some minority who is not happy about the situation.
Similarly, any charismatic leader of a pro-democracy movement could become the leader of a terrorist organization.
If you ever want democracy, you will have to learn to accept the beliefs of others, and only punish them when they actually break a law.
Finally, LHZ was born in 1951, so he will die in 20 years, unless FLG is true and a miracle happens, and then this argument will become invalid.
From what Ciro hears, LHZ has always maintained that he is the only source of truth on FLG (see also "The Guru is always right"), and therefore, so his death will very likely remove any danger once and for all.
Furthermore, it also seems to Ciro that FLG is clearly anti-violence and self-harm, so Ciro wonder how many would follow a contradictory order such as killing or suicide? We have had no hint of any incitation to violence so far.
It is also interesting to look into the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown case. When the suicide order came, most people wanted out! Without physically controlling the followers, I don't think you can make them do much.
Related: <<flg-stability>>.
[[li-hongzhis-hagiography]]
===== Li Hongzhi's hagiography (李洪志的圣徒传记)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi mentions that there are two versions of the biography:
* An unofficial biography appeared in the first of Li's major publications, <<flg-canon,Zhongguo Falun Gong>>, supposedly authored by journalist Zhu Huiguang (朱慧光).
The full text appears to be at available at: http://qingqing.freebbs.tw/viewthread.php?tid=130### (God bless <<taiwan,Taiwanese>> piracy, link:++https://web.archive.org/web/20200805093333/http://qingqing.freebbs.tw/viewthread.php?tid=130###++[archive])
<<benjamin-penny-the-life-and-times-of-li-hongzhi-2003>> gives the full title of the section + a translation (originally in pinyin, but why?!?! :-)):
法輪旋轉新天地-記李洪志先生和他創立的法輪功 +
"The wheel of the law revolves the new cosmos - on Li Hongzhi and the Falun Gong he founded".
* A second, official spiritual biography appeared in early editions of <<flg-canon,Falun Gong's primary text, Zhuan Falun>>.
It is shorter than the first, and is marked as authored by the "Falun Dafa Research Society's President" (法轮功研究会会长).
The Wiki quotes <<benjamin-penny-the-religion-of-falun-gong-2012>>.
Penny says that it was removed in 1999 (presumably to remove some more glaring magical bullshit help with internationalization).
A possible Chinese copy might be found at: http://qingqing.freebbs.tw/viewthread.php?tid=165### inside a 1994 version of Zhuan Falun.
The section is entitled "中国法轮功创始人、法轮功研究会会长 李洪志先生小传", so literally tranlated as a "profile" (小传) rather than a full biography. The index marks it as 附 (addendum), and it comes at the end of the book.
[[what-will-happen-to-falun-gong-when-li-honzhi-dies]]
===== What will happen to Falun Gong when Li Honzhi dies? (李洪志死后,法轮功会怎样?)
https://www.quora.com/What-will-happen-to-Li-Hongzhi-the-founder-of-Falun-Gong-when-he-is-not-in-this-world-anymore/answer/Ciro-Santilli
[[let-s-make-a-mini-series-about-li-hongzhi-s-life]]
===== Let's make a mini series about Li Hongzhi's life (让我们制作一个关于李洪志生平的迷你系列)
Ciro can't help but to imagine how Falun Gong came about in detail.
Someone should write a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_(novel)["The Last Temptation of Christ"].
This deserves an American miniseries like Chernobyl.
It would manage to piss off both FLG and the CCP, which would be amazing. It is a shame that it is so difficult to find good historical information between the infinite barrages of CCP and FLG propaganda.
It could show how:
* Li was an ordinary dude who could liked to play the trumpet, which partially explains his focus on <<falun-gong-media,Shen Yun>> and Falun Gong musical street parades
* Li first heard about Qi Gong, and went to practice it under some dude. Then how he saw other people were so into it, and decided to take this opportunity to make a career out of it during the 80's
* how he met his wife and had a daughter
* how he started to notice how people were feeling things during the exercise classes, and started suggesting more and more metaphysics to these first disciples
* Li could also have some metaphysical moment, like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW20LbwAmng but at the same time, he must tell his followers some lies which he does not believe
* how followers started telling others things and "experience sharing" where the cycle of belief stats to take off
* a clear demonstration of how "A group of early adopters in Changchun became disenchanted after Li forbade his followers from charging fees for the practice at the end of 1994" showing dissent within the cult
* and finally, the immigration and crackdown, and how he put his fingers on those things, and the creation of media, this could be the last episode
Episodes could be split along:
* Episode 1: pre Qi Gong, shows Childhood, workplaces, early motivations. Ends with first contact with a Qi Gong lesson
* Episode 2: early Falun Gong. Opens an academy. Starts without metaphysics, but grows into it. Show him knowingly lying, but also seething magic things. The first followers, and top lieutenants. Makes some management mistake, but gets away with it. Could end in a metaphysical scene, or 13 May 1992 initial public lesson. Maybe a scene of Li's visit to <<thailand>> in 1983 (photo from CCP media found on Google).
* Episode 3: later Falun Gong in China. It grows, show in Chinese news. Power struggles, problems with early lieutenants, and new lieutenants come up. Many people practice on streets. Battle against <<zhong-gong>>. Near 1996, something tips Li off to the fact that the CCP is going to crack down on them, and so he announces that he will be spreading abroad full time. Check out if this was before or after the first Anti FLG newspaper article in 1996-06-17.
* Episode 4: preaching outside of China and emigration. American permanent residence in 1998. Watches crackdown on television. International Falun Gong media. Show him at Falun Gong New York <<dragon-springs,"Dragon Springs">> complex
Or maybe, never mind that boring post 1992 stuff which is already highly public, instead we could focus only on the more interesting pre-1992 events, and finish in 1992.
So per-early FLG up to 1992, with childhood flashbacks.
The tone should of course be a mixture of:
* personal insight of the master
* the love of a follower
* external view of their shortcomings
Parts of the series could be filmed in <<taiwan>> maybe?
Source material: <<history-of-falun-gong>>.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_(2012_film)[The Master (2012)]
* <<wild-wild-country-2017>>
[[wild-wild-country-2017]]
====== Wild Wild Country (2017, 大师_(电影))
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Wild_Country
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/大师_(电影)
Documentary about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh[].
This shows many interesting <<flg-cult,cult mechanics>>, e.g.:
* <<membership-rivalry-orange-papers>>: Episode 3 shows how Rajneesh implemented <<careful-control-of-your-image>>: Sheela was the front-person, officially appointed the "secretary", and had meetings with Rajneesh every evening. This in turn gave Sheela an <<membership-rivalry-orange-papers,a greatly elevated status in the community>>.
[[xi-hongzhi-and-li-jinping]]
====== Xi Hongzhi and Li Jinping (习洪志和李近平)
In an alternate reality, Xi Hongzhi, not to be confused with <<xi-jinping>>, is an obscure peasant trying to save his kingdom from oppression.
And Li Jinping, not to be confused with <<li-hongzhi>>, is an evil Qi Gong who uses his powers to rule over his kingdom ruthlessly, ridding it of non-believers.
This meme would be offensive to both <<ccp>> and <<falun-gong>> believers.
We are entering Encyclopedia Dramatica territory here.
[[li-hongzhis-family]]
===== Li Hongzhi's family (李洪志的家庭)
Jesus appeared to value chastity. He was born from a virgin. No sex around him at all.
Buddha gave it up after his enlightenment.
But Li doesn't need that. He's a God, right, he can both be an Enlightened God part time and still have a normal family part time.
Once thing Ciro approves about Li's approach to his family is that he seems to have stated (TODO source) that none of them are Gods like him.
It is however very likely that some of his close family members will take up an even greater importance in the inner circle of power once Li dies: <<what-will-happen-to-falun-gong-when-li-honzhi-dies>>, notably his daughter.
Wife's name: Li Rui (李瑞 according to CCP). Report saying that a follower bought a house and registered it on Li Rui's name as a gift, but Li later returned the gift back: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB94140245836194819 TODO house address.
* daughter: Li Meige (李美歌) claims born 1982-06 on <<kaiwind>> http://www.kaiwind.com/anticult/kfgc/201311/05/t20131105_1188845.shtml says that she performs in <<shen-yun>> under the name "Christina Li" and even won awards. This Falun Gong sources confirm that a "Christina Li" was a Shen Yun lead dancer as of 2011, but does not confirm that she is the daughter of Li Hongzhi: https://www.theepochtimes.com/where-are-the-ancient-arts-of-china-part-4_1491935.html If this is true, talk about <<different-levels-of-truth>>! The article also claims that she has had other pseudonyms, including: "Annie Li" and "Li Jingjing" (李晶晶). Here are web archives of the now broken of course Shen Yun pages Kaiwand links to as evidence of her constant name changing (but no mention of her father):
** https://web.archive.org/web/20140727034323/http://dance.ntdtv.com/ct/archive/
** https://web.archive.org/web/20121211022246/zh-cn.shenyunperformingarts.org/artists/biography/view/WG3gbBQudOg
** possibly CCP sources report that Meige married in 2017, likely near the Falun Gong Day (13th May): e.g. http://www.saibeifeng.com/kfyd/201705/16/t20170516_5219554.shtml says many felicitation posts were posted on <<falun-gong-media,minghui>>, so this is likely widely known within the Falun Gong community, but the idiots who wrote that page don't know how to link to sources. Ciro could not find the groom's name.
* brothers and sisters, all younger:
** Li Jun (李君) older younger sister
** Li Ping (李平) younger younger sister
*** <<china-daily>> http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-10/17/content_15825454.htm mentions that Li Jiguang (李继光), the second husband of one of Li Pingy died in 2012
*** Notably, Li Ping's alleged husband Sun Senlun (Natawut Smittipong, 孙森伦) is a Chinese-Thai, and allegedly wrote an account of Li Hongzhi's family in the 1980's: <<diaries-of-being-in-thailand-with-li-hongzhi-s-family>>
The book also claims that they had two children Sun Baoyuan (孙宝圆) and Sun Baoman (孙宝满), which Li later managed to rename Li Baoyuan (李宝圆) and Li Baoman (李宝满).
<<shen-yun>> had dancers called with those exact same Chinese character names between 2009 and 2020, so it is very likely that it is them:
**** Li Baoyuan: https://zh-cn.shenyunperformingarts.org/artists/view/article/e/tQIEajYbB_s/李宝圆.html
**** Li Baoman: https://zh-cn.shenyunperformingarts.org/artists/view/article/e/Aw5bu_PdeNI/李宝满.html
** Li Hui (AKA Li Donghui) younger brother
* father: Li Dan
* mother: Lu Shuzhen. http://wap.uuhomepage.com/StaticWapPages/20161013/20161013062741097.html claims that she died on 2016-08-24 in New York. TODO find a decent report.
There are also claims that Li's birth name was Li Lai (李來).
* <<benjamin-penny-the-religion-of-falun-gong-2012>> gives further family members (some of them are based only on CCP sources however):
* https://kknews.cc/zh-hk/news/bbmz49.html[] claims to contain the biography of Li Hongzhi's family (likely all according to CCP sources), including several good pictures: The photo given there for Li Jun appears on this apparently FLG source without mention of the name: https://www.epochweekly.com/b5/103/5805.htm
.Li Hongzhi with his wife Li Rui and daughter Li Meige presumably in the late 80's with fishing ships in a shipyard in the background. TODO location. Likely from CCP sources, in many places with <<chinese-government-media,kaiwnd>> watermarks. http://www.toppk.net/art/2016/3/9/art_7328_304365.html[Anti-FLG source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_with_wife_and_daughter.jpg[height=400]
.Photo of Christina Li from Shen Yun, which the CCP claims to be Li Meige, daughter of Li Hongzhi. That page also claims that she was awarded Bronze in the 2009 and 2010 NDT Chinese Dance Competition. https://web.archive.org/web/20121211022246/zh-cn.shenyunperformingarts.org/artists/biography/view/WG3gbBQudOg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Meige_Shenyun.jpg[height=400]
[[diaries-of-being-in-thailand-with-li-hongzhi-s-family]]
===== Diaries of being in Thailand with Li Hongzhi's family (我与李洪志一家在泰国的日子——法轮功教主妹夫的自述)
An alleged account of Li Hongzhi's family in the 1980's written by his brother-in-law Sun Senlun (Natawut Smittipong, 孙森伦), who married Li Ping.
ISBN 9789996590252: https://www.cp1897.com.hk/product_info.php?BookId=9789996590252[]
This is reproduced likely without copyright on many CCP sources, e.g.: http://lihongzhidaqidi.blogspot.com/2013_09_27_archive.html which links to <<kaiwind>>'s HTML reproduction.
The <<kaiwind>> links are all dead now, but they are all still visible under: https://web.archive.org/web/20191230124120/http://lihongzhidaqidi.blogspot.com/2013_09_27_archive.html
It is a good reading if you take everything with a grain of salt, does sound quite believable.
https://web.archive.org/web/20191230151939/http://news.kaiwind.com/features/s/201309/27/t20130927_1121750.shtml claims that Li lived in Sun's house in Thailand from May 1991 to March 1992. And that he was baffled when Li started telling the miraculous events of his <<li-hongzhis-hagiography,hagiography>> in the 1992 public talks, how could his wife never told him about any of those amazingly important life events before that point?
TODO find original publishing location and date.
This appears to be an interview with Sun Senlun about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js0OyNwYw5A (watermarked <<kaiwind>> on top)
Semi weirdly though, https://www.cesnur.org/2001/falun_jan10.htm claims that Senlun was a coordinator of Falun Gong in Thailand as of 2001.
https://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2020/1/16/原北京师大研究生陶渊在浙江第四监狱遭受的迫害-399012.html[] from 2020 by <<minghui>> claims the book slanders Li Hongzhi's family, and that the CCP forced prisoners to read it.
[[dragon-springs]]
===== Dragon Springs (龙泉, Falun Gong's headquarters in New York State)
Li Hongzhi's Falun Gong complex in New York state countryside, where he lives, and organizes <<shen-yun>>.
https://goo.gl/maps/4bqt18CSBmFSekw89
Started in the 2000's in New York State with money donated by believers.
* http://www.dragonsprings.org/
* https://www.businessinsider.com/dragon-springs-falun-gong-upstate-new-york-compound-photos-2019-9
* 1999 https://apnews.com/420a741ec19c4db3993d408747874b2d "Falun Gong US compound's neighbors fret over expansion plans"
<<china-daily>> http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-10/17/content_15825454.htm claims that <<li-hongzhi>>'s appartment in 2012 was the number 136-08 on 59th avenue, Flushing, NY. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/seeking-master-li-1.221547 confirms Flushing. Also  mentions key 1999 lieutenant Erping Zhang, https://www.c-span.org/person/?erpingzhang[] confirms with photo.
[[qigong-fever]]
=== Qigong fever (气功热 , 1980's)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong_fever
AKA Qigong Boom.
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/26268612 特异功能、法功灭火、铝锅传功……80年代的气功热究竟有多疯狂? (How crazy was the Qi Gong boom after all?) on <<zhihu>>
[[zhong-gong]]
==== Zhong Gong (中功, 中华养生益智功, Qigong religion)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhong_Gong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华养生益智功
A very similar religion to <<falun-gong>>, that also emerged during the <<qigong-fever>> of the '80s and '90s.
Zhong Gong was the second most sucessful Qigong Boom religion after Falun Gong.
The similarity of their imagery as seen from propaganda videos is striking. To <<ciro-santilli>>, this makes Zhong Gong a perfect example of why <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong,FLG metaphysics is bullshit>>: it is obvious that both Zhong Gong and Falun Gong and many others were just random dudes who took advantage of the Qigong fever to create their religions.
Their prophet is <<zhang-hongbao>>.
Interestingly, like <<li-hongzhi>> who is from <<jilin>>, Hongbao is also from the Northeast of China (<<heilongjiang>>), there must be a reason why those Qi Gong movements come from that region.
Unlike Falun Gong however, Zhong Gong failed to branch the franchise out of China, and basically died out. Hongbao also died in a car crash in 2006 which didn't help. Li Hongzhi however played smarter, and started branching abroad full force in 1996, he likely predicted that the crackdown was inevitale.
Wikipedia says it reached 34 million followers in China.
Hongbao also has a more spicy history it seems, with sexual allegations and open political goals <<flg-political,unlike Li Hongzhi, who hid his goals better>>. Well played, Li, well played.
<<li-hongzhi>> maintains in <<flg-canon,canon>> that Falun Gong is of course extremely different from all of those other extremely similar Qi Gong religions. Zhong Gong is likely not mentioned by name, but it is also likely one of the main targets. E.g. in 1998 <<flg-canon,canon>> https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/19980329L.html[]:
Dafa can't be obtained lightly. For example, the diversity of cults and the number of false qigongs are large these days, and they lead people astray. Many people who are capable of cultivating get sucked into them, and some of them engage in suicide - it's a mess.
this is a perfect example of <<uncanny-valley>>.
Zhong Gong videos:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX72zfEP_zs googd Zhong Gong playlist
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYH8Y_1UmrY&t=1445 Zhong Gong people "experience sharing". It truly is exactly like Falun Gong.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2GxSJK9c-A this appears to be positive mainstream media coverage of Zhong Gong
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ziluy_AlEI video of Hongbao giving a lecture dated 1994 and commented "Qiling kylin Tianhua culture"
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQKCtPSfdR4 video dated January 21st, 2007 of Monks praying after his death
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvJSzeY7Chw contains a bunch of what appear to be extremely low quality Zhong Gong propaganda videos. It is very similar to Falun Gong's of course.
The embassy spokesman says Chinese officials have ample evidence of sect leader Zhang Hongbao's involvement in crimes such as rape and murder.
.Zhang Honbao, creator of <<zhong-gong>>, sitting on a giant flying lotus reaching Enlightenment with a halo. It looks <<li-hongzhi-lotus,exactly like Falun Gong imagery>>. But of course, Zhong Gong is just a "completely unrelated and inferior sect" according to <<li-hongzhi>>. TODO transcribe. https://blog.boxun.com/hero/201102/tianhuaren/1_1.shtml[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zhong_Gong_lotus.jpg[height=400]
[[zhong-gong-blue]]
.The blue background, the halos, the praying hands, the master Zhang Hongbao flying above. It is just exactly like <<flg-blue,Falun Gong imagery>>. https://www.chinacourt.org/article/detail/2018/08/id/3475129.shtml[Source] (<<chinese-government-media>>)
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zhong_gong_blue.jpg[height=400]
[[flg-blue]]
.Hungarian <<falun-gong>> propaganda image with woman meditating in with blue sky background for comparison with <<zhong-gong-blue,similar Zhong Gong imagery>>. https://hu.faluninfo.eu/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Falun_Gong_sky_leaflet.jpg[height=400]
.Side by side comparison between <<zhong-gong>> on the left, and <<falun-gong>> on the right. In <<ciro-santilli>>'s opinion, nothing highlights better that both are fake than the fact that they are clearly part of the same historical movement of the Qigong Boom, while at the same time affirming that the other one is fake or inferior.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zhong_Gong_vs_Falun_Gong_lotus.jpg[height=500]
[[uncanny-valley]]
===== Uncanny valley (恐怖谷理论)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/恐怖谷理论
[[zhang-hongbao]]
===== Zhang Hongbao (张宏堡)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Hongbao
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/张宏堡
Prophet of <<zhong-gong>>, just like <<li-hongzhi>> is the prophet of <<falun-gong>>.
[[xiang-gong]]
==== Xiang Gong (香功, 中国芳香智悟气功, Qigong religion)
This was possibly the third most popular Qi Gong of the <<qigong-fever>> after <<falun-gong>> and <<zhong-gong>>. It is mentioned for example at <<the-falungong-phenomenon-by-hu-ping-2003>>.
Literal translation:
* Fragrant Gong
* China Fragrang Wisdom Comprehension Gong
It is however so obscure that there isn't even a wikipedia page for it anymore!
The prophet's name was Tian Ruisheng (田瑞生). He's the old due at: https://www.sohu.com/a/270132785_100279655 with little badges on his coat. He can be seen lecturing for example at: https://youtu.be/ItAUwGWSXuI?t=167
Some mentions in English:
* https://taijiclub.live/2020/05/09/xiang-gong-the-fragrant-mind-awakening-qigong/ Xiang Gong: The Fragrant Mind Awakening Qigong (2020) Interesting quote:
Basically, the origin of this qigong comes from Master Tian Ruisheng. Master Tian Ruisheng was taught this as a ill young boy by a traveling buddhist monk. He was told to practice it every day and not reveal it until 50 years later. He diligently practiced and eventually taught it after 50 years. It quickly became a popular qigong in China.
This is exactly the type of "Creation Story" that <<li-hongzhi>> invented. Notably, it is not something he just made up to take advantage of the obvious <<qigong-fever>>. No, it is something that he developped his entire life, and only started teaching at that point due to a coincidence!
This is notably highlighted in <<diaries-of-being-in-thailand-with-li-hongzhi-s-family>>. Li's sister just casualy never mentioned to her husband that her brother had been having mystical training for several years, until he finally announced it in the early days of <<falun-gong>>.
In Tian's case however, he is truly really old. This is possibly a major reason why he didn't get as big as Falun Gong. It is terribly discriminatory, but who wants to look at an old ugly dude? Especially when he's likely teaching stuff that is supposed to cure diseases. <<li-hongzhi>> and
* https://www.beliefnet.com/news/2000/05/chinese-crackdown-goes-beyond-falun-gong.aspx Chinese Crackdown Goes Beyond Falun Gong (2000) mentions <<zhong-gong>> and <<xiang-gong>>. Says it is from AP News, but I can't find the original. But the language does look "AP-like".
China's entirely state-run media and the government have trumpeted the crackdown on Falun Gong. Thousands of practitioners have been detained since it was outlawed in July in the campaign against what the government says is an evil cult.
But authorities refuse to talk about the clampdown on other qi gong organizations, and state media have all but ignored it. So far the campaign has affected at least five groups, practitioners, government sources and human rights organizations say.
The other groups, even smaller, are mentioned in the article next:
** Cibei Gong (慈悲功, Compassion Gong). Possible Chinese name mentioned at: http://www.chinanews.com/2001-02-22/26/72398.html 武汉侦破"法轮功"的变种慈悲功 (Wuhan investigates Falun Gong variant Cibei Gong) from a <<pro-chinese-government-media>>. The word for variant is the same as for "mutation", which brings funnily <<covid>> to mind.
** Guo Gong (国功, Country Gong). Not even the patriotic name was able to prevent crackdown!
** Bodhi Gong. TODO fins Chinese.
https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be1e20.html also mentions some of them.
Some mentions in Chinese:
* on <<zhihu>>:
** https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/76604171 香功是什么?为什么国家要禁止习练香功? (What is Xiang Gong? Why did the country [China] forbit practicing Xiang Gong?) by 吴庆元. Mentions the <<flg-medication>> argument, but it is from a pro-Qi Gong writter in general.
** https://www.zhihu.com/question/24006657 香功是邪教吗? (Is Xiang Gong an Evil Cult?)
* https://www.sohu.com/a/270132785_100279655 我们回顾一下80/90年代所谓的"大师" (Looking back at the so-called "Masters" of the 80s/90s) on <<sohu>>
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Zcgk15kkc Treinamento Perfumado Nível 1 (Xianggong) completo (Complete Xiang Gong training, level 1 complete) by Maria Lucia Lee (2017)
This is the YouTube channel of a Brazillian Xianggong parcticionner.
This reminded <<ciro-santilli>> of a Qigong/Taichi course he went to for a few months when he was a young teenager in Santos, Brazil, attended almost exclusively by older ladies.
Some people, even outside China, like "mystic stuff", and may start a mystic stuff practice, more or less affiliated to a certain current of mysticism.
Especially since people know nothing about any of the currents, partly due to the language barrier, it often becomes a larger more dilluted current os mysticisms.
The same likely applied to that course Ciro attended, but at the time he was clueless and didn't really classify his teacher's influences.
Ciro must say however, that some of the exercises were good, and have become a permanent part of Ciro's https://cirosantilli.com/cirodance[Cirodance].
The only thing Ciro rejects completely is the metaphysical bullshit: <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong>>.
Though if something has a lot of metaphysical bullshit, it makes it hard for Ciro to practice it without thinking about the metaphysics.
Maria speaks perfect Portuguese, and given the name Lee she must be a second or later generation immigrant. She's likely from Sao Paulo. Here's a video of her in the 70's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaPlwdb5iIw when she was likely in her late 30's, already as a Qigong teacher.
Mystical movements like that likely had a decent following in Brazil, especially in the 70's linked to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie[Hippies] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/嬉皮士[嬉皮士]). Ciro's mother mentioned some related stories of her friends.
At https://www.instagram.com/p/COOnUMwHD_Q/ for example
[[falun-gong-bibliography]]
=== Falun Gong bibliography (法轮功参考书目)
* https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-Chinese-government-against-Falun-Gong on <<quora>>
* https://www.orange-papers further developed at: <<flg-cult>>
==== The Falungong Phenomenon by Hu Ping (2003)
https://s3.amazonaws.com/berkley-center/040127HuFalunGongPhenomenon.pdf
Published on the China Rights Forum from <<hric>>.
[[me-and-li-by-ben-hurley-2017]]
==== Me and Li by Ben Hurley (2017)
https://medium.com/@Ben_D_Hurley/-10677166298b "Me and Li" by Ben Hurley published on October 23, 2017.
This post by a former believer gives what <<ciro-santilli>> feels is a realistic account that matches Ciro's observations.
Interesting quotes:
* <<me-and-li-tumor>>
The following echoes <<different-levels-of-truth>>:
Most would find they had little in common with non-practitioners ("ordinary people" in Falun Gong parlance) but would maintain cordial relations with friends and family nonetheless, and think of various ways to explain the edge off some of Falun Gong's less palatable teachings about aliens, how heaven views gay people, the inferiority of other religions and Master Li's role in saving the universe.
[[history-of-falun-gong]]
==== History of Falun Gong 法轮功历史
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Falun_Gong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/法輪功歷史
A few non-religious non-CCP resources can be found at:
* Sun Senjun's accounts from the 1980's, see: <<li-hongzhis-family>>
but those are very rare, because where else would the information come form, right?
Some key events:
* 1989: initial private beta courses. TODO key interesting moment.
* 1992-05-13: initial public lecture at the 1992 International Health Exposition in Beijing, and opening main academy on No. 5 Middle School in Changchun, <<jilin>> (capital).
TODO what did he talk about on that Beijing day. This day still celebrated in 2020 as https://en.minghui.org/cc/36/["Falun Dafa Day"], in which the major international "<<orange-papers,Experience Sharing>> Conference" happens in New York.
He apparently also taught at Chaoyang Park in Changchun: https://goo.gl/maps/BFwKs2xr48AMUAbx8
[[benjamin-penny-the-life-and-times-of-li-hongzhi-2003]]
===== The Life and times of Li Hongzhi by Benjamin Penny (2003)
Free to read at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20059033
[[benjamin-penny-the-religion-of-falun-gong-2012]]
===== The Religion of Falun Gong by Benjamin Penny (2012)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0226655016
A freely downloadable paper with a subset of the book: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20059033.pdf
The author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Penny is an Australian researcher, https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/penny-bdc
[[christianity]]
== Christianity (基督教)
The commies are not a fan. But as someone once told me: the commies are not a fan of a bunch of things!
As mentioned at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_China there are only a few state approved churches under total CCP control, and the others are forbidden. For example one of them is called the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Patriotic_Catholic_Association[Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association]! God and CCP on the same sentence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XII[Pope Pius XII] excommunicated people from that organization who were appointing new Bishops!
* 2021-04-01 from <<rfa>> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/christians-camps-04012021081013.html "Chinese Christians Held in Secretive Brainwashing Camps: Sources", due to report of victim under the pseudonyum Li Yuese (李约瑟) from Sichuan. No strong corroboration however unfortunately. Chinese article 2021-03-11 https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/ql2-03312021045450.html
* 2018-12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzWApdCNdik "100 Christians detained in China crackdown" published by CNN
* 2016 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/world/asia/china-zhejiang-christians-pastor-crosses.html pastor 14 years jail
* 2015 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/christians-in-china-feel-full-force-of-authorities-repression/2015/12/23/7dd0ec5a-a736-11e5-b596-113f59ee069a_story.html
.<<rebel-pepper>> 2018-09 cartoon showing Jesus and the Apostles in the Last Supper being arrested by CCP guards. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/china-crackddown-Christianity-cartoon-09072018150421.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Last_Supper_arrest.jpeg[height=400]
.Cartoon by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Hongtu[Zhang Hongtu] (张宏图) showing <<mao-zedong>> and other communist officials at the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper[Last Supper] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/最后的晚餐[最后的晚餐]) instead of Jesus and the Apostles. https://musicandculture.blogspot.com/2010/03/massive-last-supper-parodies-post.html[Source].
.Permission papers filled to the brim with government <<seal,stamps>> required for the Taihu Catholic Church (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/華莊天主堂[太湖天主堂]) from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxi[Wuxi] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/无锡市[无锡市]) to hold their annual Christmas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Réveillon[Reveillon] reunion. This is the <<ccp,CCP>>'s version freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. Also mentioned at: https://bitterwinter.org/christmas-was-not-allowed-but-brought-china-a-lot-of-money/ from <<bitter-winter>>. https://twitter.com/ZhangZhulin/status/1342211279633719296[Source]. TODO original social media post from the church.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Taihu_church_Christmas_reveillon_permission_2020.jpg[height=500]
[[lampstand-church-demolition]]
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Lampstand_Church[Golden Lampstand Church] (https://www.dw.com/zh/山西临汾金灯台教堂被强拆/a-42114625[金灯台教堂]) church in <<shanxi>> being demolished in January 2018. https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-authorities-demolish-christian-mega-church-in-crackdown-2018-1[Source].
[[life-of-brian-nazi-jew]]
.https://youtu.be/wthHB3iTC7M?t=556 Nazi Jew deleted scene from <<life-of-brian-1979>>. If you want to stop <<christianity>>, don't put them in jail like the <<dictatorship,dictators>>. Do it the same way you stop dictators: with <<funny,comedy>>. Otherwise, the dictators remain in power, and <<intolerance,next person in jail, will be you>>. <<the-secret-life-of-brian-2007>> is a good documentary about it.
video::wthHB3iTC7M[youtube,width=600,height=400,start=556]
.https://youtu.be/tRr_1U9EvWI "How China uses intimidation, negotiation to bring Christians under its control" by CBC News: The National (2018). Talks about the Pope's deal with the CCP. Shows some good footage of a house church with a guard in front of the door.
video::tRr_1U9EvWI[youtube,width=600,height=400,start=556]
[[ccp-vatican-deal]]
=== CCP-Vatican deal (中共-梵蒂冈协议, 2018)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China–Holy_See_relations
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China–Holy_See_relations#September_2018_Holy_See–China_Agreement
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中華人民共和國與梵蒂岡關係
In January 2018, the Church was close to negotiating a deal with China that allows China to have more control over the underground churches and allows the Vatican to have more control over the appointment of bishops. While this did not amount to the establishment of formal diplomatic ties, this was seen as a huge step towards formal recognition.[21] However, Joseph Zen Ze-kiun regarded the warming of diplomatic relationships as selling out the Catholic Church in China, as the process involves the resignation of several bishops of the underground church.
* 2020-09-17 https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/17/china-francis-vatican/ China Is Already Breaking Its Vatican Deal
* 2020-11-24 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/24/pope-says-for-first-time-that-chinas-uighurs-are-persecuted "Pope says for first time that China's Uighurs are 'persecuted'"
.<<rebel-pepper>> 2018-09 cartoon showing the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis[Pope Francis] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/方濟各_(教宗)[方济各教宗]) with a Christian cross containing the Hammer and Sickle communist symbol, in reference to one of the accords that the Vatican struck with the Chinese government. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/vatican-china-cartoon-09282018102133.html[Source].
[[eastern-lightning]]
=== Eastern Lightning 全能神教會 (1991-)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Lightning
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/全能神教會
A persecuted Christian sect that believes that some Chinese woman is Jesus.
[[kaifeng-jews]]
== Kaifeng Jews (开封犹太人)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaifeng_Jews#Recent_repression
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/开封犹太人
Even with such tiny community, the <<ccp>> is still trying to pretende they never existed.
[[gay-rights]]
== Gay rights (LGBT权利)
Yes, gay people are also <<evil-west,discriminated to different degrees in Western countries>>, and even legally prohibited notably in the Islamic world.
But <<intolerance,like all minorities>>, they are generally more fucked in <<dictatorship,dictatorships>>, since they can be easily crushed by majorities.
Therefore, all gay people must be against the CCP.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_China | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华人民共和国LGBT权益
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_China | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国同性恋史
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/各地LGBT权利
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/370080866/answer/1046195468 at <<zhihu>>
* <<gay-putin>>
* 2021-07-07 https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-wechat-deletes-university-lgbt-accounts-2021-07-07/ "China's Wechat deletes university LGBT accounts" on <<wechat>>
* 2021-06-22 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ying_(footballer,_born_1993)[Li Ying] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李影_(足球运动员)[李影]), Chinese female footbaler, comes out as lesbian
** https://supchina.com/2021/06/25/chinese-soccer-stars-history-making-coming-out-moment-ruined-by-homophobic-bigots/
* 2020-08-14 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3097377/shanghai-pride-cancelled-after-11-years-blow-lgbt-community "Shanghai Pride cancelled after 11 years in blow to China's LGBT community". "
Organisers are 'taking a break from scheduling any future events', they say in social media message".
** the Tweet: https://twitter.com/ShanghaiPride/status/1293897794919510016 "上海骄傲节终止所有活动" (Shanhai Pride will be stopping all activities)
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Pride
* 2020-01-07 https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/why-china-raising-prospect-same-sex-marriage-n1109471 "Why is China raising the prospect of same-sex marriage?"
* 2018 <<weibo>> temporary homosexual ban:
** 2018-04-16 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/16/china-weibo-bans-homosexual-content-protest "China's Weibo reverses ban on 'homosexual' content after outcry", hashtags `#iamgay` and `#iamgaynotapervert`
** 2018-04-13 https://www.whatsonweibo.com/weibos-new-online-guidelines-no-homosexuality-allowed/
* 2017-07-16 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-40610679 "Chinese gay video ban sparks online backlash"
** 2017-06-30 https://www.whatsonweibo.com/new-rules-online-videos-china-no-displays-homosexuality/ "New Rules for Online Videos in China: "No Displays of Homosexuality""
* 2016-03-04 https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/mar/04/china-bans-gay-people-television-clampdown-xi-jinping-censorship "China bans depictions of gay people on television". One of the most prominent series banned was link:++https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addicted_(web_series)++[Addicted (2016, 上瘾)].
.Widely distributed still from the Addicted 2016 series which was banned showing a presumably gay couple lying in bed. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/mar/04/china-bans-gay-people-television-clampdown-xi-jinping-censorship[Source].
.Lesbian couple kissing in <<tiananmen,Tiananmen Square>> with Mao's painting and confused/disgusted guards in the background who are likely about to call their superiors to ask what they should do. The photo likely surfaced in 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20200301224434/https://www.salon.com/2006/01/17/lesbians_china/[as mentioned] in link:++https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salon_(website)++[salon.com] which said it came form https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boing_Boing[Boing Boing]. It was not however picked up by any major website. Ciro actually thought this could have been ripped from some television series due to the amazing expression on the guards' faces. TODO: find the original Chinese source, translate the watermarks, and see if their identity is known. Another one can be seen at: https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1956753-fully-automated-luxury-gay-space-communism[] under the title "fully automated lesbians" which is a subset of "Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism". TODO origin. What is that uniform? http://www.chinatoday.com/entertain/tiananmen_kiss.htm[Source].
[[qing-gay-scroll]]
.<<throne,Qing dynasty>> (18th–19th c.) panel from a scroll showing two men engaging in foreplay, apparently located in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_Institute[Kinsey Institute] as of 2005. For an ancient depiction of heterosexual sexual activity, see <<jin-ping-mei,this image>>. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Love_play_in_China.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Qing_Dinasty_gay_foreplay.jpg[height=400]
.Lesbian couple hugging in Shanghai in the 1930s. The woman on the left might have had polio based on the deformity of their right leg. TODO proper source, could not find one on Google reverse image search. https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/muvkmu/a_lesbian_couple_embracing_posing_in_their_qipao/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Lesbian_couple_Shanghai_30s.jpg[height=500]
[[everyone-can-feel-that-a-profound-change-is-underway-by-li-guangman]]
=== Everyone can feel that a profound change is underway by Li Guangman (2021, 李光满《每个人都能感受到,一场深刻的变革正在进行!》)
Politicla essay reposted by major <<chinese-government-media>>:
* <<xinhua>>: http://xinhuanet.com/politics/2021-08/29/c_1127807097.htm
* <<peoples-daily>>: http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2021/0829/c1001-32211523.html
The hole thing is about exerting greater state control on everything, a trend that has been observed as of August 2021, notably on the media.
The damning <<gay-rights>> sentence appears to be:
彻底杜绝社会性格中的娘炮和小鲜肉现象,真正让娱乐圈、文艺圈、影视圈风正、气正
Completely put an end to the phenomenon of sissies and teen idols in the social character, and truly make the entertainment, art, and film and television circles upright and upright.
the slang keywords being:
- 娘炮: sissy
- 小鲜肉: teen idols (lit. little fresh meat)
The author Li Guangman (李光满) was not notable enough yet to have a Wikipedia page, not even <<baidu-baike>>, so <<zhihu>> for now: https://www.zhihu.com/question/60685910
It should be noted that the homophobia is just a tiny fraction of the essay, which is much more generally about the state taking more control over everything, including culture, and sparking fears of a second <<cultural-revolution>>.
Corresponding official guidelines by the <<national-radio-and-television-administration>> followed: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-radio-tv-body-strengthen-regulation-cultural-programmes-salaries-2021-09-02/
[[womans-rights]]
== Woman's rights (妇女权利)
Related <<twitter>>:
* https://twitter.com/FeministChina
* 2021-09-22 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3149606/fears-china-missing-metoo-activist-and-labour-rights-campaigner Fears in China for missing #MeToo activist and labour rights campaigner.
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huang_Xueqin[Huang Xueqin] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/黃雪琴[黄雪琴]), profile https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3149606/fears-china-missing-metoo-activist-and-labour-rights-campaigner
* 2021-04-20 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/19/china/china-feminists-silenced-intl-hnk-dst/index.html "Chinese feminists are being silenced by nationalist trolls. Some are fighting back" mentions Liang Xiaomen, Xiao Meili and Zheng Churan
[[evil-man]]
=== Evil man (中国男性之恶)
https://github.com/CNwoman-bot/evil-man
A fork from 2021-02-08 is visible at: https://github.com/wumaoland/evil-man and tracked in-tree under this repository at: link:evil-man[]
Archive of the github pages: https://web.archive.org/web/20210225163949/https://cnwoman-bot.github.io/evil-man/
Question about it on <<zhihu>>: https://www.zhihu.com/question/361158296[] 如何看待微博用户「索多玛-」建立的GitHub仓库「Evil Man - 中国男性之恶」? (What do you think about the repository "Evil Man - Chinese Evil Man" created by <<weibo>> user "Sodom" (索多玛))?
Related 2021 censored question about the larger phenomena it on <<zhihu>> http://www.zhihu.com/question/362285803 如何评价热门女权文章《中国男性之恶》? (What do you think about the hot essay "Evil Chinese Man"?). No archives found however. The title can be seen as a link from https://www.zhihu.com/question/361158296[].
GitHub appears to be the original source according to https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/624360.html from <<china-digital-times>>.
[[metoo]]
=== MeToo
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement#China
Label: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues?q=label%3Ametoo+[metoo].
Women seem to have had difficulty in expressing themselves due to <<censorship>>, unsurprisingly.
* Zhou Xiaoxuan v. TV anchor Zhu Jun. Pseudonym Xianzi
* Liu Jingyao v. billionaire Liu Qiangdong
* Zou Sicong and He Qian v. Deng Fei
Related <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>:
* https://github.com/NGOMeToo/NGOMeToo.github.io
[[peng-shuai]]
==== Peng Shuai (tennis player, 2021 Zhang Gaoli sexual assual allegations, 彭帅)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_Shuai#Sexual_assault_allegation_and_disappearance
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/彭帅
* https://archive.ph/25TLW on The New York Times
[[labour-rights]]
== Labour rights (劳工权益)
One more case where <<censorship-makes-it-harder-to-solve-social-problems>>.
They key problem seems to be that you cannot freely establish a trade union without government approval, so you not as well represented as an employee.
The same general line that applies to any organization: every movement has to be government approved.
* 2021 Mengzhu TODO Chinese name. https://www.npr.org/2021/04/13/984994360/he-tried-to-organize-workers-in-chinas-gig-economy-now-he-faces-5-years-in-jail
* 2021-06-09 Protests held after it was announced that Nanjing University (C9 league, China's Ivy League) would be merged with a vocational institute (much much less prestigious)
** https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-57409218 Normal University's Zhongbei College
** scuffle videos
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7QMLGmfO8U
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmndJO9_ayk
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1A9n-bGPFo
* 2021-03-02 Chen Tianhe https://web.archive.org/web/20210623101950/https://en.appledaily.com/article/EK4WOQBICNEGDFP2SSG7ZJ3PGI/ (https://hk.appledaily.com/china/20210301/KM2MXDHHXRAQHFB4MYFU6XOFTY/[Chinese version]) "Chinese food delivery worker detained after campaigning for labor rights":
Chinese authorities have detained a worker after he advocated for fair pay and other labor rights from his former employer, the food delivery giant Ele.me.
Chen Tianhe (陳天河) has not been heard from since he was detained on Feb. 25, according to mainland Chinese media reports.
* 2020 City Dream film (城市梦) Weijun Chen's (陈为军) lively new film documents the struggles of Wang Tiancheng, an elderly and cantakerous street vendor in Wuhan, China, whose business is threatened by the development of a new retail district.
** 2021 http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1007364 New Film Turns the Tables on China's Infamous 'Chengguan' (城管)
** not censured in China:
*** https://baike.baidu.com/item/城市梦/23578924 on <<baidu-baike>>
*** http://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/2020-08/27/c_1126417894.htm on <<xinhua>>
[[nine-nine-six-icu]]
=== 996.ICU (2019)
https://github.com/996icu/996.ICU
Repository published in 2019-04 protesting against excessive work hours by Chinese programmers.
At some point it moved its README to English.
This was not directly censored to our knowledge, but the fact that it was published on GitHub rather than Chinese social media highlights the obvious fact that Chinese programmers were weary of doing it under CCP controlled media which they do not trust.
The project name refers to:
* "996": work from 9AM to 9PM 6 days a week. This is part of a wider tendency of Chinese netizens to use <<internet-number-slang>>
* "ICU": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intensive_care_unit[Intensive Care Unit]
Reached 180k stars in a week, and was the second most starred repository as of 2019-10 https://github.com/search?q=stars%3A%3E100&s=stars&type=Repositories[] (https://web.archive.org/web/20191023084929/https://github.com/search?q=stars%3A%3E100&s=stars&type=Repositories[archive])!!!
This is therefore the best example for Chinese tech workers that <<richer,freedom of speech is a good thing>>.
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/b927sk/tencent_xiaomi_and_others_block_github_page/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/b8t8cc/overworked_chinese_developers_gather_on_github_to/
* https://github.com/formulahendry/955.WLB a whitelist version of 996 ICU. Good thoughts.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8wWoQ3_F00 The Extreme 996 Work Culture in China by VICE (2021)
.996.ICU logo. https://github.com/996icu[Source].
[[jasic]]
=== Jasic Workers Solidarity Group (佳士工人声援团, 2018)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasic_Workers_Solidarity_Group
<<yue-xin>> was also involved with them.
.Yue Xin with the Jasic <<t-shirt,T-shirt>>. That T-shirt is official to the movement, and can be seen worn by many other people in other photos. TODO what does their T-shirt say??? It is impossible to decode that beautiful script. Looks like: 伺伭就X刀量. And who are the people it depicts? A perfectly clean image can be seen on their Twitter: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1033004258184941569/2pcCgIUK_400x400.jpg[].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Yue_Xin_Jasic_shirt.jpg[height=400]
[[jasic-incident]]
==== Jasic incident (佳士事件)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasic_incident
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/佳士事件
[[yue-xin]]
=== Yue Xin (岳昕)
https://github.com/sikaozhe1997/Xin-Yue is a <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>> with an open letter by student activist:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Xin_(activist)[Yue Xin]
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/岳昕[岳昕])
* https://www.nchrd.org/2019/01/yue-xin on <<chinese-human-rights-defenders>>
about the events described at https://web.archive.org/web/20200104064812/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/world/asia/china-metoo-gao-yan.html["China's #MeToo: How a 20-Year-Old Rape Case Became a Rallying Cry"] she accuses professor Shen Yang of the Peking University Chinese literature of raping student Gao Yan, ultimately leading to her suicide in 1998:
* https://sikaozhe1997.github.io/Xin-Yue/#/岳昕:致北京大学师生和北大外国语学院的一封公开信.md Chinese original
** reproduced: at https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/master/许章润-愤怒的人民已不再恐惧.md[]
* https://github.com/sikaozhe1997/Xin-Yue/blob/master/letter.md in-tree translation "Yue Xin: An open letter to the students and academic staff of Peking University and the PKU School of Foreign Languages"
* 2018-04 https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2018/04/translation-open-letter-on-peking-university-metoo-case/ "TRANSLATION: OPEN LETTER ON PKU #METOO CASE" by <<china-digital-times>>
This was one of the starting points of <<terminus2049>>.
The letter was also apparently embedded into the <<bitcoin-blockchain,Ethereum blockchain>> according to https://theconversation.com/chinese-internet-users-turn-to-the-blockchain-to-fight-against-government-censorship-111795[].
[[politicians]]
== Chinese politicians (中国政治家)
[[xi-jinping]]
=== Xi Jinping (习近平, 2012-∞, Heil卐!)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/习近平
Unicode Art, possible source: https://www.reddit.com/r/ASCII_Archive/comments/ejui7b/winnie_the_pooh/[] brought to attention at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/231#issuecomment-949659614[]:
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠟⠋⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢁⠈⢻⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠃⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠈⡀⠭⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⠄⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣿⣷⣶⣶⡆⠄⠄⠄⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢀⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠄⠄⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⣼⣿⣿⠿⠶⠙⣿⡟⠡⣴⣿⣽⣿⣧⠄⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⣿⣟⣭⣾⣿⣷⣶⣶⣴⣶⣿⣿⢄⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⣩⣿⣿⣿⡏⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣹⡋⠘⠷⣦⣀⣠⡶⠁⠈⠁⠄⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣍⠃⣴⣶⡔⠒⠄⣠⢀⠄⠄⠄⡨⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⡘⠿⣷⣿⠿⠟⠃⠄⠄⣠⡇⠈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿
⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠟⠋⢁⣷⣠⠄⠄⠄⠄⣀⣠⣾⡟⠄⠄⠄⠄⠉⠙⠻
⡿⠟⠋⠁⠄⠄⠄⢸⣿⣿⡯⢓⣴⣾⣿⣿⡟⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⣿⡟⣷⠄⠹⣿⣿⣿⡿⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
* https://evchk.wikia.org/zh/wiki/習近平
[[xi-abolishes-term-limits-2018-03]]
==== Xi abolishes term limits (习近平取消国家主席任期限制, 2018-03)
* 包子露宪 https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2018/03/phrase-week-steamed-bun-betrays-constitution by <<china-digital-times>>
* https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-term-limit-explainer.html
** https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20180312/china-xi-jinping-term-limit-explainer/
.<<rebel-pepper>> cartoon showing Xi Jinping preparing to sleep in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Mao_Zedong[Mao Zedong's tomb], meaning that Xi also wants to reach Mao's "eternal ruler" status when he abolished term limits in 2018. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/XiJinping-Eternity-cartoon-02282018104813.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_sleep_Mao.jpg[height=400]
.1977 photo showing Mao's actual glass tomb during his funeral, with famous politicians in the background. It is interesting to see that Mao https://mummipedia.fandom.com/wiki/Mao_Zedong[features on the "Fandom Mummipedia Wiki"]. https://apnews.com/a94a0d7a824b474fb11545e8c4481c21[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Mao_coffin.jpeg[height=400]
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist[The Economist] "Let's party like it's 1793" cover from May 4th – 10th 2013 depicting a painting of Xi Jinping dressed as emperor of China. The famous https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianlong_Empero[Qianlong Emperor] was in power at that time. The title is likely a joke based on the more well known https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/party-like-its-1969-woodstock-forty-years-on-1722695.html["Let's party like it's 1969"] due to the legendary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock[Woodstock festival]. Party is also a play on words between the Communist Party and a night party. TODO why 1793 specifically shows another one from Sep 28, 2020 by French Magazine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Obs[l'Obs] entitled "L'Éternel Empire" (The Eternal Empire), using a similar picture to: <<ciro-santilli-as-qing-emperor,Ciro Santilli as Qing Emperor>>. https://www.cafeyn.co/uk/publication/l-obs-hors-serie/21640297 https://twitter.com/TheEconomist/status/329929668155293696[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Lets_party_like_its_1793.jpg[height=600]
[[letter-n]]
===== Letter "N" censorship (N字母被封了, 2018)
* https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/01/asia/china-letter-ban-trnd/index.html
* https://www.dw.com/zh/修改宪法呼之欲出-审查措施变本加厉/a-42919779
[[panama-papers]]
==== Panama papers (巴拿马文件, 2016)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/巴拿馬文件
Leak of financial data implicating <<corruption,many corruption scandals>>.
Most notable people implicated:
* <<xi-jinping>> through his brother-in-law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deng_Jiagui[Deng Jiagui] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/邓家贵[邓家贵]).
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jia_Qinglin[Jia Qinglin] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/贾庆林[贾庆林]), fourth in Chinese power from 2003 to 2013, through:
** Jasmine Li (李紫丹), his granddaughter
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Pak-tam[Li Pak-tam] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李伯潭[李伯潭]), his son-in-law
* <<li-peng>> through his daughter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Xiaolin[Li Xiaolin] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李小琳[李小琳])
* <<bo-xilai>> through his associate https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-bo-devillers-idUSBRE84E0HA20120515[Patrick Henri Devillers]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Yunshan[Liu Yunshan] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/刘云山[刘云山]), politburo 2012-2017, through his daughter-in-law Jia Liqing
See also <<ciro-santilli>>'s answer to https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-net-worth-of-Xi-Jinping/answer/Ciro-Santilli[What is the net worth of Xi Jinping?] answer on <<quora>>.
[[foreign-citizenship-of-xi-jinping-s-family]]
===== Foreign citizenship of Xi Jinping's family (习近平家族外籍人士)
<<li-hongzhi,Cult leaders>> hate having <<li-hongzhis-family,their families examined>>. So let's do it.
TODO confirm: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/c20xf3/almost_every_members_in_president_xis_family/ from <<reddit>>. Seems fake.
One Redditor https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/c20xf3/almost_every_members_in_president_xis_family/ergsu6v/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3[translated]:
* Xi's eldest sis - Canadian
* Xi's 2nd sis - Australian
* Xi's younger bro - Australia
* Xi's daughter - American. Really???
* Hu's daughter - American
* Jiang's grandchild - American
* Deng's son - American
* Deng's grandchild - American
* Mao's grandchild - American
[[xi-mingze]]
====== Xi Mingze (Xi Jinping's daughter, 习明泽)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Mingze
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/习明泽
Went to Harvard from 2010 to 2014 under pseudonym, apparently Xiao Muzi (小木子).
The news was apparently broken in 2012 by the UK tabloid Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2234651/Xi-Jinping-Chinas-new-Princess--daughter-Communist-president-studying-quietly-Harvard.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/xi-mingze-harvard-article-goes-viral-2012-11 mentions:
The Chinese elite is no doubt keen to avoid questions about how exactly Xi Jinping can afford his daughters fees. Officially, his salary is less than $13,000 a year, and Xi's circle has been remarkably cagey about reports of his family's true wealth before.
plus 24-hour bodyguards. <<panama-papers>> comes to mind.
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/xi-mingze-16091.php says birthday June 27, 1992.
https://answersafrica.com/meet-xi-mingze-xi-jinpings-daughter-is-she-married-where-is-she-now.html gives some public appearances, e.g. in New York in 2018.
[[xi-jinping-memes]]
==== Xi Jinping memes (习近平模因)
Funny names:
* 習包子: https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=29230 says:
Xi Jinping got his nickname as "Xi baozi 習包子" ("<<buns,steamed stuffed bun Xi>>") due to the much publicized visit he made to the famous Qìngfēng bāozi pù 庆丰包子铺 ("Qingfeng baozi shop") in Beijing. During and after his visit to the shop, media swarmed over the place and were eager to portray an image of Xi as being down to earth and close to the people. Those who dislike Xi use this nickname sarcastically against him for being a hick and for hypocritically "putting on a show" (zuòxiù 作秀).
See also: <<buns>>.
* 大撒币: https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=29230 says:
It can be translated as "big spender," a play on the literal translation of the words sā bì 撒币 "throw money" and "stupid cunt" (shǎ bī 傻逼). The nickname takes aim at the economic aid Xi has promised to foreign countries; the moniker is so widely used on Chinese social media that the censors' repressive measures only draw more attention to it, and to the criticism embedded within it.
Other images:
* 2021 https://twitter.com/1X1G3Lr7pBe1AJR/status/1438984816267915265/photo/1 with phone reserved photoshop
See also: <<shitpost>>.
.<<xi-jinping>> photoshopped as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_(character)[The Joker] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/小丑_(角色)[小丑]). Would have been perfect with https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/22/ren-zhiqiang-who-called-chinese-president-a-clown-jailed-for-18-years[2020-09-22 Ren Zhiqiang - who called Chinese president a 'clown' - jailed for 18 years], see also: <<corruption>>. https://www.reddit.com/r/chonglangTV/comments/m04q0p/乌合麒麟新作一尊小丑/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jinping_photoshopped_as_The_Joker.jpg[height=400]
.<<xi-jinping>>, <<jiang-zemin>> and <<hu-jintao>> photoshopped on top of a clothing advertisement (TODO original). The text reads: "江胡险恶 习以为常". TODO understand. 江胡 are the surnames of <<jiang-zemin>> and <<hu-jintao>>. 习 is the surname of; <<xi-jinping>>. "习以为常" is a fixed expression that means "to get accustomed to". Also asked at: https://www.mohu.rocks/question/573 on <<mohu>>, and explained at: https://www.secretchina.com/news/gb/2003/12/03/56236.html from <<falun-gong-media>>. https://twitter.com/BeqB38ldjIu5acT/status/1377094062063292418[Source]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jiang_Hu.jpg[height=400]
.Meme impliying that <<xi-jinping>>'s 2021 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-08-01/china-tech-crackdown-communist-party-policy-changes-behind-1-trillion-selloff[tech crackdown] was much mroe destructive to the Chinese economy than https://thediplomat.com/2021/08/the-biden-administrations-china-sanctions-dilemma/[contemporary economic sanctions imposed by United States president Biden]. https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/pb5ft2/meme_xis_successive_series_of_economically/[English source], https://twitter.com/xijinpingqindie/status/1429480173938745348[Chinese source], meme template https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeTemplatesOfficial/comments/dlla95/man_hold_man_a_knifepoint_an_then_someone_shoots/[by Joan Cornella].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Biden_sanctions_vs_Xi_Jinping_tech_crackdown_2021.jpg[height=700]
[[xi-jinping-lookalikes]]
===== Xi Jinping lookalikes (习近平撞脸)
[[xi-jinping-bdsm-cosplay]]
.2019-05-21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadomasochism[Sadomasochist] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/虐戀_(性學)[虐恋]) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDSM[BDSM] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDSM[zh], SM) <<xi-jinping>> lookalike or photoshop in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bondage_suit[bondage suit] (gimp suit, fetish gear) at a cosplay fair. TODO: is this a Photoshop and if yes what's the original pic, publish dates, location/event. <<ciro-santilli>> googled a lot for it, but it was beyond his skills :-( Earliest post found so far: 2019-05-21 08:49:20 GMT+1 (Imgur timestamp) going wild on <<ptt>>: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/joke/M.1558454171.A.5C9.html[] entitled "這位coser是誰啊?好眼熟。" (Who is this Cosplayer? He looks familiar.) by user "a15568". Watermark reads "I am Dasen 郭", where "郭" is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guo[a common Chinese surname]. Notable discussion threads: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/ckgs5l/xi_jinping_took_to_the_streets_to_demonstrate_his/[r/China 2019-08-01], https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/ke4hde/nice_pic_i_found/[r/China 2020-12-16], https://www.reddit.com/r/HongKong/comments/ckjf65/gee_i_am_sure_chairman_xi_will_really_appreciate/[2019-08-01]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_sadomasochist.jpg[height=500]
.2020-01-01 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shengjian_mantou[Pan-fried dumpling] Xi Jinping lookalike (生煎包习近平撞脸). Furthermore, this reminded people of <<xi-jinping-memes,習包子>>. A <<taiwan,Taiwanese>> report from 2020-01-01: https://news.tvbs.com.tw/world/1257030 TODO name, location. One of the many videos of him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTt8Sjer6cc[]
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Mantou_Xi_lookalike.jpg[height=400]
[[liu-keqing-singer]]
.2020-05-12 Liu Keqing (刘克清) is an opera singer who had his personal videos on <<tiktok>> taken down from time to time because he looks too much like <<xi-jinping,The One>>. https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2020/05/【立此存照】只因太像习近平?歌唱家刘克清形/[China Digital Times report]. One of his personal vlogs reuploaded to YouTube where he shared singing techniques and thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPFKUhJdqzk[]. A video of him performing professionally in a chamber concert: 2018-11-02 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z98-Mqci4ag[].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Liu_Keqing_singer_Xi_lookalike.jpeg[height=400]
* 2014-06-23 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-27926747/meet-the-chinese-presidential-pancake-seller "Shao Jianhua" TODO Chinese name, name of dish he sells. Too young and not fat enough.
* https://youtu.be/8221d7F8Uzc?t=145 in video from Stuart Wiggin, see also: <<ccp-apologists>>
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI0TFWJy1Ns Random scences from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin[Charlie Chaplin] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/查理·卓别林[查理·卓别林]) film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Dictator[The Great Dictator] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/大独裁者[大独裁者]), in which <<nazi,Hitler>> has a Jewish lookalike.
video::lI0TFWJy1Ns[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[xi-jinping-porn]]
===== Xi Jinping porn (习近平色情)
TODO <<ciro-santilli>> is very interested in finding this!
Good Photoshops:
* <<xi-jinping-bdsm-cosplay,Xi Jinping BDSM at cosplay fair>>
* https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1613570-xi-jinping Xi Jinping GIF photoshop tearing his shirt off AKA "Who you calling <<winnie-the-pooh,winnie>>"
* https://upload.hkgolden.media/comment/1jlodt1a.hrgaikqi1gd.p3gj2baklr0.vst.gif at https://forum.hkgolden.com/thread/7410636/page/1 massaging a penis from over underwear
Bad Photoshops:
* https://youtu.be/mX5HQOYk3go?t=45 bad Photoshop of adding a Xi Jinping face to a BDSM porn actor. TODO find image
* https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm38084556
* https://club.6parkbbs.com/bolun/index.php?app=forum&act=threadview&tid=15759443
Hentai:
* 2016 https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/junshiwaijiao/xl2-02112016111224.html 日本漫画家报复中国不尊重版权疑似毛泽东习近平成色情主角 (Japanese cartoonist revenges China for disrespect of copyright, suspected of Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping as pornographic protagonist) by <<rfa>>. Appears to be by artist Rin Sanada (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/真田鈴[真田鈴]) Part of the idea is that to prevent copyright infringement, you just use something that will be forbidden in China anyways!
** TODO how to access it in full? Work name?
** https://disp.cc/b/163-9f5E screenshot used on <<ptt>>
** https://www.mohu.rocks/question/id-6851__sort_key-agree_count__sort-ASC screenshot used in a <<mohu>> thread
Good possible video bases for usage in <<xi-jinping-deepfakes>>:
* https://cache.hkgolden.media/compress/https://i.imgur.com/tiwgkCg.gif
* https://www.buzzfeed.com/pablovaldivia/gay-porn-memes
[[winnie-the-pooh]]
===== Xi Jinping looks like Winnie-the-Pooh (习近平长得像小熊维尼, 2017)
Got censored due to comparisons between Xi Jinping and Winnie in 2017: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie-the-Pooh#Censorship_in_China
Thailand has their own version: <<thai-king-hamtaro>>.
In <<xi-dada>> we see that a <<peoples-daily>> video actually interviews someone who mentions that, so the meme has had a positive connotation at least some point in the past.
* 2021-06-07: Triple A game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk_2077[Cyberpunk 2077] developer used a "Winnie the Pooh" label internally to mark game content that needed to be censored for the Chinese release as shown by a source code leak
** More precisely, the constant was named `Censor_WinnieThePooh`, with a comment `// China`.
** https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/nua4do/cdpr_seems_to_have_used_the_name_winnie_the_pooh/
** https://gamerant.com/cyberpunk-2077-winnie-the-pooh-china-source-code-leak/
** https://www.vg247.com/2021/06/08/cyberpunk-2077-winnie-the-pooh-china-censor/
Some good photoshops:
.Comparison image between Xi Jinping waking with then USA president https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama[Barack Obama] with a Winnie-the-Pooh cartoon still of Winnie walking with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigger[Tigger, the tiger]. The original photo is from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-09/obama2c-xi-forge-rapport-in-debut-summit/4742616[Xi's 2013 visit to the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, California]. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/17/oh-bother-chinese-censors-block-winnie-pooh-meme-comparing-xi/[Source].
.Comparison image between Xi Jinping shaking hands with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinzo_Abe[the Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe] and a Winnie-the-Pooh cartoon still of Winnie shaking hands with the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeyore[Eeyore, the donkey]. The original photo is from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/world/asia/leaders-of-china-and-japan-hold-long-awaited-meeting.html[Abe's lacklustre 2014 visit to Beijing]. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/07/china-bans-winnie-the-pooh-film-to-stop-comparisons-to-president-xi[Source].
.Comparison image between Xi Jinping on a car in a 2015 military parade and a toy Winnie-the-Pooh on a car. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-china-blog-40627855[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Pooh_car.jpg[height=400]
[[xi-pooh-photoshop]]
.Real photo of Xi Jinping edited to look like Winnie the Pooh. https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/dcabzh/this_image_of_xi_jiping_as_winnie_the_pooh_is/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Pooh_Photoshop.webp[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmLUYCUYT0 "Xi Jinping as Winnie the Pooh Dancing to Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf" by TheFakening (2020). Deep fake of several girls wearing Winnie the Pooh clothes with a Xi Jinping face. The song choice "Bat Out of Hell" is a reference to <<covid,COVID>> because one of the theories is that the disease started in bats.
video::kHmLUYCUYT0[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=57]
[[xi-dada]]
====== Xi Dada (习大大, 2015)
Benevolent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personification[personification] of <<xi-jinping>>. Part of the <<ccp-cult>>.
2015-09-23 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-china-blog-34338832 "Who is Xi Dada"?
That article comments on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnRo9AMT8FI "Who is Xi Dada?" by <<peoples-daily>> (2015-09-23) in which several foreign students in China praise <<xi-jinping>> in English. https://youtu.be/PnRo9AMT8FI?t=47 notably states: "They also refer to him as <<winnie-the-pooh,Winnie-the-Pooh>>". Priceless.
What does dada mean: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Xí-Jìnpíng-called-Xí-Dàdà
Some other sources:
* 2015-03-08 https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20150308/c08xi/ ""习大大"再次燃起中国人的领袖崇拜之情" (Xi Dada reignties Chinese Leader's cult once again)
.Golden heart shaped souvenir with a picture of Xi Jinping that was sold in <<tiananmen,Tiananmen Square>> in 2018. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/26/endowing-role-endless-rule-shows-xis-imperial-ambitions/[Source].
.Souvenirs sold in Beijing with the bust of Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong circa 2020. TODO: what is the shape of those souvenirs meant to evoke? https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-negative-views-on-china-spike-polls-show-11614870001?reflink=desktopwebshare_twitter[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jinping_Mao_Zedong_sculpture_souvenirs.jpg[height=400]
.Xi Jinping in 2019 wearing his cute compassionate face. Do you think that such a cute cute North-Westerner 东北人 would ever to terrible things like <<xinjiang,committing cultural genocide of a million people>> or <<xi-abolishes-term-limits-2018-03,trying to become ruler for life>>? Impossible, it must be <<evil-west,American lies>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_dada.jpg[height=400]
[[chrysanthemium-xi-jinping]]
===== Chrysanthemium Xi Jinping (菊花习近平, 2015)
Got creator Dai Jianyong (戴建勇) arrested in 2015:
* https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/chinese-artist-who-posted-funny-image-of-president-xi-jinping-facing-five-years-in-prison-as-10282630.html
* https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/artist-detained-after-posting-humorous-photo-of-xi-jinping/ by <<china-digital-times>>
.Chrysanthemum <<xi-jinping>> with <<tiananmen,六四>> spice added by Ciro Santilli
.Original Chrysanthemum <<xi-jinping>> by Dai Jianyong published in 2015. https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/artist-detained-after-posting-humorous-photo-of-xi-jinping/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Chrysanthemum_Xi.jpeg[height=400]
[[xi-jinping-portrait-blue]]
.Possible original Xi Jinping photo used for Chrysanthemum Xi, possibly from 2012. The light blue gradient background was used for the official photos of many Communist officials of the era. https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2112111,00.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jinping_portrait_2012.jpg[height=400]
[[xi-jinping-thought]]
==== Xi Jinping Thought (习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想, 2017)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping_Thought
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想
Added to the Constitution in preparation for <<xi-abolishes-term-limits-2018-03,eternal rule>>.
<<xi-jinping>>'s <<little-red-book>>. But since it is the 21st century, there's an app for it instead called "Study (for a) Strong Country" (学习强国) designed by <<alibaba>>:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuexi_Qiangguo
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/学习强国
Online video version courtesy of <<xinhua>>: http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/xjpsxkj/index.html[]. Contains <<ccp-cult,devotional>> videos, not text: http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/xjpsxkj/1.html
Notably, it consists of 14 chapters, which are called "talks" (讲), e.g. the first talk (第一讲) etc. This is exactly like <<li-hongzhi>>'s <<flg-canon,Zhuan Falun>> (and likely like other ancient Chinese religious texts).
Much of it can be considered a type of <<newspeak>>.
.<<ccp-cult,Devotional>> image of <<xi-jinping>> on the cover of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Governance_of_China[The Governance of China] (link:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/习近平谈治国理政[习近平谈治国理政], 2020) book which is part of <<xi-jinping-thought>>. The similarity to <<li-hongzhi>> devotional images <<li-hongzhi-lotus,is striking>>. Related: <<xi-halo>>. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Governance-China-Xi-Jinping/dp/1602204098[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_Jinping_The_Governance_of_China.jpg[height=400]
[[youth-learning]]
===== Youth Learning (青年大学习)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/"青年大学习"行动
2018 movement to get children to learn <<xi-jinping-thought>>, see also
[[xi-jinping-thought-primary-school-textbook-2021]]
====== Xi Jinping Thought primary school textbook (2021, 习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想学生读本。小学高年级。)
Contains images showing <<xi-jinping>> as a <<ccp-cult,Cult leader>>:
* https://imgur.com/a/iYhJZIG/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/pg83eo/xis_new_era_primary_school_textbook/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/comments/oyue40/在哪里可以下载到习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想学生读本/ Where it can be downloaded
* https://www.dwnews.com/中国/60255031/习思想渗透中小学数万名思政课骨干接受培训 an official announcement, there are versions for various ages
* https://www.pep.com.cn/rjdt/rjdt/202107/t20210710_1969221.shtml a possibly official announcement
There are different versions for different ages (小学、初中、高中、中职学校)
[[two-safegards]]
===== Two safegards (两个维护, 2018)
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/兩個維護
[[community-with-shared-future-for-mankind]]
===== Community with shared future for mankind (人类命运共同体)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_with_shared_future_for_mankind
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/人类命运共同体
[[xuexi-qiangguo]]
===== Xuexi Qiangguo app (Study for a strong country app, 学习强国, xxqg, 2019)
App made by <<alibaba>> for the <<ccp>> to teach people <<xi-jinping-thought>>.
Literally means "study for a strong country".
One of the beautiful things about that name is that is reminds one of the <<slang,expression>> "强国人" (strong country person), coined in during the 2014 during the <<hong-kong-protests-2014>> to refer ironically to Mainland Chines people, due to their exaggerated self-perceived strength and superiority, see also <<wumao-2011-vs-little-pink-2021,Wumao 2011 vs little pink 2021>>. A homonym "墙国" (wall country) is also known as a reference to the <<gfw>>, https://archive.ph/czYEv[sample usage].
The app appears to have both content, and also tests to check that you've read the bullshit.
At https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/mnulkd/china_is_forcing_chinese_to_use_national/gu05o20/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 a <<reddit>> user explains:
Many people are also forced to use the app "强国学习" in order to keep their jobs. Especially government workers. They have to study XiJinPing thought for certain amount of time each week and do exams.
This is confirmed e.g. at: https://www.hf.uio.no/ikos/english/studies/voices-middle-east-asia/voices-from-east-asia/xuexi-qiangguo-%E2%80%93-digitalization-of-chinese-propaga.html
Within the first four months of Xuexi Qiangguo's release, it was the most downloaded app in China with over 100 million downloads, surpassing China's most popular messaging, social media and mobile payment app, <<wechat>> and the <<tiktok,Chinese version of TikTok, known as Douyin>>.
To use the app is not exactly voluntary. The Communist Party has issued directives that requires party members to download the app and use it. Many workplaces have done the same and it has been reported that employees are required to send screenshots to document their progress on the app. If they don't, they are at risk of a pay deduction.
To put it in perspective, over 90 million Chinese are members of the Communist Party, and there are nearly 850 million internet users and almost 690 million smart phone users in China, as of 2019. It is, however, not clear whether the people who have downloaded the app genuinely are interested in learning about Xi Jinping's political ideology, or if they feel like they must download it to show loyalty to the party.
[[fuck-xuexiqiangguo]]
====== Fuck-XueXiQiangGuo (Fuck学习强国)
https://github.com/fuck-xuexiqiangguo/Fuck-XueXiQiangGuo[]
This <<github>> repository appears to help cheat the Xuexi qiangguo, see also: <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>.
The program's executable file name is actually `./Fuck学习强国`, a thing of beauty.
Several video demos can be found on YouTube:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahHzi1rGDfA "2021@学习强国辅助之Ai强国&科技强国" by Axiom Show shows the Android App
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOic-mYcwGA "习近平的学习强国和fuck 学习强国 | 如何从github上获取fuck xuexiqiangguo | 如何使用fuck xuexiqiangguo" by "中国人每日秀 The Chinese Daily Show" (2019)
And there there's an anti-repo for <<wumao>> who oppose the cheating: https://github.com/boycott-fuck-xuexiqiangguo/Boycott-Fuck-XueXiQiangGuo It had 150 stars as of 2021, as oppoesd to 7500 of the cheating repo.
https://github.com/TechXueXi/TechXueXi appears to be a "non-cheating" assistant? TODO confirm. It is at the very least more politically correct.
The repository was created by Tang Wenzheng (唐文正, <<github>> alias https://github.com/Xmader[Xmader]). https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/663593.html According to https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/663593.html form <<china-digital-times>>, he accidentally posted with his real name on an issue once (<<ciro-santilli>> knows that it is basically impossible not to when juggling multiple accounts simultaneously), and subsequently publicly announced his true identity. Following the name reveal, he did an AMA on <<terminus2049>> https://2047.name/t/11552[], and luckily he is abroad, and does not intend to come back. Wenzheng also created the https://github.com/china-digital-times/china-digital-times.github.io <<github>> pages mirror of <<china-digital-times>>, further discussed in that section. At https://github.com/fuck-xuexiqiangguo/Fuck-XueXiQiangGuo/issues/578 on 2021-03-03, he announced that he would stop working on the project because his parents weren't needing the APP anymore, succession wasn't announced. A few commits followed in the next days, but presumably minimal maintenance and ramp-down.
Wenzheng was also involved in a notable possible copyright dispute with https://musescore.org/en[], a software that Ciro actually enjoyed, as shown at https://github.com/Xmader/musescore-downloader/issues/5#issuecomment-882472815 which was then highlighted at https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/onro8q/head_of_strategy_of_muse_group_muse_score/[]. At https://web.archive.org/web/20210719115639if_/https://github.com/Xmader/musescore-downloader/issues/5#issuecomment-882450335 the developer noted that this could lead to Xmader's deportation. Some interpreted this as threat, but Ciro feels that it might be true as the developers noted that they withheld action for a while to prevent his deportation.
Related projects to cheat other stupid things:
* https://github.com/v2018z/studyxixi also to cheat Qiang Guo
* https://github.com/838239178/tk-auto-study to cheat the <<fujian>> <<youth-learning>>
.Fuck-XueXiQiangGuo 2021 GitHub page screenshot with stars highlighted. 7k stars on a Chinese-only repository is a lot of stars, and very unlikely to be faked. This is what you should show <<wumao,wumaos>> when they that no Chinese person opposes the <<ccp>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Fuck-XueXiQiangGuo_2021_GitHub_page_screenshot_with_stars_highlighted.png[height=650]
[[national-anti-fraud-center-app]]
====== National Anti-Fraud Center App (国家反诈中心APP, 2021)
* link:++https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/国家反诈中心_(应用程序)++
* https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/664606.html on <<china-digital-times>>
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/mnulkd/china_is_forcing_chinese_to_use_national/
New forced spy app for Chinese people going abroad.
[[jingwang-weishi]]
====== Jingwang Weishi app (Clean Net Guardian app, 净网卫士)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingwang_Weishi
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/净网卫士
[[chinese-dream]]
===== Chinese dream (中国梦, 4000 BC -)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Dream
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中國夢
Chinese version of the <<american-dream>>, which <<xi-jinping>> insists is completely different and superior to the <<american-dream>>.
The names suggest, they are not real, but just dreams.
Transcript for <<little-pink-american-dream-vs-chinese-dream,Little pink explains the difference between the American dream  and the Chinese dream>>:
美国梦是个人发财的梦 +
讲究冒险 +
通过个人奋斗达到所谓的成功 +
成为有产者 +
然后去剥削别人 +
中国梦是共同富裕 +
追求的是人民幸福 +
换句话说 +
美国梦是个人梦 +
是为美元的梦 +
中国梦是人民梦 +
是为人民服务的梦 +
这就是二者的本质区别 +
以后不要在我面前提起美国梦 +
俗气! +
The American dream is a dream of personal wealth +
it focuses on risk taking +
to achieve so-called success through personal struggle +
and become a property owner +
and then exploit others +
The Chinese dream is common prosperity +
to pursue the happiness of the people +
In other words +
the American dream is an individualistic dream +
it is a dream of the Dollar +
The Chinese dream is the people's dream +
Is a dream of serving the people +
This is the essential difference between the two +
Don't bring up the American dream in front of me in the future +
Cheesy! +
[[little-pink-american-dream-vs-chinese-dream]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MilRo8zZM8A (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/228[GitHub reupload]) 小粉红谈中国梦与美国梦的区别 (<<little-pink>> explains the difference between the <<american-dream>> and the <<chinese-dream>>). That girl should have a look at the state of <<labour-rights>> in China in the 2020's, where activists for better worker protection are being put into jail. Also <<twitter,tweeted>> by <<rfa>> at: https://twitter.com/RFA_Chinese/status/1381531661804826627 The <<seal>> on top left reads: "进击老冯" TODO what is that? Source without subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw8TfbsNfNI[]. Ciro also reposted it at: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/msnixt/nationalistic_chinese_girl_compares_the_chinese/ on <<reddit>>. TODO try to identify it by logo of the microphone, looks something like "华浦TV" but not sure. TODO identify background music. TODO original source. Related: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/504 Kill the Japanese kid
video::MilRo8zZM8A[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[dream-of-the-red-chamber]]
====== Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/红楼梦
[[american-dream]]
====== American dream (美国梦)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/美国梦
[[nazi-dream]]
====== Nazi dream (纳粹梦)
Very similar to the <<chinese-dream>>, see also <<nazi>>.
[[xi-jinping-speech-synthesizer]]
==== Xi Jinping speech synthesizer (习近平讲话模拟器)
* XJP音源(习近平音源) from <<winnie-the-pool>>
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/comments/i4eodw/我做了个习近平讲话模拟器输入一段文字可以合成习近平语音欢迎前来游玩/ from 2020-08 announced https://dnmkrgi.github.io/xi-speech-demo/ now down but presumably at https://github.com/for-memory/xi-speech-demo
* https://github.com/for-memory/xi-speech-synthesizer voice synthesizer meant to replicate Xi Jinping's speaking, mentions it is similar to https://trumped.com/ and https://rogeraabbccdd.github.io/Fadacai-Generator/#/
** this was likely taken down due to videos like this:
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVibUOFQhRw
** https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/comments/i4eodw/我做了个习近平讲话模拟器输入一段文字可以合成习近平语音欢迎前来游玩/
[[xi-jinping-deepfakes]]
==== Xi Jinping deepfakes (习近平的deepfakes)
There are dozens if not hundreds of GIFs watermarked "made with reface app" on <<lihkg>>, presumably made with https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=video.reface.app&hl=en_GB&gl=US[], many also featuring <<carrie-lam>>. That app currently costs 20 dollars/week for the video refacing though, so it would only be viable after we have a selection ready to convert.
Once you find one on Google Images, you can just click endlessly into more and more of them.
We're just going to bulk dump them at https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/231 for now.
Talking in English:
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/pr27im/he_spittin_facts/ Would you guys consider jacking off to be a sport? meme copypasta: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/is-jacking-off-a-sport
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INbRpclIFsE xinging Never Gonna Give You Up (Rickrolling song) with Hong Kong protests interspersed
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diec9Cdsvg0 Xi Jinping singing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y.M.C.A._(song)[YMCA] with a wide range of cute expressions.
video::diec9Cdsvg0[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPc3bSbKw28 (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/229[GitHub reupload]) <<xi-jinping>> <<carrie-lam>> Leonardo di Caprio Kate Winslet Titanic Deepface by <<gfwfrog>>. 由墙国蛙蛤蛤习近平 林郑月娥 莱昂纳多迪卡普里奥 凯特温斯莱特 泰坦尼克号. https://twitter.com/GFWfrog/status/1412704989445713924[Source] by <<gfwfrog>>. This likely emeged from <<lihkg>>.
video::nPc3bSbKw28[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VaNnC8knew (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/724[GitHub reupload]) <<mao-zedong>>, <<xi-jinping>>, <<nazi,hitler>>, <<stalin>> and Korean dictators Kim Il-sung and his grandson Kim Jong-un singing the popular dance-pop song https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragostea_Din_Tei[Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone (2003)], AKA https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/numa-numa[Numa Numa due to a popular pre-YouTube meme]. Watermarked wombo.ai which refers to: https://www.wombo.ai/ and appears to be specialized for singing music video deepfakes.
video::_VaNnC8knew[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[carrie-lam]]
=== Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥, 2017-)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Lam
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/林鄭月娥
<<hong-kong>> puppet ruler.
[[hu-jintao]]
=== Hu Jintao (胡锦涛, 2002-2012)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu_Jintao
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/胡锦涛
[[bo-xilai]]
==== Bo Xilai (薄熙来, 2007-2012)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Xilai
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/薄熙来
Communist Party Secretary of Chongqing from 2007 to 2012, i.e. number one of this Provincial level city, which has same the importance as a <<provinces-of-china,province>>.
[[jiang-zemin]]
=== Jiang Zemin (江泽民, 1989-2002)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiang_Zemin
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/江泽民
<<dictatorship,Dictator>> from 1989 to 2002.
Jiang is often compared to a toad in a meme what is referred to as toad worship (膜蛤), further keywords: 蛤蟆
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toad_worship
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/膜蛤文化
Jiang has an amazing array of meme-ready funny expressions.
.Comparison between Jiang Zemin and a 72-feet-tall inflatable toad in a Beijing park seen in 2014 made the rounds on <<weibo>> and led to some <<censorship,censorship>>. https://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/01/world/asia/toad-jiang-zemin/index.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Jiang_Zemin_frog.jpg[height=400]
.Jiang picking his nose. https://pieceofmindful.com/2013/12/12/chinese-exceptionalism/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Jiang_Zemin_nose_picking.jpg[height=400]
[[jiang-zemin-magnify]]
.Jiang reading through comically large magnifying glass during the opening ceremony of the 19th <<national-congress>> in 2017. See also: <<internal-media-of-china>>. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/18/back-from-the-dead-chinas-internet-goes-wild-over-youthful-jiang-zemin[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Jiang_Zemin_magnify.jpg[height=400]
.More Jiang funny expressions and Photoshops from a Research Gate page! https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Jiang-as-emoticons-often-used-in-chats_fig4_325864518[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Jiang_Zemin_emoticons_montage.png[height=400]
==== Too young, too naive
The Chinese also love Jiang's quote in English during an interview with Hong Kong press:
Too young, too simple, sometimes naive.
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=y-JPLzj2poY Jiang Zemin saying "Too simple, sometimes naive."
video::y-JPLzj2poY[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=57]
[[li-peng]]
==== Li Peng (李鹏, 1988-1998)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Peng
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李鹏
One of the key players on <<tiananmen>>.
For the most part of the 1990's whe as second in command as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China[Premier] from 1988 to 1998.
[[deng-xiaoping]]
=== Deng Xiaoping (邓小平, 1982-1987)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deng_Xiaoping
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/邓小平
Although his reign officially ended in 1987/1989, he remained extremely influential until his death, and was a major figure in <<tiananmen>> most likely.
[[xidan-democracy-wall]]
==== Xidan Democracy Wall (西单民主墙, 1978-1979)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Wall
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/西单民主墙
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xidan
https://youtu.be/846AtqraCYg?t=799 suggests that <<deng-xiaoping>> initially encouraged it after during/after killing the Gang of Four.
But then, obviously, people started denouncing corruption in his goverment, and so Deng made it stop.
The documentary also mentions <<wei-jingsheng>> who was a notorious contributor who asked for democracy.
.<<xidan-democracy-wall>>. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Xidan_Wall,_May_1979.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xidan_Wall.jpg[height=600]
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=40PxfKWgBmY China: Democracy Wall Beijing Dec 1978 video only. This is one of the many footage available of the wall.
video::40PxfKWgBmY[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[wei-jingsheng]]
===== Wei Jingsheng (魏京生)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei_Jingsheng
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/魏京生
Key figure on the <<xidan-democracy-wall>>, notable for writting <<the-fifth-modernization>>.
我们要自己掌握自己的命运,
不要神仙和皇帝不要相信有什么救世主,
我们要做天下的主人,
我们不要作独裁统治者扩张
野心的现代化工具,
我们要人民生活得现代化,
人民的民主、自由与幸福,
是我们实现现代化的唯一目的,
没有这第五个现代化,
一切现代化不过是一
个新的诺言。
We need no Gods or emperors and we don't believe in saviors of any kind... we do not want to serve as mere tools of dictators with personal ambitions for carrying out modernization. We want to modernize the lives of the people. Democracy, freedom, and happiness for all are our sole objectives.
[[the-fifth-modernization]]
====== The Fifth Modernization (第五个现代化, 1978)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Modernization
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/第五個現代化_(魏京生)
Not to be confused with the one of the same title made by the CCP in 2013: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/第五个现代化_(中国共产党)
Full text on Jingsheng's apparently official website: https://weijingsheng.org/doc/cn/46.htm
Most notable quote:
我们要自己掌握自己的命运,不要神仙和皇帝 +
不要相信有什么救世主,我们要做天下的主人,我们不要作独裁统治者扩张 +
野心的现代化工具,我们要人民生活得现代化,人民的民主、自由与幸福 +
We want to be the masters of our own destiny. We need no gods or emperors and we don't believe in saviors of any kind +
we do not want to serve as mere tools of dictators with personal ambitions for carrying out modernization. +
We want to modernize the lives of the people. Democracy, freedom, and happiness for all are our sole objectives
Full text: link:魏京生-第五个现代化.md[].
[[mao-zedong]]
=== Mao Zedong (毛泽东, 1954–1976)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/毛泽东
What could be a better reminder that <<xi-jinping,dictatorships are dangerous>> than the catastrophes that Mao created such as the <<great-leap-forward>> and <<cultural-revolution>>?
https://youtu.be/MHFrhIAj0ME?t=926 "The camp was an intense and exciting place, and many of the guerrilla fighters had affairs. Sex was called undisciplined guerilla warfare". TODO Chinese.
.Mao Zedong in Yan'an in the 1930's thinking deeply. This funny looking picture is meme ready and https://uncyclopedia.ca/wiki/Chairman_Mao[much loved by Uncyclopedia]. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mao_Zedong_in_Yan%27an.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Mao_Zedong_in_Yanan.jpg[height=400]
[[the-private-life-of-chairman-mao]]
==== The Private Life of Chairman Mao (毛泽东私人医生回忆录)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Private_Life_of_Chairman_Mao
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/毛泽东私人医生回忆录
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Zhisui
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李志绥
[[little-red-book]]
==== Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Little Red Book, 毛主席语录, 1976)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotations_from_Chairman_Mao_Tse-tung
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/毛主席语录
<<mao-zedong>>'s <<flg-canon>>. Like <<li-hongzhi>>'s, also extracted from talks, see also:
* <<ccp-cult>>
* <<xi-jinping-thought>>
[[hundred-flowers-campaign]]
==== Hundred Flowers Campaign 百花齐放 (1956-1957)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Flowers_Campaign
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/百花齐放、百家争鸣
Some possible quotes from Mao saying that people should be able to protest, original share: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/i2z5ss/maos_propaganda_poster_saying_protest_and_strike/
允许群众示威。 +
Citizens should be allowed to protest.
claims from from some 毛泽东选集第五卷 (selected works from Mao Zedong) in speech from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_Central_Committee_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China[8th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China]. https://twitter.com/shijianxingzou/status/1158421996755128323 mentions the anthology was published in 1977.
Even <<pro-chinese-government-media,kknews>> confirms: https://kknews.cc/zh-my/news/ql9k4ag.html
<<liu-shihui-one-party-rule,Liu Shihui (刘士辉)>> also comes to mind.
[[great-leap-forward]]
==== Great Leap Forward (大跃进, da4 yue4 jin4, 1958-1960)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/大跃进
.A high tower of <<winter-melon,winter melons>> "<<winter-melon,冬瓜>>上高楼" propaganda poster for the Great Leap Forward by https://chineseposters.net/artists/jinmeisheng.php[Jin Meisheng] published in 1959. <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect,Even in democracies>>, politicians promise the fat gourds. But when there is <<censorship,no free media to control their>> lies, things can get really out of hand. http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/chn11.php[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Winter_gourd.jpg[height=600]
.Communist Children Catch Pokemon: the true meaning of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union[CCCP]. Edited from the original poster with a <<little-red-book>> instead of Pokeball and no "CCCP" shown at https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/360428776411504491/[]. By Volaran Cadires. https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/405253666454984678/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Communist_children_catch_pokemon.jpg[height=600]
[[great-chinese-famine]]
===== Great Chinese Famine (三年困难时期, 1959-1961)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chinese_Famine
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/三年困难时期
[[four-pests-campaign]]
====== Four Pests campaign (除四害, sparrow war, 1958-1962)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_campaign
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/除四害
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tk-njfBmDk Why China Targeted Sparrows by Ciggy Snake (2021)
video::_Tk-njfBmDk[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[cultural-revolution]]
==== Cultural Revolution (文化大革命, 1966-1976)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/文化大革命
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=kXByOrRrO7c Vox 6 minute explanation with some good footage for impatient Millennials, published on Feb 14, 2020.
video::kXByOrRrO7c[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[revolutionary-opera]]
===== Revolutionary opera (样板戏)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_opera
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/样板戏
[[struggle-session]]
===== Struggle session (批斗)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struggle_session
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/批鬥
.<<struggle-session>> Luo Zicheng (TODO Chinese), head of the work group designated by the provincial Party committee, wearing a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunce#Dunce_cap[dunce cap] (TODO 笨蛋帽?) and surrounded by from the staff of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heilongjiang[Heilongjiang] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/黑龙江省[黑龙江省]) Daily newspaper accusing him of 'following the capitalist line' in 1966. Photo by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Zhensheng_(photojournalist)[Li Zhensheng] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李振盛[李振盛]). https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19807561[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Struggle_session_cultural_revolution_dunce_cap_luo_zicheng.jpg[height=400]
[[mao-swim]]
===== Mao swim across the Yangtze river (毛主席畅游长江, 1966-07-16)
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/毛主席畅游长江
Good <<scmp>> article: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/1999098/chairman-maos-historic-swim-glorified-china
Mao claimed to have set a swimming record by swimming 15km in 65 minutes at the age of 72 at the <<yangtze-river>> in Wuhan, or an average of 13.8 km/h.
As a comparison, the Olympic swimmers of 2016 covered the lesser distance of 10 km in 113 minutes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics_–_Men%27s_marathon_10_kilometre for an average of 5.3 km/h.
According to https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311977913_Analysis_of_the_characteristics_of_offshore_currents_in_the_Changjiang_Yangtze_River_estuarine_waters_based_on_buoy_observations[this article], the maximum current speed of the Yantze is 128.5 cm/s or 4.62 km/h so even if he were swimming with the current, Mao was faster.
In <<the-private-life-of-chairman-mao>> however, the doctor says that this was actually true, the current was enough to drag Mao's big belly quite fast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k1ZWoM6g8w How to swim in Wuhan's Yangtze river Blondie in China (2019)
Dictatorships would <<censorship-makes-no-one-trust-your-country,never lie about obviously verifiable facts>>, would they?
And idiots today still celebrate this event that preceded the <<cultural-revolution>> which put China's economy in shambles.
<<superputin>> learnt from this and also showed off his swimming skills in 2009.
.https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1966-10_1966年毛泽东游长江2.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Mao_swim_wave.jpg[height=500]
[[sport-related-events]]
== Sport related events (和体育有关的事件)
* 2020 <<hao-haidong>>
* 2019 <<lebron-james-opposes-hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>>
[[esport-events]]
=== Esport events (电子竞技事件)
* 2021-05-05 Jong-ryeol "Saebyeolbe" Park, Korean, Blizzard's Overwatch game, made Taiwan Hongkong remarks. The backed down unfortunately: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNpQ7dOHxl2/
** https://kotaku.com/chinese-overwatch-teams-threaten-boycott-of-korean-play-1846828529 Chinese Overwatch Teams Threaten Boycott Of Korean Player For Statements On Taiwan And Hong Kong
* 2020 https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/07/scratch-ban-in-china/ Scratch visual programming language for children website blocked
* 2020-04-08 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-08/nintendo-s-animal-crossing-becomes-new-hong-kong-protest-ground Animal Crossing
* <<mei-with-hong-kong,Mei with Hong Kong>>
* <<taiwan-number-one>>
==== Blitzchung
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzchung_controversy
2019-10 Blizzard bans top Hearthstone esports player Blitzchung (Ng Wai Chung) for pro Hong Kong message in interview.
* https://twitter.com/Slasher/status/1181442535962632193
[[news]]
== News (新闻)
Trying to keep only "neutral" sources here, let me know if you spot something too biased: <<biased-media>>.
How I find them: <<anti-ccp-info-sources>>.
=== News 2020
* 2020-01 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3045657/china-human-rights-activist-ding-jiaxi-under-investigation one more human rights person Ding Jiaxi. The list is endless, should we care?
* 2019-12-18 Fudan University in China removes "freedom of thought" from university charters, students protes
* 2019-10-16 https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/16/gitlab_employees_gagged/ GitLab prevents employees from discussing politics at work, and will not veto clients. This is not confirmed, but I guess it is very likely in reply to the <<hong-kong-anti-extradition-bill-protests-2019>> given the timing. The https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/merge_requests/30656[merge request] (https://web.archive.org/web/20191017080216/https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/merge_requests/30656[archive]).
* Twitter to block operations by oppressive foreign state media
** https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/information_operations_directed_at_Hong_Kong.html Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/csodbt/twitter_suspends_nearly_1000_accounts_connected/
** https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/advertising_policies_on_state_media.html Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/csnsyn/twitter_policy_change_we_will_not_accept/
* 2019-07-12 https://www.apnews.com/a2584de07c014e4786a21bcf9f446a40 "37 countries rally around China at top UN human rights body"
** <<biased-media,(biased)>> http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/15/c_138229200.htm
** the full scanned letter: https://twitter.com/KevinPinner/status/1151868854781526016
* 2019-07-02 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/02/chinese-border-guards-surveillance-app-tourists-phones "Chinese border guards put secret surveillance app on tourists' phones"
* 2019-04-28 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48084019 Hong Kong: Thousands protest against China extradition law
** https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/auqkdl/biotech_giant_thermo_fisher_stops_selling_dna/
* 2019-01 https://www.apnews.com/40f7cf4c0c6e43f18121af93f1e418f7 Microsoft Bing https://www.bing.com/ search engine blocked in China
* 2019-01 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/business/china-internet-censor.html interview with Beyondsoft, a company that offers censorship services
* 2018-08 https://theintercept.com/2018/08/08/google-censorship-china-blacklist/
* 2018-06 https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/06/china-bans-online-mention-of-john-oliver-after-he-mocks-chinas-president/ https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6m5b3o
* 2018-05 https://www.whatsonweibo.com/public-shaming-of-drug-users-in-guangdong-drug-related-crimes-in-family-painted-on-houses/
* 2018-04 https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-lawmaking/china-makes-defaming-revolutionary-heroes-punishable-by-law-idUKKBN1HY16C
* 2018-04 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/congressional-leaders-urge-us-to-press-china-over-reports-of-mass-uighur-detentions/2018/04/05/9bd17c90-38b3-11e8-b57c-9445cc4dfa5e_story.html
* 2018-02 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/25/world/asia/china-xi-jinping.html
* 2018-02 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/25/at-least-120000-muslim-uighurs-held-in-chinese-re-education-camps-report
* 2018-01 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/19/outspoken-chinese-human-rights-lawyer-yu-wensheng-arrested
* 2018-01 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-politics/hong-kong-activist-banned-from-by-election-in-what-pro-democracy-party-calls-payback-idUSKBN1FG06P
* 2018-01 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/world/asia/china-church-dynamite.html
* 2018-01 https://uk.businessinsider.com/china-marriott-tweets-censorship-2018-1?r=US&IR=T Marriott lists <<taiwan,Taiwan>> as country on the website
* 2018-01 http://chuangcn.org/2018/01/the-mastermind/
[[changsheng-bio-technology-vaccine-data-falsification-incident-2018]]
==== Changsheng Bio-Technology vaccine data falsification incident (长生生物, 2018)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changsheng_Bio-Technology
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/长生生物
https://github.com/fuckcqcs/fuckcqcs on <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>> contains data from the website of Changsheng Bio-Technology relating to the incident. English readme: https://github.com/fuckcqcs/fuckcqcs/blob/master/README_EN.md[]
2019-02-25 https://theconversation.com/chinese-internet-users-turn-to-the-blockchain-to-fight-against-government-censorship-111795 mentions that censored information about the incident was also inserted into the <<bitcoin-blockchain,Ethereum blockchain>>.
Not in other sections:
* 2017-12 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/25/world/asia/china-wu-gan-sentence.html
* 2017-11 https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/7a7hf9/the_worlds_largest_academic_publisher_blocks/ Springer nature pulls sensitive articles. TODO article list.
* 2017-09 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/business/china-whatsapp-blocked.html
* 2017-08 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-muslim-minority-school-language-ban-han-xinjiang-uyghur-hotan-hetian-government-communist-a7873446.html
* 2017-07 https://qz.com/1056938/cambridge-university-press-china-quarterly-complies-with-censorship-removes-300-articles-on-topics-like-tiananmen-and-tibet-in-china/ Book list: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-file-manager/file/59970028145fd05f66868bf5?utm_content=bufferb652b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20170905214500/https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-file-manager/file/59970028145fd05f66868bf5?utm_content=bufferb652b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
* 2017-07 https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/29/apple-removes-vpn-apps-from-the-app-store-in-china/
* 2017-07 https://shanghaiist.com/2017/07/26/liu-xia-home-visit.php
* 2017-06 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/ordered-05092017155554.html Uyghurs studying abroad ordered to return to China
* 2017-06 httsp://mashable.com/2017/06/23/china-bans-livestreaming/#FJ4h.sLYQqq9
* 2017-05 https://qz.com/989454/a-chinese-students-commencement-speech-at-the-university-of-maryland-praising-fresh-air-and-democracy-is-riling-chinas-internet/
* 2017-05 https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1000233/at-wedding-market%2C-mothers-of-gays-and-lesbians-face-resistance
* 2017-05 https://ktar.com/story/1564381/ap-exclusive-china-lawyers-family-says-us-helped-them-flee
* 2017-04 https://chinachange.org/2017/05/03/breaking-lawyer-chen-jiangang-with-family-and-two-friends-seized-by-armed-police-in-yunnan/
* 2017-03 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-39137293 "China congress: BBC team forced to sign confession"
* 2016-11 https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/5ai1s6/chinese_citizen_arrested_after_wearing_xitler/ https://wqw2010.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/101.html Possible Twitter: https://twitter.com/kwonpyong
* 2016-09: https://qz.com/783026/china-censorship-chinese-citizens-are-being-arrested-for-sharing-news-about-the-wukan-village-rebellion-online/ https://qz.com/781989/foreign-journalists-are-wanted-for-3000-by-chinese-authorities-for-inciting-unrest-in-a-village/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wukan_protests
* 2016-06 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/28/china-lady-gaga-ban-list-hostile-foreign-forces-meeting-dalai-lama
* 2016-06 https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns/blob/78775b09e64d85f08547287cab204b48b2491192/China/2016/2016-06-08-programthink-zhao.md first GitHub takedown, see also: <<programthink>>
* 2016 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/12/world/asia/china-britain-queen-xi-jinping.html?_r=0 "Queen Elizabeth II Says Chinese Officials Were 'Very Rude' on State Visit"
* 2016 https://shanghaiist.com/2016/05/06/dont_eat_that_banana.php Sexy banana eating forbidden
* 2016-04 https://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2016/01/26/china-threatens-sanctions-against-u-s-companies-is-this-the-future/ China economic sanctions companies that sell weapons to <<taiwan,Taiwan>> (some of those companies also sell civilian products to China)
* 2016-04 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-demands-shutdown-disneylife-service-887599 Disney Life blocked
* 2016-04 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-demands-shutdown-apples-film-886831 Apple iTunes and iBooks blocked
* 2016 https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-35968855 China's '<<gfw,Great Firewall>>' blocks its creator
* 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/mar/04/china-bans-gay-people-television-clampdown-xi-jinping-censorship gay depiction banned on television
* 2016 https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35496562 Armani Communist - https://www.ibtimes.com/xi-jinping-wants-overhaul-image-chinas-rich-kids-1961207 - first section of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKQ5ijFZ_j8
* 2016 https://freebeacon.com/national-security/chinese-defector-reveals-beijings-secrets/ Ling Wancheng defects
* 2016 https://chinachange.org/2016/01/21/activist-in-xinjiang-sentenced-to-19-years-for-online-writings-and-rights-activities/ Zhang Haitao (张海涛) faces 19 years in jail for his blog posts
* 2016 https://money.cnn.com/2016/01/20/technology/facebook-android-tor/ Facebook Android app implements Tor option
* 2016 https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/41y6ig/hong_kong_movie_predicts_dark_future_for_city/ Honk Kong (2016) movie
* 2015-11 https://technode.com/2015/11/24/surge-advanced-proxy-tool-ios-pulled-app-store/
* 2015-09 https://www.hongkongfp.com/2015/09/03/in-pictures-censored-memes-search-terms-and-images-from-chinas-wwii-parade/
* 2015 https://news.vice.com/article/the-missing-hong-kong-booksellers-family-isnt-buying-his-televised-confession Gui Minhai, 51, from publisher Mighty Current who was going to publish a book about <<xi-jinping>>'s love life.
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gui_Minhai
** 2020: stenced to 10 years https://www.hongkongfp.com/2020/02/25/bookseller-gui-minhai-jailed-10-years-china-illegally-providing-intelligence-overseas-parties
** Lam Wing-kee (林榮基) is another one of the detained booksellers of the Causeway Bay Books group
*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lam_Wing-kee
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHq0f_eGLhE 2016 interview in freedom
*** https://china-journal.org/2019/04/27/abducted-hong-kong-bookseller-has-fled-to-taiwan-to-avoid-extradition-to-china/
* 2015 Taiwanese beauty queen kicked out of Miss Earth pageant for refusing to change `Taiwan ROC' sash to `Chinese Taipei' https://shanghaiist.com/2015/11/23/miss-earth-ting-wen-yin.php
* 2015 https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/08/speech-enables-speech-china-takes-aim-its-coders https://github.com/shadowsocks/shadowsocks shadowsocks creator threatened
* 2015 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34630829 Lego refuses to sell to <<ai-weiwei>>
* 2015 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/world/asia/china-bao-zhuoxuan-son-wang-yu-rights-lawyer-house-arrest.html Bao Zhuoxuan 16-year old son of human rights layer in house arrest
=== News pre-2015
* 2014 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/28/china-media-watchdog-bans-wordplay-puns "China bans wordplay in attempt at pun control"
* 2013 https://www.ft.com/content/db8b9e36-1119-11e8-940e-08320fc2a277 Peter Humphrey
* 2012 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuctech. One of the most blocked on Wikipedia according to: link:complete-gfw-rulebook-for-wikipedia-v3.0.pdf[] Nutech Namibia Hu Haifeng corruption scandal 纳米比亚威视胡海峰腐败丑闻
* 2011 2011 Chinese pro-democracy protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Chinese_pro-democracy_protests | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国茉莉花活动
* 2009 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Zuoren#2009_court_case <<ai-weiwei>> documentary about it: https://aiweiwei.com/documentaries/disturbing-the-peace/index.html
* 2008 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofu-dreg_project | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/豆腐渣工程 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%27s_Unnatural_Disaster:_The_Tears_of_Sichuan_Province
* 2008 Wenzhou train collision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenzhou_train_collision#Government_response https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011年甬台温铁路列车追尾事故
* 2005 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhou_protests | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/东洲事件 Dongzhou protests
* 1978-1979 Beijing Spring
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Spring
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/北京之春
[[tiananmen]]
==== Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 (六四事件)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/六四事件
Good photo selections:
* 2014 https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/06/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos/100751/ "Photos: The 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests". This is one of Ciro's favorite photo selections.
* 2014 http://www.ursulagauthier.fr/tiananmen-15-minutes-dapocalypse/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20190607142501/http://www.ursulagauthier.fr/tiananmen-15-minutes-dapocalypse/[archive]) a few gory photos
* 2015 https://allthatsinteresting.com/tiananmen-square-massacre "The Hidden History Of The Tiananmen Square Massacre"
* 2019 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/gabrielsanchez/pictures-tiananmen-square-anniversary "These Horrifying Pictures Show The Tiananmen Square Protests Like You've Never Seen Them"
* 2021 https://www.magnumphotos.com/newsroom/the-making-of-icons/ by Stuart Franklin himself
AP footage is pretty good, just do a search on the archive:
* https://www.aparchive.com/metadata/China-Student-Demonstrations/5d1cd01250c9e5e9397f20ef9f1327df
* https://www.aparchive.com/metadata/China-Student-Demonstrations/cfc6890746010c73f9414e20906268aa
Soldiers who spoke up:
* Zhang Shijun (张世军) is perhaps the most notable soldier who spoke up:
** 2018-06-04 RFA interview
*** https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/flashbacks-06042018133558.html
*** https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/ql2-06042018103250.html
** 2009-03 published an open letter
*** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2009/03/china-detains-writer-of-critical-web-letter-to-hu/ by <<china-digital-times>>
*** https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/20/tiananmen-square-china-zhang-shijun "Zhang Shijun taken from home in middle of the night after publishing open letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao"
* Li Xiaoming
** https://www.sbs.com.au/news/soldier-reveals-his-shame-over-tiananmen-square-massacre-30-years-on
Other interesting links:
* https://www.64memo.com/ 六四档案 Website dedicated to collecting photos of the protests and aftermath. Says you have to login to see the gory photos, but hovering over thumbnails expands all of them, and their email service is broken as of 2020 so you can't sign up.
* https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/june4_poetry Chinese poetry anthology about Tiananmen collected by <<rfa>>
[[tiananmen-sea-of-protesters]]
.Sea of protesters (广场人潮涌) in Tiananmen Square on 1989-05-04. No, not even that many people can influence dictatorships if they don't have weapons. https://abcnews.go.com/International/tiananmen-square-29th-anniversary-crackdown/story?id=55564966[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_sea.jpg[height=600]
[[pu-zhiqiang-shirt]]
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pu_Zhiqiang[Pu Zhiqiang] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/浦志强[浦志强]) was student demonstrator during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. His shirt reads: "Freedom of the press, freedom of association, support the 'link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Herald[World Economic Herald] (link:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/世界经济导报[世界经济导报])', and support just journalists." (辦報自由 結社自由 聲援世经导报 支持正义记者, fully quoted https://cinacn.blogspot.com/2001/07/28.html[here]) Date: 1989-05-10. Pu remained in China as a human rights layer, and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-35157525[was arrested in 2014] for attending a private meeting commemorating the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen. https://allthatsinteresting.com/tiananmen-square-massacre[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Pu_Zhiqiang_tshirt.jpg[height=700]
[[tiananmen-students-sitting]]
.Students from Beijing University stage a huge demonstration in Tiananmen Square as they start an unlimited hunger strike as the part of mass pro-democracy protest against the Chinese government. Photo taken on 1989-05-18 by Catherine Henriette/AFP/Getty Images. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/06/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos/100751/[Source].
.Who said there weren't some cute girls amongst the protesters? Photo taken on 1989-05-19 by AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/06/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos/100751/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_cute_girls.jpg[height=500]
.Happy protesters surround army convoy of 4,000 not so happy soldiers on 1989-05-20. Ciro can't help but to think the <<politically-incorrect,politically incorrect>> idea that the military <<uneducated-masses,look considerably younger and poorer/less uneducated than the Beijing masses>>. https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-06-04/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_troop_truck_night.jpg[height=500]
.A student from an art institute plasters the neck of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goddess_of_Democracy["Goddess of Democracy"] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/民主女神[民主女神]) statue on 1989-05-30. Replicas have of course been erected elsewhere, and when the CCP falls one day, this _will_ be rebuilt, obviously. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/06/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos/100751/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_sculpt_goddess.webp[height=600]
.An old lady tells those rowdy overpriviledged students that they were complaining for no reason, and that in the <<cultural-revolution,good old Mao days you would be lucky to get any food at all>>, and that they should just go the fuck home  on 1989-05-31 (Ciro might or might not have made up the exact content of the conversation). https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/06/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos/100751/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_old_lady.webp[height=500]
[[tiananmen-girl-strife]]
.A young woman is caught between civilians and Chinese soldiers, who were trying to remove her from an assembly near the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on 1989-06-03. AP Photo/Jeff Widener. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/06/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos/100751/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_girl_strife.jpg[height=400]
.A dissident student asks masses of sitting soldiers to go back home on 1989-06-03. Great shot composition by AP Photo/Jeff Widener. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/06/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos/100751/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_announce_soldiers.webp[height=500]
.Godzilla <<li-peng>> crushing the Tiananmen Square protests with his green eye laser beams. https://en.uncyclopedia.co/wiki/File:Li_at_Tiananmen_Eyebeams.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_at_Tiananmen_Eyebeams.jpg[height=600]
.Protester covered in blood while holding an army helmet on 1989-06-04. There is also footage of that moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=63&v=lXJ6gHFME0w[] which explains that the man claims his face was cut by a soldir by using the edge of the helmet. This other photo: https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2019-06/4/12/asset/buzzfeed-prod-web-02/sub-buzz-29641-1559664105-1.jpg?downsize=1600:*&output-format=auto&output-quality=auto[] shows the cut on his head better. https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-06-04/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_helmet.jpg[height=500]
.Bodies with gun wounds at the mortuary at Shuili Hospital (水利医院太平间, Hospital of the Ministry of Water Resources of China, https://goo.gl/maps/xAy55T3sydW8X81M6[Google maps], https://bkso.baidu.com/item/水利医院[Baidu], https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20190531/tiananmen-square-protest-photos/[New York Times Chinese report]), about 8km West of Tiananmen Square. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/world/asia/tiananmen-square-protest-photos.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_Shuili_Hospital_dead.jpg[height=500]
.A Chinese couple on a bicycle take cover beneath an underpass as tanks deploy overhead in eastern Beijing on 1989-06-05 by AP Photo/Liu Heung Shing. This photo one is almost poetic. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2021/06/04/2003758586 contains another wider picture of the same bridge at a different time. https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/06/1989-tiananmen-square-protests-photos/100751/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_bicycle_bridge.jpg[height=600]
.Family members try to comfort a mother who has just learned of her son's death after he was killed by soldiers at Tiananmen Square, June 4. TODO what's her name? An association https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Mothers[Tiananmen Mothers] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/天安门母亲运动[天安门母亲运动]) was created after the events. https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/family-members-try-to-comfort-a-grief-stricken-mother-who-news-photo/640454591[Getty source]. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/gabrielsanchez/pictures-tiananmen-square-anniversary[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_crying_mother.webp[height=500]
.The morning after the military crackdown of the pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, workers clean their posters from bulletin boards. Resume <<censorship>> as usual. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/gabrielsanchez/pictures-tiananmen-square-anniversary[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tiananmen_message_board_cleanup.webp[height=500]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU-RuR-qO4Y Democracy by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen[Leonard Cohen] (1992). In this interesting song, the Canadian singer suggests that after events such as the fall of the Soviet Union and <<tiananmen>>, greater freedom and democracy would actually first come to the USA, and not to those other countries, the refrain says: "Democracy is coming to the USA" and at one point "It's coming to America first". This is probably because when there is such an adversarial situation such as the cold war, it tends to also make democracies more like dictatorships, as they become readier and readier for war, and thus weakening civil rights, see e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism[McCarthyism]. Related: <<evil-west>>. The song also criticizes several failures of American democracy, such as social injustice and inequality, suggesting that the newer more peaceful world would help solve them. This is a refreshing take on democracy that has gives it a <<democracy-is-a-religion,less religious view>>.
video::DU-RuR-qO4Y[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[liubukou-massacre]]
===== Liubukou massacre (六部口惨案)
The source website of the photo below is by French journalist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_Gauthier[Ursula Gauthier], who explains how those photos were taken by one of the students of the group, who later asked her to take the photos abroad to publish them.
The students were some of the last to leave after the crackdown, and they were trying to escape through a small street that leads into https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27an_Avenue[Chang'an Avenue] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/长安街[长安街]) when the tanks came at high speed near Liubukou crossroads half mile West of Tiananmen square, and not all students were able evade the tanks.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/jun/01/china.johngittings2 mentions that some bodies had to be scrapped-off the street.
Ursula was later kicked out of China in 2015 after commenting that the CCP had ulterior motives for giving their condolences to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2015_Paris_attacks[November 2015 Paris attacks]. Interesting fact: Ciro was actually less than 1km away from one of the Paris attacks on that night, at his home, and first learnt about what had happened when people started calling to see if he was fine.
The name of the driver of the tank that overran students was reportedly discovered in 2014 as https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/吳彥輝[Wu Yanhui (吴彦辉)], who was aided by <<operation-yellowbird>>. This was based on an witness who had shouted "Remember Tank 106". The study was done by Chinese scholar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Renhua[Wu Renhua] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/吴仁华[吴仁华]).
One of the injured survivors was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_Zheng[Fang Zheng] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/方政[方政]). At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHlXF9nTYJ4 方政:在六部口,坦克追杀袭击和平撤离的学生 he claims on an interview with <<voa>> that the students were peacefully evacuating.
.Bodies run over by tanks by the road near Liubukou crossroads (六部口) after the Tiananmen Square Protests were crushed in the morning of 1989-06-05. http://www.ursulagauthier.fr/tiananmen-15-minutes-dapocalypse/[Source].
[[tiananmen-songs]]
===== Tiananmen Square Protests songs (六四事件歌曲)
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JTWXqUPQ7I "China" by Joan Baez from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaking_of_Dreams[Speaking of Dreams (1989) album]. Folk.
video::-JTWXqUPQ7I[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OOlXJs4I8k "The blood is on the square" by Phillip Morgan from https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Square-Philip-Morgan/dp/B001H5S7OS[1990]. Folk.
video::6OOlXJs4I8k[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAZK4apK8Bg Same Cry (Feat. L.T.; Explicit) by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Jin[MC Jin] from the 2004 album "The Rest Is History'. Hip hop American born Hakka Chinese.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7uk0-vlpP0 "Nothing to My Name (一無所有)" by Cui Jian (崔健) from 1986, therefore around the time of <<chinese-student-demonstrations-1986>>
** Lyrics and translation https://eastasiastudent.net/china/mandarin/cui-jian-nothing-to-my-name/
** Chorus: "你合适跟我走" which translates to "When will you walk with me?" Could be talking directly to the Government.
** The singer is/was very popular, the song was composed in 1986, but was very popular at the time of the protests, and became kind of a hymn.
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cui_Jian#Tiananmen_and_aftermath
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_to_My_Name | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/一无所有_(歌曲)
[[nothing-to-my-name]]
video::m7uk0-vlpP0[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8lWiWaSTtg History's wound (历史的伤口) 1989-5-28 song by several <<taiwan,Taiwanese>> singers
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/历史的伤口
** Lyrics: https://mojim.com/cny100375x11x1.htm
video::F8lWiWaSTtg[youtube,height=400,width=600]
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdE4Ehte4uU "The square (廣場)" by Li Zhi (李志) from 2019. Slow/sad mood pop/rock.
** https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jun/2/li-zhi-singer-missing-china-cracks-down-tiananmen-/ the singer disappeared from public view in June 2019 and his songs were purged from public listings
** https://medium.com/@sunlitmount/forbidden-songs-of-li-zhi-square-for-tiananmen-massacre-at-june-4th-1989-f22e7e2dc21a lyrics and translation
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Zhi_(singer)
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L_qz7LuqVU "The flower of freedom" (自由花) from 1989
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/自由花
video::9L_qz7LuqVU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
Other good lists:
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/六四歌曲 Wikipedia page with an infinite list of songs
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8vMVrLBiW4&list=PLNRZ41lXl9e5iAXH_94DHiLPx_a9Yn711 六四学运 歌 playlist by 杰克 .龙光复民国天下为公
* https://coconuts.co/hongkong/lifestyle/from-80s-rock-to-patriotic-anthems-6-songs-associated-with-tiananmen-square/
* https://www.hongkongfp.com/2016/06/04/the-last-gunshot-the-musical-legacy-of-the-1989-tiananmen-massacre/
For non-Tiananmen songs see: <<anti-dictatorship-songs>>.
[[tank-man]]
===== Tank Man (坦克人)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/坦克人
Good list of all known photos: https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/05/30/the-other-tank-man-photographs/
A list of Tank Man parodies can be found at: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/tank-man
TODO: can't find a Tank Man ASCII art! How is that possible? Behold!
Tank Man                         |
by Ciro Santilli          00     |
2021 CC-BY-SA 4.0          \\  +-|-+
\\/   /|-+o
\\--+ / /o
/|\\ |/ /oo
|     / ----- /oo
|    /       /oo
|   +-------+oo
|   oo+---+ooo
00     |   oo     oo
\\  +-|-+
/ ----- /oo
/       /oo
+-------+oo
oo+---+ooo
oo     oo
/||\
|--|
o||0
/\
https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/l2wqbg/ascii_art_of_tank_man_%E5%9D%A6%E5%85%8B%E4%BA%BA_from_tiananmen_square/gkdbe5d suggested a simpler one that has been in use with Chinese characters:
[[tank-man-emoticon]]
占占点人
* the first three characters look like tanks (unrelated meaning)
* the fourth character looks like, and actually means person
So once a gain, <<chinese-characters-are-insane>>.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrbwFxd1c-I Michal Jackson's Tank man performance in Munich (1997) The Cirque du Soliel "accidentally" showed Tank Man imagery for 4 seconds in a Beijing theater on a related 2013 act "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour": https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/15/world/asia/tank-man-cirque-soleil/index.html but it was removed on future performances.
Other tankman spoofs:
* https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/505 in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon[Doraemon] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/哆啦A夢[机器猫]), a Japanese cartoon that is very popular in China, <<wife>> loves it. It is more commonly known in China simply as 机器猫 (mechanical cat)
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeFzeNAHEhU CNN video of Tank Man:  but not showing removal, ridiculous, is there a full raw footage somewhere? Subset uploaded to GitHub: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/168[].
video::YeFzeNAHEhU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSbx352cn8A Several quick cuts by CBS news that give a good overview of the incident, including him being pushed away by other protesters at the end.
.Arthur Tsang's photo of Tank Man. https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/05/30/the-other-tank-man-photographs/[Source].
.Stuart Franklin's wider view photo of Tank Man. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tankman_new_longshot_StuartFranklin.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tank_Man_new_longshot_Stuart_Franklin.jpg[height=600]
.Terril Jones photo taken at ground level with Tank Man on background and men running away on the foreground. The photo was only published in 2009. https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/05/30/the-other-tank-man-photographs/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tank_Man_ground_level.jpg[height=600]
.Photoshop of Arthur Tsang's photo of Tank Man with huge rubber ducks replacing the tanks. Inspired by a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSo5MqQVwCY[huge inflatable rubber duck sculpture floating in Hong Kong in 2013]. Watermark reads "weibo.com/weibolg" on <<weibo>>, which is confirmed by https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/04/tiananmen-square-online-search-censored[The New York Times].  https://petapixel.com/2013/06/05/yellow-duck-version-of-tank-man-photo-goes-viral-amidst-chinese-censorship[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tank_Man_ducks.jpg[height=600]
[[lego-tank-man]]
.Rough https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego[Lego] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/樂高[乐高]) model of the Tank Man scene. A Lego <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>> can be seen at https://twitter.com/MidnightMitch/status/1412887665113018371[], many people replied with that at: https://twitter.com/LEGO_Group/status/1412743232270876675[]. A fake Lego advertisement video has also been made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wphTAEQusLk[]. https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1499216-tank-man[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Lego_Tank_Man.png[height=400]
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VI[Final Fantasy VI] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/最终幻想VI[最终幻想VI]) battle screen style depiction of tank man by Cody Walton by it8Bit. https://www.it8bit.com/post/25860395424/unknown-rebel[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tank_Man_FF6.jpg[height=600]
[[tank-man-cc-by-sa]]
.Tank man drawing by Ciro Santilli. The only CC BY-SA 4.0 representaion of Tank Man found on the web? And the prettiest. Created manually with GIMP. This can be very useful e.g. if you are posting <<stack-overflow>> answers about image processing, e.g.: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20737061/merge-images-side-by-sidehorizontally/63575228#63575228 It was of course taken down later on because it was considered spam: <<stack-overflow-political-image-answer-placeholder-2021>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Tank_Man_drawing_by_Ciro_Santilli_CC_BY_SA.png[height=500]
.Xi Jinping erasing tank man by Twatical. Easy mp4 download: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/357[]. The character shown is "碾". TODO understand the <<slang,slang>>. https://twitter.com/Twatical_/status/1357377135573401601[Source].
image::https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1429315/121059892-e2a0d380-c7b9-11eb-88f0-cacdefab548c.gif[height=500]
[[tank-man-song]]
====== Tank man song by Xu Lin (坦克人,作曲家:徐琳)
This song is amazing!!!
Video uploaded to GitHub: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/185
Official tablature on Xu Lin's blog: http://xulin1523.blogspot.com/2016/01/blog-post_26.html
https://www.nchrd.org/2018/10/xu-lin/ on <<chinese-human-rights-defenders>> says he was arrested in 2017 for <<picking-quarrels>>, and released on September 2020 at the completion of his sentence. This dude was actaully China, what a hero. https://chinachange.org/2018/07/28/guangdong-activist-xu-lin-tried-on-charges-of-stirring-up-trouble-for-writing-songs/ talks about his trial in 2018.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym88UOz5ZC8 Video on Xu Lin's official YouTube channel
video::ym88UOz5ZC8[youtube,height=400,width=600]
我是坦克人 +
I am Tank Man +
站在天安门 +
I stand at Tiananmen +
面对坦克车队 +
I face the tank column +
从容挺出身 +
I calmly come and stand (? confirm) +
广场人潮涌 +
A tide of people has rushed the square +
群情正沸腾 +
The feelings of the people are boiling right now (正 == short of 正在?) +
发出正义呼声 +
The voice of justice is calling +
结束一党专政 +
To finish the One Party Dictatorship +
国家人人有份 +
Everyone has a share of the country +
岂容他们独吞 +
How can we put up with them taking more than their fair share? (岂容) +
自由天赋权利 +
Free natural rights +
岂可葬于铁轮 +
How can they be buried under the Iron Wheel? (TODO why Iron Wheel? https://cd.hwxnet.com/view/fkkhdjaknlgbnolg.html mentions possibly Buddhist metaphor "Cast iron wheels. According to the Buddhist legend, the torture instrument used to squeeze evil spirits in hell.") +
谁挡了谁的路 +
Who is standing on whose way? +
谁是谁的敌人 +
Who is whose enemy? +
谁是正义一方 +
Who is on the side of the righteous? +
谁是历史罪人 +
And who are the enemies of History? +
你们的枪炮是人民造 +
Your guns were made by the People +
你们的俸禄是民脂民膏 +
Your salaries were paid by the people's taxes (民脂民膏 is a poetic way of putting it that references historical events apparently) +
为什么枪口对着人民 +
So why are the guns being pointed at the people? +
犯下这罪恶天理难饶 +
Those who commit this crime, can hardly be forgiven by the Heavenly Principles (天理 is a concept from Song Dynasty Confucianism, "heavenly principles", a type of "feudal ethics" according to Pleco and 1 +
民主是世界的必行之道 +
Democracy is a necessary Path of the world +
实行了民主大家都好 +
Once democracy is implemented, everyone will be better off +
不要做独裁的镇压工具 +
Don't be a tool of suppression of the Dictatorship +
还不快停车把头调 +
Quickly stop the tanks, and correct your point of view +
[[tiananmen-square-protests-keywords]]
===== Tiananmen Square Protests keywords (天安门广场抗议关键词)
* 六四学潮, which is also very close in form to the earlier: <<chinese-student-demonstrations-1986>>
* https://qz.com/698990/261-ways-to-refer-to-the-tiananmen-square-massacre-in-china/ 261 ways to refer to the Tiananmen Square Massacre in China
[[tiananmen-leaders]]
===== Tiananmen square protest student leaders (六四学运学生领袖)
Lists: https://qz.com/1618805/the-1989-tiananmen-student-leaders-on-chinas-most-wanted-list/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Gang | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/劉剛_(1961年)
[[operation-yellowbird]]
====== Operation Yellowbird (黄雀行动)
[[zhou-fengsuo]]
====== Zhou Fengsuo (周锋锁)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhou_Fengsuo | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/周锋锁
After <<ciro-santilli>> started his campaign for freedom of speech in china in 2015, Zhou Fengsuo published on Twitter in 2015-05-30 when he had 36K followers at the time: https://twitter.com/ZhouFengSuo/status/604461488716144640 (https://archive.is/8d2lt[archive]) linking to Ciro Santilli's Stack Overflow account:
The commies have messed with the wrong guy's <<ciro-santilli-mother-in-law-jail,mother-in-law.>>"
一个程序员在专业网站上发布六四和法轮功的消息,目的是触怒中共,封杀网站,从而激起程序员的反抗。因为岳母被抓半个月。
[[chai-ling]]
====== Chai Ling (柴玲)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai_Ling
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/柴玲
She was cute and energetic! :-)
Famous anti-<<peoples-daily>> speech:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRAmL1D8R-4
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81V1bZEus5I
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1765&v=846AtqraCYg
人民日报,胡说八道! +
欺骗人民,良心何在! +
不是不报,时候不到! +
People's Daily, +
Full of nonsense +
Lying to the people, +
Where's your conscience? +
You may think you're safe, +
But your time will come. +
Also transcripted at: http://www.tsquare.tv/chinese/film/ghp04.html from <<the-gate-of-heavenly-peace-1995>>.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRAmL1D8R-4 (https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/197[GitHub reupload]) Chai Ling People's Daily speech in Tiananmen Square protests  (柴玲—六四学运—国民日报,胡说八道!).
video::gRAmL1D8R-4[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[tiananmen-square-protest-documentaries]]
===== Tiananmen square protest documentaries (六四事件纪录片)
====== The Gate of Heavenly Peace (1995)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gate_of_Heavenly_Peace_(film)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/天安门_(纪录片)
Chinese transcript: http://www.tsquare.tv/chinese/film/ghp00.html
[[chinese-student-demonstrations-1986]]
===== 1986 Chinese student demonstrations (八六学潮)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_Chinese_student_demonstrations
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/八六学潮
The prelude to <<tiananmen>>.
For example, Cui Jian (崔健) <<nothing-to-my-name,"Nothing to My Name (一無所有)">> song was composed in 1986, and later became a <<tiananmen-songs,major Tiananmen Hymn>>.
[[dissidents]]
== Dissidents (持不同政见者)
Related sections:
* <<other-openly-dissident-users-on-stack-overflow>>
[[chinese-dissidents]]
=== Chinese dissidents (中国持不同政见者)
Other sections:
* <<tiananmen-leaders>>
* <<people-arrested-for-reporting-on-the-2019-corona-virus>>
* <<t-shirt>>
* from <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>:
** <<terminus2049>> contributors: Chen Mei (陈玫), Cai Wei (蔡伟), Xiao Tang (小唐)
** <<fuck-xuexiqiangguo>> creator Tang Wenzheng (唐文正)
* <<cartoonists>>
* <<gfwfrog>>
* <<peng-shuai>>
Other dissidents:
* Huang Xueqin (黄雪琴) from <<womans-rights>>
* Gong Ping (龔平), AKA 加州老爹 CADaddy (California Daddy)
** https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20201222/34I7BBKPKVCPNKG7XJ2II6ICQ4/ "Chinese YouTuber forced to flee after voicing support for Hong Kong protesters"
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILmu3Q7Rf8 勇武者之歌 (Song of the brave)
** real chinese name from: from https://hk.appledaily.com/china/20201222/AZMBHJHIJZGADMK76Z54M6O6IE/
** TODO Twitter handle if it wasn't entirely deleted?
** https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsbdz3lXyyvBz7hMDNXHT7w
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cai_Xia[Cai Xia] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/蔡霞[蔡霞]), https://chinadigitaltimes.net/space/Cai_Xia by <<china-digital-times>>
Retired teacher at <<central-party-school>> living in the USA.
She criticized <<xi-jinping>> in private online meeting, and the audio was leaked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEBHVsHlPeI
** 2020-06-12 https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2020/06/translation-former-party-professor-calls-ccp-a-political-zombie/ "TRANSLATION: FORMER PARTY PROFESSOR CALLS CCP A 'POLITICAL ZOMBIE'" by <<china-digital-times>>
** 2020-08-21 https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3992140 she was expelled from from the CCP, and she said she was happy.
** 2021-08-02 https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/xia_chinausrelations_web-ready.pdf China-US Relations in the Eyes of the Chinese Communist Party, published by <<hoover-institution>>
* https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/monitor-08182020091653.html "Jailed <<wechat>> User Says Chinese Police Monitor Overseas Accounts Too". Gao Zhigang.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Guangcheng[Chen Guangcheng] (陈光诚). The blind dude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDqYMXxH09Y "Chinese dissident tells story of escaping tyranny and finding hope in America" by "Fox News" (2020-08-26) supporting Trump's reelection.
* 2021-08 Ge Yulu staring into security cameras: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1008142/watching-the-watchers
Not sure if these are dissidents or not:
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhao_Wei[Zhao Wei]
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/趙薇[赵薇]
** https://baike.baidu.com/item/赵薇/139401 up 2021-08-30
** https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-27/top-chinese-star-zhao-wei-clipped-on-country-s-internet
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Wu
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/吴淖米[], SexyCyborg, "机械妖姬"
** https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1341572058006736897 <<tank-man>> clip. But it might be just to show that Chinese have freedom of speech? Not sure.
** wiki quote: "In November 2019, Wu was detained by Chinese authorities for an interstitial Wall Street Journal interview expose piece on Chinese censorship in an episode of Netflix's Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj."
but that is really poorly stated and links to her blog as reference: https://medium.com/@therealsexycyborg/shenzhen-tech-girl-naomi-wu-part-3-defunding-deplatforming-and-detention-140fed4b9554[]. There she says she says the video was used without out of context without her permission, and that she always tries to avoid sensitive topics.
But in any case, she walks the line.
** https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1281934477430681601 "Naomi on a Saturday night, complaining about the lack of available FOSS anti-censorship options to help her fellow Chinese access the global Internet. FML I should pack some snacks to take with me..." It's hard to understand what she means.
** https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1340495054733905922 "I'm Cantonese, I've been in countless private WhatsApp and Telegram groups where these issues were openly discussed in our dialect, and countless Mainland <<wechat>> groups with that perspective- trust me, I know quite a lot more about this than some illiterate randos from the US."
** So either she is anti-CCP, or she is part of the most advanced <<soft-power>> program ever made
==== Lists of Chinese dissidents
Other lists:
* Wikipedia list of Chinese dissidents
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_dissidents
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华人民共和国被捕政治犯列表
* https://cppc1989.blogspot.com/ 中國政治犯關注 China Political Prisoner Concern. Chinese blog with an infinite list of Chinese political prisoners.
* 中国近年文字狱事件盘点 (List of events in which Chinese writters were persecuted for their writing) by https://twitter.com/SpeechFreedomCN
Coverage: 2021-02-26 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/business/china-online-censorship.html
[[chinese-human-rights-defenders]]
===== Chinese Human Rights Defenders (中国人权捍卫者)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Human_Rights_Defenders
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国人权捍卫者
Website: https://www.nchrd.org/
TODO funding.
Based on Washington DC.
[[front-line-defenders]]
===== Front Line Defenders (前线卫士)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_Line_Defenders
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/前線衛士
Website: https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/location/china
Based on Ireland.
[[ai-weiwei]]
==== Ai Weiwei (艾未未)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/艾未未
TODO understand: https://twitter.com/remonwangxt/status/141825341227417600 by <<kuang-biao>> which shows Ai Weiwei morphed into a penis and balls.
* 2021-09-08 https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-activist-ai-weiwei-says-credit-suisse-closing-his-foundations-bank-2021-09-07/ "Chinese activist Ai Weiwei says Credit Suisse closing his foundation's bank account" because of crimes in China, but he was apparently never convicted of any
[[xu-xiaodong]]
==== Xu Xiaodong (Mad Dog, 徐晓冬)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xu_Xiaodong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/徐晓冬
MMA fighter who beat up some kung-fu masters to prove that MMA is more effective than their traditional styles.
As of 2019, he had 14 <<weibo>> accounts blocked (created one, got blocked, created another, got blocked, etc.). Source: https://www.inkstonenews.com/society/chinas-mma-fighter-xu-xiaodong-fight-survival/article/3047417
Profiles and news:
* 2020-01-28 https://www.inkstonenews.com/society/chinas-mma-fighter-xu-xiaodong-fight-survival/article/3047417
* https://independence-of-mind.tumblr.com/post/619590950709329921/武僧一龙被泰拳手ko中国功夫为何不能打-短史记-作者谌旭彬-2017118 "武僧一龙被泰拳手KO,中国功夫为何不能打? | 短史记" (Yi Long was KO'ed by Muai Tai. Why can't Chinese kung fu can't strike? A short history.)
.Uphold science, eradicate superstition "崇尚科学 破除迷信" 1999 poster by the CCP created as an <<falun-gong,anti-Falun Gong>> propaganda likely based on a http://www.people.com.cn/GB/channel1/10/20000710/137317.html[more widely widespread slogan] (https://web.archive.org/web/20090428155413/http://www.people.com.cn/GB/channel1/10/20000710/137317.html[archive]). So why is Xiaodong not being supported by the CCP now that he is beating superstition back into its place? Once again, <<censorship-makes-countries-poorer>>. The poster features images related to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_space_program[Chinese space program] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华人民共和国航天[中华人民共和国航天]), which is a major undertaking of the CCP and widely used propaganda point. https://chineseposters.net/themes/falun-gong.php[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Uphold_science.jpg[height=600]
.1962 propaganda poster for the Chinese Space program. "Uphold science, eradicate superstition"? Nah, the moon is obviously populated by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang'e[Chang'e] ( (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/嫦娥[嫦娥]), the Chinese Goddess of the moon, which is one of the names for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Lunar_Exploration_Program[Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (中国探月工程,嫦娥工程)]. Other good https://chineseposters.net/themes/space-program.php[Chinese space program posters]. Also note the emphasis on making babies, the <<one-child-policy>> comes to mind. https://chineseposters.net/themes/falun-gong[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Space_program_Change.jpg[height=500]
.Reject superstition, accept Chang'e (破除迷信, 崇尚嫦娥) side-by-side.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Reject_superstition_accept_change.jpg[height=500]
.2017 Xu Xiaodong (MMA) Vs. Wei Lei (Tai Chi) summary GIF. https://www.inkstonenews.com/society/chinas-mma-fighter-xu-xiaodong-fight-survival/article/3047417[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xu_Xiaodong_taichi.gif[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XwXaCbfIGw 2017 Xu Xiaodong (MMA) Vs. Wei Lei (Tai Chi) full fight.
video::0XwXaCbfIGw[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[programthink]]
==== Programthink (编程随想)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/编程随想的博客 (there is no English page as of January 2020)
Very popular Chinese language anonymous blogger that publishes software programming tutorials and political content since 2009, often negative about the CCP, in particular <<censorship,anti-censorship>> and <<brainwashed-by-usa,anti-CCP-brainwashing>>.
He was likely arrested in 2021 according to an anonymous report to <<rfa>>, consistent with an abnormally long lack of posts:
* https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/arrest-06142021121609.html original <<rfa>> report
** https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/blogger-06152021111534.html official translation of report
* https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2021/06/translation-program-think-notorious-anonymous-chinese-blogger-feared-detained/ English report on <<china-digital-times>>
Some people started wishing he will come back on comments: https://github.com/programthink/books/issues/96[], <<ciro-santilli>> left his at: https://github.com/programthink/books/issues/99[].
* https://program-think.blogspot.com/ The blog. Blocked in China with the <<censorship,rest of Blogspot>>:
** 2020 categorized summary of the best posts of all time: https://program-think.blogspot.com/2020/01/11-years-blogging.html
* https://github.com/programthink
** https://github.com/programthink/zhao manually curated database of maps relationships between Chinese politicians, this was the first <<github-gov-takedowns,GitHub gov-takedown from china>>: https://github.com/github/gov-takedowns/blob/36e76c34682d2b52eef405ca6f57e1b9ddde3086/China/2016/2016-06-08-programthink-zhao.md[], which specifically points to https://github.com/programthink/zhao/issues/38[].
<<geoscreenshot>>: 2020-09-30 https://github.com/programthink/zhao/issues/38 | https://archive.vn/QKCMi
The full project name is: 太子党关系网络 (network of relations of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princelings[CCP princelings]).
The project is also known as "zhao" which is another <<slang,slang>> reference to "太子党": "赵家人" (zhaojiaren == zhao family): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhao_family | https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/趙家人zh, which is in turn a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhao_(state) or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Zhao[].
* https://twitter.com/programthink
* DW coverage (Chinese): https://www.dw.com/zh/2013德国之声国际博客大赛中文提名博客揭晓/a-16716065 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191202233838/https://www.dw.com/zh/2013%E5%BE%B7%E5%9B%BD%E4%B9%8B%E5%A3%B0%E5%9B%BD%E9%99%85%E5%8D%9A%E5%AE%A2%E5%A4%A7%E8%B5%9B%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E6%8F%90%E5%90%8D%E5%8D%9A%E5%AE%A2%E6%8F%AD%E6%99%93/a-16716065[archive])
* Programthink has also shown interest in <<nineteen-eighty-four>> as mentioned in that section.
Mentions in other sections:
* <<programthink-meant-to-be-used>>
.Programthink uses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker[Rodin's The Thinker sculpture] as its avatar, to encourage people to think for themselves rather than <<censorship,blindly believe the Party>>. https://github.com/programthink/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Programthink.jpg[height=400]
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/arrest-06142021121609.html
[[liu-xiaobo]]
==== Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波, 1955-2017)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiaobo
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/刘晓波
He was abroad in the 80' as a scholar, and then he came back to china in 1989 to support <<tiananmen>>, then he was in and out of jail until he died in 2017.
2020-06 https://baike.baidu.com/item/刘晓波/14900221 (https://web.archive.org/web/20200627130112/https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%88%98%E6%99%93%E6%B3%A2/14900221[]) casually forgot to mention that he might have won the fucking 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, but he seems to be too big to delete the entire page?
It is interesting how <<hao-haidong>> was fully deleted, the page was only locked. It also does not mention all the times he was in jail, notably after Tiananmen, only some of them.
2017-11 Baidu did mention the Nobel prize however: https://web.archive.org/web/20171114165644/https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%88%98%E6%99%93%E6%B3%A2/14900221 it was edited out later.
The article also makes it very clear that his 2009 sentence was "a fair one", and that the organization he worked for in the 90', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_for_a_Democratic_China[Federation fora Democratic China] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/民主中国阵线[民主中国阵线]) was funded by the CIA. Wikipedia does not mention that however, and of course, Baidu content does not need citations.
[[guo-wengui]]
==== Guo Wengui (郭文贵)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guo_Wengui
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/郭文贵
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO3pO3ykAUybrjv3RBbXEHw Chinese YouTube
* 2019-07-24 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3019840/chinese-fugitive-tycoon-and-member-trumps-mar-lago-also-spy "Is Guo Wengui, Chinese fugitive tycoon and member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago, also a spy?"
[[hao-haidong]]
===== Hao Haidong (郝海东, 2020)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hao_Haidong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/郝海东
Hao is widely considered one of the best Chinese soccer players of all time, and he was the top scorer for the Chinese national team of all time as of 2020, and one of the only two Chinese to show on https://iffhs.de/showLegends/men[IFFHS Legends] page which as of 2020 contains only 52 players including the likes of Pelé and Maradona.
He participated in the 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup[FIFA World Cup] (世界杯) qualifiers, and therefore also at the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_FIFA_World_Cup[2002 FIFA World Cup proper] held in South Korea and Japan, which is the only World Cup China classified for as of 2020, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup[in which it failed to score a single goal].
On 2020-06-03, one day before <<tiananmen>> anniversary, Hao appeared with his wife https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Zhaoying[Ye Zhaoying] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/叶钊颖[叶钊颖], married 2019), who was also a badmington star, on <<guo-wengui>>'s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4aN5h0RqD8&t=4496[], and spoke up against the CCP:
* https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3087684/chinese-sports-couple-hao-haidong-and-ye-zhaoying-face-being-wiped
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/9ae91df2-a6ec-11ea-898e-b21b9a83f792_story.html
As a result, his son https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runze_Hao[Hao Runze] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/郝潤澤[郝润泽], from a previous marriage) who is also a soccer player and had nothing to do with it was also sacked from the Serbian club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FK_Radnički_Niš[Radnicki Nis] in which he played one week later due to pressure from China: https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3088385/hao-haidongs-son-sacked-serbian-club-radnicki-nis-after-pressure The wiki page says that https://www.b92.net/sport/fudbal/vesti.php?yyyy=2020&mm=06&dd=09&nav_id=1693254 says the team says it was just a coincidence and that his contract had ended.
The most interesting thing about all of this, is how Hao's name was completely <<internal-censorship,nuked form the Chinese Internet>>, making this a fantastic opportunity to unambiguously document a censorship event. One is reminded of:
* <<censorship-of-images-in-the-soviet-union>>
* <<nineteen-eighty-four>> "Every record has been destroyed or falsified" quote
The keyword is clear: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm[iconoclasm] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/破坏偶像主义[破坏偶像主义])
* Zhihu: <<zhihu-censorship-of-hao-haidong>>
* Baidu Baike: <<baidu-baike-censorship-of-hao-haidong>>
* <<peoples-daily>>
** down as of 2020-06-14
*** 2016-03-01 http://m.people.cn/%2Fn4%2F2016%2F0301%2Fc1807-6348778.html 媒曝克罗地亚劲旅签郝海东之子 https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1elR0wSiJPIJ:m.people.cn/%252Fn4%252F2016%252F0301%252Fc1807-6348778.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=ubuntu
*** 2016-01-27 IFFHS评选世界足坛48大传奇 郝海东孙继海入围 http://fj.people.cn/n2/2016/0127/c364151-27639502.html https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:snlknobl8UMJ:fj.people.cn/n2/2016/0127/c364151-27639502.html+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=ubuntu
*** 2012-02-01 郝海东儿子入选国少队 被赞有天赋 https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fjs.people.cn%2Fhtml%2F2012%2F02%2F01%2F73894.html&oq=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fjs.people.cn%2Fhtml%2F2012%2F02%2F01%2F73894.html&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.1036j0j4&client=ubuntu&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
** but they forgot to search and remove from the older versions of website, newbs:
*** 2003-03-21 http://www.people.cn/GB/channel2/507/4897/4898/4907/200303/21/142115.html 三后卫改四后卫 申花看防郝海东不遗余力
*** 2003-03-17 http://www.people.cn/GB/channel23/853/854/200303/17/141331.html 僵尸王:恐郝不是恐中
*** 2001-09-14 http://www.people.cn/digest/200107/14/tt0901401.html 甲A联赛大连队止住连胜势头
*** 2001-02-21 http://www.people.cn/digest/200102/23/tt022310.html 米卢评点中国足球四大前锋
Online reactions:
* https://pincong.rocks/article/19974 "郝海东这个事情,让你匪进退两难" on <<pincong>>
Listings of the 2002 squad:
* https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/koreajapan2002/teams/team/43812/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_FIFA_World_Cup_squads#China_PR
* https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/china-line-up-for-a-team-photo-13-june-2002-at-the-seoul-news-photo/51528311 is the best photo available, clearly showing Hao first on top left, and https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/the-china-team-line-up-before-the-fifa-2002-world-cup-news-photo/969574 from the qualifiers with Hao on top right
* http://www.qiuball.com/zgzq/21354.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20191121030909/http://www.qiuball.com/zgzq/21354.html[archive]) Contains squad photo with Hao on top left.
Google bomb at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/111
Random info about Haidong:
* 2017 Haidong playing foot volley with Nadal with a tennis ball for a minute: ;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEUwQdynbh8 in 2017. A photo: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/spanish-tennis-player-rafael-nadal-attends-a-charity-match-news-photo/856091560 https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/spanish-tennis-player-rafael-nadal-attends-a-charity-match-news-photo/856091560 contains an image of the event, and Nadal holds what seems to be a soccer video game featuring Haidong on the cover.
.Hao Haidong (in white) playing for the China national team against the Hong Kong's national team in a World Cup Asian zone qualifying match at Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground in 2004. Request for https://twitter.com/fjamie013[James Fridman] to remove Haidong from the picture in reference to <<censorship-of-images-in-the-soviet-union>>: https://twitter.com/cirosantilli/status/1308670186640289792[]. Photo by: <<scmp>>. https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3087684/chinese-sports-couple-hao-haidong-and-ye-zhaoying-face-being-wiped[Source].
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgSwRwFBNFA Hao Haidong's top 10 goals, all with CCTV 5 watermark :-)
video::https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgSwRwFBNFA[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[zhihu-censorship-of-hao-haidong]]
====== Zhihu censorship of Hao Haidong (知乎审查郝海东)
<<zhihu>> (and the rest of the Chinese Internet) basically nuked a gazillion articles that mentioned him, including old ones that had nothing to do with his political views.
Ciro estimates that very likely thousands of Zhihu posts have been removed, as of 2020-06-14 the Google query "郝海东 site:zhihu.com" had 3,970 results, and every single on Ciro clicked had been taken down.
Not nuked yet as of 2020-06, but nuked after, with before-after archives:
* The Zhihu "Hao Haidong" topic itself https://www.zhihu.com/topic/20080590/intro
** up 2020-06-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20200606161335/https://www.zhihu.com/topic/20080590/intro
** down 2020-06-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20200614114534/https://www.zhihu.com/topic/20080590/intro
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/59782534 C罗的每次高光,都让郝海东出尽洋相
** up 2020-06-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20200606124255/https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/59782534
** down 2020-06-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20200614094722/https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/59782534
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/133206885 郝海东为什么要炮轰许家印?
** up 2020-06-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20200606122802/https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/133206885
** down 2020-06-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20200614092838/https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/133206885
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/64992079 巅峰期的孙继海 郑智 郝海东 范志毅怎么排名?
** up 2020-06-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20200606123634/https://www.zhihu.com/question/64992079
** down 2020-06-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20200606123634/https://www.zhihu.com/question/64992079
Older archives that were nuked before Ciro managed to archive them on 2020-06-06:
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/22038423
Nuked as per Ciro's eyewitness on 2020-06-06 without web archive, but could be found either on Google search or Zhihu search before those engines had properly cleared, taking Google caches and web archiving them + web archiving 404's as of 2020-06-14:
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/23084831 如何评价足球运动员高峰?他与郝海东比的水平怎么样? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.zhihu.com/question/23084831&client=ubuntu&hs=1uU&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/23416213 如何评价孙继海、郝海东、范志毅 ? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:SEWC3OjJEYoJ:https://www.zhihu.com/question/23416213&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/23939434 如果巅峰期的郝海东有机会去欧洲五大联赛踢球会取得什么样的成就? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OFjOxog6jiwJ:https://www.zhihu.com/question/23939434&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/27060872 巅峰时期的范志毅、郝海东、李铁、李玮锋、孙继海、郑智 放到现在的中国足球应该出于什么水平? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.zhihu.com/question/27060872&client=ubuntu&hs=fvU&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/29833583 如何评价郝海东认为"英国人不会踢球"? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:jk7qxGW7v64J:https://www.zhihu.com/question/29833583&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/34155456 如何评价郝海东? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.zhihu.com/question/34155456&client=ubuntu&hs=0bp&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/47528985 郝海东是亚洲第一前锋吗? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.zhihu.com/question/47528985&client=ubuntu&hs=IxU&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/51867870 我同学说郝海东不如孙兴民 我该如何说服他? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.zhihu.com/question/51867870&client=ubuntu&hs=MJ&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/52500232 武磊和巅峰时期的郝海东比如何? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.zhihu.com/question/52500232&client=ubuntu&hs=kzU&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/62419235 如何评价 郝海东怒斥许家印全华班:放屁!不是为了推动国足。 这一观点。? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4CCnPhViGBUJ:https://www.zhihu.com/question/62419235&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/66555590 郝海东是一个什么样的人? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sunDGY8ULEEJ:https://www.zhihu.com/question/66555590/answer/245224350+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=ubuntu
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/282906877 如何看待郝海东两次评价 C 罗?
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/282934169 怎么看郝海东再评价C罗? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XfY4ZPvzz7sJ:https://www.zhihu.com/question/282934169&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/345693653 巅峰时期的范志毅、郝海东相当于五大联赛哪些球员的实力? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.zhihu.com/question/345693653&client=ubuntu&hs=6gp&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/384834709 武磊的水平能超过郝海东吗? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FXIkLaGzyQoJ:https://www.zhihu.com/question/384834709&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/394366737 怎样看待最近郝海东微博频繁开炮怼人? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_LbOGbsGFQkJ:https://www.zhihu.com/question/394366737&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/394503875 为什么有些人黑郝海东? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:GcqkvJGKCJYJ:https://www.zhihu.com/question/394503875&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/395225037 如何看待郝海东说的:"智慧是天生的"? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.zhihu.com/question/395225037&client=ubuntu&hs=i2U&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/128537416 C罗粉丝不好惹?郝海东深夜发文教粉丝独立思考,见证历史转折点 https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/128537416&client=ubuntu&hs=bip&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/134027258 【球星故事】郝海东为何被称为"郝大炮"? https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zPBVhvs9SsUJ:https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/134027258&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/138465029 郝海东争议言论登热搜,媒体人:他逐步从大炮变成公知网红 https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:z7STI_34eocJ:https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/138465029&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/141049893 郝海东被网友群嘲的五大原因 https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:pEppZJ8K8VIJ:https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/141049893&strip=1&vwsrc=0
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/145740098 塞超主帅:郝润泽不像郝海东,他更擅长于防守 And here is an archive from 2020-06-06 saying that the article was being modified to meet some guidelines: "文章被建议修改:违反知乎社区管理规定 作者修改内容通过后,文章会重新显示。" https://web.archive.org/web/20200606122827/https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/145740098
Nuked answers:
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/19806854  中国队 2002 世界杯为什么会出线?
** question up 2020-06-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20200615140650/https://www.zhihu.com/question/19806854[archive])
** 2015 archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20151114093037/https://www.zhihu.com/question/19806854
** top answer from 2015 archive https://www.zhihu.com/question/19806854/answer/19357252 is dead 2020-06-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20200615142339/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://www.zhihu.com/question/19806854/answer/19357252
** existing answers do show Hao in videos however of course
Ye also nuked:
* https://web.archive.org/web/20200618190141/https://www.zhihu.com/topic/20058377
* https://web.archive.org/web/20200618190052/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JF35Ecar-a8J:https://www.zhihu.com/topic/20058377&client=ubuntu&hl=en&gl=uk&strip=1&vwsrc=0
[[baidu-baike-censorship-of-hao-haidong]]
====== Baidu Baike censorship of Hao Haidong (百度百科审查郝海东)
This served as good evidence of the obvious fact that <<baidu-baike>> is highly censored.
Hao Haidong's page https://baike.baidu.com/item/郝海东/357512[]:
* up 2020-06-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20200606060916/https://baike.baidu.com/item/郝海东/357512
* down 2020-06-14 (say "抱歉,您所访问的页面不存在..." and redirects to home page) https://web.archive.org/web/20200614094144/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%83%9D%E6%B5%B7%E4%B8%9C/357512
Article about the Chinese national soccer team https://baike.baidu.com/item/中国国家男子足球队[]:
* archive of 2020-06-02 <<google-cache>>: https://web.archive.org/web/20200615071212/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:M5UlBifrUzsJ:https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E5%9B%BD%E5%AE%B6%E7%94%B7%E5%AD%90%E8%B6%B3%E7%90%83%E9%98%9F
* archive from 2019-06-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20190624110500/https://baike.baidu.com/item/中国国家男子足球队
* archive 2020-06-15: https://web.archive.org/web/20200615072004/https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E5%9B%BD%E5%AE%B6%E7%94%B7%E5%AD%90%E8%B6%B3%E7%90%83%E9%98%9F
The article used to mention Hao extensively. He was:
* second on the 知名人物 (famous people)
* was the 进球最多者 (top scorer), a category which as completely removed
* the list 射手榜 (top scorers?) is still there but casually starts at 宿茂臻 with 27 goals, and skips Hao which has 41
* an entire section about Hao was removed entitled "永远的9号——郝海东" and saying how amazing he was, including a picture
Ye Zhaoying's page https://baike.baidu.com/item/叶钊颖[]:
* up 2020-06-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20200614104922/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Akp6GBnsRNhQJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fbaike.baidu.com%2Fitem%2F%E5%8F%B6%E9%92%8A%E9%A2%96
* down 2020-06-14 (redirects to home page) https://web.archive.org/web/20200614105126/http://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%8F%B6%E9%92%8A%E9%A2%96
Ye won the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BWF_World_Championships[BWF World Championships] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/世界羽毛球锦标赛[世界羽毛球锦标赛]), a biannual tournament organized by the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badminton_World_Federation[Badminton World Federation] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/羽毛球世界联合会[羽毛球世界联合会]) that is likely the most prestigious in the world twice in 1995 and 1997, and her name had to be removed from the list of winners in Baidu https://baike.baidu.com/item/世界羽毛球锦标赛[]:
* 2017-11-26 archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20171126131320/https://baike.baidu.com/item/世界羽毛球锦标赛 showing her as winner in 1995 and 1997
* 2020-06-08 archive of <<google-cache>> https://web.archive.org/web/20200615080701/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:llXWVx3NX8kJ:https://baike.baidu.com/item/世界羽毛球锦标赛 before censors nuked her
* 2020-06-15 archive after censors nuked her: https://web.archive.org/web/20200615080807/https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E7%BE%BD%E6%AF%9B%E7%90%83%E9%94%A6%E6%A0%87%E8%B5%9B[]. In 1995 and 1997 it seems that one the female singles (女子单打), even though they did happen in 1993 and 1999. How curious!
The fact that badminton is a single player sport is great in this case, as it just puts more emphasis on her name as opposed to Hao's multiplayer soccer game:
* 1995 Ye Zhaoying vs Han Jingna BWF finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrO5g58tSUE Bracket: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_IBF_World_Championships
* 1997 Ye Zhaoying vs Gong Zhichao BWF finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiOi1bmZHo4 Bracket: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_IBF_World_Championships
Hunan website about Gong Zhichao confirming that: https://web.archive.org/web/20200618174728/http://www.enghunan.gov.cn/hneng/AboutHunan/HistoryCulture/Celebrities/201508/t20150807_1816328.html
Hao Runze's page https://baike.baidu.com/item/郝润泽
* still up 2020-06-14 but locked: https://web.archive.org/web/20200614105842/https://baike.baidu.com/item/郝润泽
* and casually forgets to mention that he is the fucking son of Haidong, which was likely edited out recently, but there is no edit history in Baidu Baike. <<google-cache>> was already from 2020-06-08 and missed the pre-edit. What a shame
* The last entry says "2020年5月31日,郝润泽在塞尔维亚超级联赛第27轮尼什工人客场挑战纳普里达克的比赛中,首秀替补出场打入一球,帮助尼什工人实现绝平。" and also casually forgets to mention that he was fired two weeks later.
.In 2020, due to her criticizing the Chinese government together with her husband <<hao-haidong>>, all mention of badminton player Ye Zhaoying (叶钊颖) removed from <<baidu-baike>>. In this particularly funny case, her wins from the 1995 and 1997 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BWF_World_Championships[Badminton World Federation World Championships] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/世界羽毛球锦标赛[世界羽毛球锦标赛]) women's singles were simply removed, as if that year the event hadn't happend. In the neighbouring years 1993 and 1999, and every other year, they did of course happen. An https://web.archive.org/web/20171126131320/https://baike.baidu.com/item/世界羽毛球锦标赛[earlier web archive] shows of course that she was the winner in those years.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Baidu_Baike_Badminton_World_Federation_censored_1995_1997_wins_by_Ye_Zhaoying_wife_of_Hao_Haidong.png[height=600]
[[chloe-zhao]]
==== Chloe Zhao (Zhao Ting, 赵婷, 2021 Oscar winner, 获第93奥斯卡最佳电影和导演奖)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloé_Zhao
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/趙婷
Born and raised in China, sent to study in the UK by her wealthy father Zhao Yuji 赵玉吉 at age 15 and later moved to US, but retained Chinese citizenship as far as is publicly known.
In 2013 she told the magazine Filmmaker https://web.archive.org/web/20130814185314/https://filmmakermagazine.com/people/chloe-zhao/[] (later removed from the website):
It goes back to when I was a teenager in China, being in a place where there are lies everywhere. You felt like you were never going to be able to get out. A lot of info I received when I was younger was not true, and I became very rebellious toward my family and my background. I went to England suddenly and relearned my history. Studying political science in a liberal arts college was a way for me to figure out what is real. Arm yourself with information, and then challenge that too.
TODO was that the only comment she ever made or is there more?
Won the 2021 Oscar (93rd) for best picture and best director on 2021-04-25 for her film Nomadland 无依之地.
And at the same time she was also working on an idiotic superhero movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternals_(film) to be launched by Disney in the future, and therefore they would likely want it to be released in China, let's see how that will go.
On 2021-04-26 reports emerged that her win was being censored in China: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-censors-nomadland-director-chloe-zhaos-oscar-win-11619440550 Unlike <<hao-haidong>> however, the order was much more specific: to censor only the fact that she won the Oscars.
As of 2021-04-27 her <<baidu-baike>> page https://baike.baidu.com/item/赵婷/22214113 was still up: https://web.archive.org/web/20210427075523/https://baike.baidu.com/item/赵婷/22214113  let's see how long it lasts. But the page failed to mention the minor detail that she on the Oscar. The comment section, which we're unable to archive contained two types comments:
* she's an American citizen now, not Chinese, just it wasn't reported. But no one has any proof.
* she won the Oscar
https://web.archive.org/web/20210413095903/https://baike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=c9fdac1dcf27bdd1280ac9e1&lemmaId=22214113&fromLemmaModule=pcBottom contains a prediction that she would win the Oscar based on earlier recent wins.
The page for the 93rd Oscar mysteriously does not exit however: https://baike.baidu.com/item/第93届奥斯卡金像奖 unlike that of all others: https://baike.baidu.com/item/第92届奥斯卡金像奖 (https://archive.ph/wip/gGGtn[archive]) We can't find an archive either, but it is overwhelmingly likely that it was  created and later deleted. As of 2021-06-21, https://baike.baidu.com/item/奥斯卡金像奖/739020#5 (https://archive.ph/bZFfe#5[archive]) contains a list of all the prizes given so far, linking to the respective per year pages, and the 93rd appears listed but mysteriously without a link.
On <<zhihu>> the topic 93rd Oscar "第93 届奥斯卡金像奖" https://www.zhihu.com/topic/21594057 was deleted:
* up 2021-04-09 https://archive.ph/dZAHE with 13 questions
* down 2021-04-27 https://archive.ph/wip/LYwOb
The Chloe Zhao topic https://www.zhihu.com/topic/20175085/hot was still up: 2021-04-27 with 8 questions: https://archive.ph/wip/CI3vz but funnily that website is so shit that it still links to some deleted questions e.g.: which used to read https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/368060294 "赵婷获第93届奥斯卡最佳导演奖,有思想的女孩子最可爱" but is down https://archive.ph/wip/6eiTl
Some archived deleted threads:
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/420850041 (https://www.zhihu.com/question/420850041[archive]) 如何评价中国导演赵婷作品《无依之地》获得第 77 届威尼斯电影节最高奖金狮奖? What do you think about Chloe Zhao's work nomadland that won the 77th Venice Film Festival
The page of the film is still up 2021-04-27 https://baike.baidu.com/item/无依之地/50656178 (https://web.archive.org/web/20210413021635/https://baike.baidu.com/item/无依之地/50656178[archive]).
Some coverage:
* Chinese
** https://www.dw.com/zh/赵婷如何短短数日从骄傲变辱华/a-56793491 on <<dw>>
.<<chloe-zhao>> holding the 2021 Oscars for best director and best film. The fact that she won was censored in China because she made one single negative comment about the CCP in 2013.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Chloe_Zhao_won_93rd_Oscar.jpg[height=500]
[[xu-zhangrun]]
==== Xu Zhangrun (许章润)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xu_Zhangrun[Xu Zhangrun]
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/许章润[许章润]
List of external links to essays: https://github.com/zhangrunxu/zhangrunxu.github.io
Other related repositories:
* https://github.com/FreeXZR/Free-Xu-Zhangrun
Key articles seem to be:
* 2020 Viral Alarm: When Fury Overcomes Fear about <<covid>> which added him to <<people-arrested-for-reporting-on-the-2019-corona-virus>>
** https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/master/许章润-愤怒的人民已不再恐惧.md[]. Text taken from: https://github.com/AngryFear/FearAndHope[].
** English translation: http://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/viral-alarm-when-fury-overcomes-fear
* 2019 Imminent Fears, Immediate Hopes 我們當下的恐懼與期待
** https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/blob/master/许章润-我们当下的恐惧与期待.md[]. Text taken from https://hk.news.yahoo.com/許章潤-我們當下的恐懼與期待-全文-105141515.html[] and converted to simplified for the <<little-pink>>s
** commented English translation: https://chinaheritage.net/journal/imminent-fears-immediate-hopes-a-beijing-jeremiad/
** https://github.com/AngryFear/FearAndHope GitHub repository with only that essay
[[vicky-xu]]
==== Vicky Xu (许秀中)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicky_Xu
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/许秀中
* https://twitter.com/xu_xiuzhong
Lead author of the <<uyghurs-for-sale,Uyghurs for sale report>>.
Smear posts:
* https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1220777.shtml by <<global-times>> "'Bewitched' Vicky Xu who fabricates Xinjiang story stokes anti-China sentiment in Australia: observer"
* https://www.163.com/dy/article/G36KA6P80551MFOX.html 一个售卖肉体和灵魂的人——澳大利亚反华女妖许秀中 (A person who sells body and soul - Australian anti-Chinese female demon Vicky Xu) with a Photoshopped image entitled in Chinglish: "A tipster of Vicky Xu's private life - maintain sexual relationships with over 10 men at the same time". The real question in most men's mind is: "where do I sign up?".
Praise posts:
* https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-09/vicky-xu-exposing-chinas-human-rights-abuses/11954794
[[howey-ou]]
==== Howey Ou (Chinese Great Thunberg, 欧泓奕, 环保活动家, 2019)
The Chinese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Thunberg[Great Thunberg]. Environmental activist. She speaks English too.
Mandatory <<zhihu>> question: https://www.zhihu.com/question/354163461 "如何看待中国首位气候活动家欧泓奕?" (What do you think about Chinese climate activist Howei Ou?)
* https://twitter.com/howey_ou
* https://weibo.com/u/7305598806
* 2020-09-25 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3103548/greta-thunberg-criticises-china-after-climate-striker-ou-hongyi "Greta Thunberg criticises China after climate striker Ou Hongyi held over protest" detained in Shanghai
* 2020-06-20 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/20/chinas-first-climate-striker-cant-return-to-school "China's first climate striker warned: give it up or you can't go back to school"
.Howey Ou skipped classes for a week to protest about climate change in front of the local government office in Guilin, <<guangxi>>, in 2019. TODO transcription of posters. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3094873/howey-ou-chinas-version-greta-thunberg-pays-price-climate[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Howey_Ou_2019.jpg[height=400]
[[university-student-dissidents-abroad]]
==== Chinese university student dissidents abroad (外交中国大学持不同政见者学生)
* 2020-07 Dong Wuyuan 洞物员 (alias Horror Zoo)
** TODO real name? 洞物员 is the same sound as zoo in Chinese (动物园) which matches the English alias
** https://twitter.com/horror_zoo
** https://twitter.com/FakeNewsOfChina account run by Dong, with many funny anti-CCP images
** https://www.voachinese.com/a/the-reach-of-the-state-07032020/5487187.html "党国的手伸向海外每一个角落,要你封口"
** https://hk.appledaily.com/us/20200703/AFQNIBP76SMDK7KXJIR5Q2QAXQ/ "Police try to silence Chinese students abroad with threats to families"
** https://hk.appledaily.com/china/20200703/VR4EYZ4UHTECBUILPY5UBJILSQ/
[[opengl106]]
===== Ji Ziyue 季子越 (2020-06, opengl106, 神楽坂梓月)
Aliases: opengl106 神楽坂梓月
* https://github.com/opengl106
** most projects are university course assignments: https://github.com/opengl106/UCAS-assignments-19 | https://github.com/cirosantilli/UCAS-assignments-20 and are generic computer science topics, so maybe not so specialized in bioinformatics
* https://twitter.com/opengl106
** https://web.archive.org/web/20200627190104/https://twitter.com/opengl106 apology post
** 4k followers on Twitter a the time, but small GitHub, so any other external fame source?
Media coverage:
* https://tw.news.yahoo.com/陸生罵-支那廢物-事後歉-辜負祖國-155037705.html
** says they are a student from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_Chinese_Academy_of_Sciences[UCAS] studying abroad, claims family name is 季 and male, Twitter says they are <<gay-rights,non-binary/pansexual>>
* https://www.dwnews.com/中国/60201684/疑有学生在海外发辱华言论中国科学院大学发紧急声明图 contains real photos taken from some public account, appearing dressed as female
** the university UCAS issued a statement on this saying that would be punished
* <<global-times>> accused them of "reviling the victims of the Nanjing Massacre" https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1192875.shtml true or false?
* https://www.pincong.rocks/article/20899 <<pincong>> "洁洁良第二?疑似中科院大学学生因推特发表「不当言论」被校方关切", commentary compares the case <<tian-jialiang>>
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/403769563 "如何评价中国科学院大学硕士生季子越在社交媒体发表恨国精日言论?" on <<zhihu>>
[[tian-jialiang]]
===== Tian Jialiang (田佳良, 2018)
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/田佳良事件
Alias: 洁洁良
[[hong-kong-dissidents]]
=== Hong Kong dissidents (香港持不同政见者)
Related: <<hong-kong>>.
[[joshua-wong]]
==== Joshua Wong (黄之锋)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Wong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/黃之鋒
* https://twitter.com/joshuawongcf
* 2020-09-24 arrested: https://hongkongfp.com/2020/09/24/breaking-hong-kong-activist-joshua-wong-arrested-on-suspicion-of-participating-in-an-unauthorised-assembly/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMl1jDjptDk Lessons in Dissent: How One Hong Kong Schoolboy Started A Revolution by Journeyman Pictures (2019)
video::kMl1jDjptDk[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[agnes-chow]]
==== Agnes Chow (周庭)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Chow
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/周庭
* https://twitter.com/chowtingagnes
[[jimmy-lai]]
==== Jimmy Lai (黎智英)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Lai
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/黎智英
Founder of <<apple-daily>>.
[[western-dissidents]]
=== Western anti-CCP dissidents
For pro-CCP dissidents see: <<ccp-apologists>>
[[serpentza-laowhy86]]
==== Winston Sterzel (SerpentZA) and Matthew Tye (laowhy86)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Sterzel
The biggest China expat YouTube channels, and the also collaborated together a lot.
As of 2019, they seem to have moved to the USA because they can't stand harassment by the Chinese government.
Due to their balanced opinions, fluent Chinese, not being <<falun-gong>>, and having lived in China for such a long time, the offer what is arguably the one of best CCP criticisms.
SerpentZA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7mAGnY4jh4Ps8rhhh8XZg
laowhy86 YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChvithwOECK5g_19TjldMKw
ADVChina joint YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNPa8fSXzzAZuT9859GVhg
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ADVChina/
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDV4s9c9sfQ "How I Got my Family Out of China" published by laowhy86 on 2020-07-08.
video::kDV4s9c9sfQ[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7CPqROtanA "How I Escaped From China - The Untold Story" published by laowhy86 on 2020-07-01.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDV4s9c9sfQ "#65 China Is Getting Worse | Laowhy86 and SerpentZA" published on 2020-04-05. SerpentZA and laowhy86 interview on "China Unscripted", a sister channel of <<china-uncensored>>. This marks them clearly on the side of "openly criticizing the Chinese government".
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6PI91n2f9o "China Expels Foreign Press to Protect Its Lies" published on 2020-03-23 during/just after <<covid>>.
video::b6PI91n2f9o[youtube,height=400,width=600]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXpPpFzLcZg "China's Winnie The Pooh BAN Explained" published on 2019-10-28 discusses <<winnie-the-pooh>>.
video::NXpPpFzLcZg[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[lele-farley]]
==== LeLe Farley (乐乐法利)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyYlGTZL-HnnX_UcGkVFH7A
[[aaron-dewitt]]
==== Aaron DeWitt (The Chinese Tea)
Online presence:
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9xhMZtll7ssDnSwFRTS_mQ
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkApnaIZFJw&list=PLvRF9X9O58vKO1GGejwzbLaKBPaW4WdTD contains a playlist he forgot to delete with his own videos, including the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFOh9AoAv2U "TikTok Hired me" URL and: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3hwdsbh6-M "I worked for the Chinese State Department – 中公教育党委 – offcn CCP Committee"
* https://thechineset.com his online shop with anti-CCP memorabilia
* https://www.facebook.com/gayshuaige
** https://www.facebook.com/TheBritishHongKong/posts/httpsyoutubekfoh9aoav2u/10157024077436792/ links to
* https://www.reddit.com/user/dontlikegina is likely his account, as it is basically about him self advertising, and coherent with him likely being gay based on appearance in videos
** https://www.reddit.com/r/BoycottChina/comments/j6iahm/naming_the_racist_companies_that_dont_hire_black/ by dontlikegina points to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uFGG "Naming the Racist Companies that Don't Hire Black People", see below
* https://www.instagram.com/letsdewitt/
Deleted some of his videos, so likely either legal trouble or intelligence request.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3hwdsbh6-M "I worked for the Chinese State Department – 中公教育党委 – offcn CCP Committee" (2020-08-21), previously titled "Working for the Chinese State Department" is the most eyepopping video based on its description from http://web.archive.org/web/20201102122911if_/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3hwdsbh6-M&feature=youtu.be[archive] (video not visible, only description, likely CIA deletion request):
Interviewing potential spies for for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, on behalf of 中公教育 (offcn) - a $30B+ company, funded and managed by the Chinese Communist Party. I worked there from 2019 to 2020. I have lived in China from 2014 - 2020, speak Mandarin Chinese, and am now blacklisted by the Chinese government - a badge of honor.
so holy fuck, Ciro actually feels this one could honestly be a <<spy,CIA deletion request>>.
offcn is the short name for the company 中公教育党委 which literally means "Chinese Public Education Party". TODO what do they do exactly? They seem to have strong CCP party links: http://edu.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0510/c1006-29977260.html[], maybe they are a "corporate training" company for the CCP itself.
Discussions threads:
* https://www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/comments/ie85jr/i_worked_for_the_chinese_state_department_中公教育党委/ claims to be a self post which was later deleted "(I own this video, Taiwan is mentioned multiple times)"
* https://sirmax1.wordpress.com/2020/08/22/i-worked-for-the-chinese-state-department-中公教育党委-offcn-ccp-committee-via-r-wikileaks/
* https://www.reddit.com/r/LIHKG/comments/ies9jh/i_worked_for_the_chinese_state_department_中公教育党委/ on ther <<reddit>> <<lihkg>> backup
* https://www.reddit.com/r/saraba2nd/comments/ieiq7m/外国人爆料i_worked_for_the_chinese_state_department/
<<we-dont-hire-blacks-by-aaron-dewitt-2020>> is the second most eye popping one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFOh9AoAv2U "TikTok Hired Me in China: Exposing their Lies, Insider Leaks" is not archived at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uFGGunRxc "Naming the Racist Companies that Don't Hire Black People". According to https://web.archive.org/web/20201007015433if_/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6uFGGunRxc&feature=youtu.be (viewable 2020-12-31) the original title was "Spilling the Chinese Tea" and the description is:
Discussing companies that operate in America and refuse to hire black people. These companies avoid following U.S. EEO laws because they're headquartered in mainland China, a country that does not protect people of color from racial discrimination.
The video shows a call with a black man (TODO who is that) where he talks about anti-black racism on employment in China. Nothing eye-popping, mostly references <<we-dont-hire-blacks-by-aaron-dewitt-2020>>. Mentions he is under NDA and cannot reveal the name of the company.
==== the woke global times
* https://twitter.com/BadChinaTake
* https://wokeglobaltimes.com/
Anonymous anti-CCP mostly <<twitter>> commentary about China, large part of it is making fun of right wing Americans saying stupid things about China with witty comments.
The website contains a small number of high quality analysis articles.
[[media]]
== Media (媒体)
Sources of information pertinent to this repository.
* <<russian-state-media>>
=== Commentary media
The following offer interesting commentary, but not to be used as primary sources:
* https://china-journal.org
* https://www.chinafile.com Some good articles. "ChinaFile is an online magazine published by the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society", based in New York.
* https://www.iyouport.org/
[[biased-media]]
=== Biased media (偏见媒体)
I consider the media in this section biased, and never cite it for fact-checking.
[[chinese-government-media]]
==== Chinese government media (中国政府媒体)
* Phoenix TV
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Television
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/凤凰卫视
** https://freebeacon.com/national-security/cruz-seeks-to-shut-down-chinese-propaganda-station-phoenix-tv/
[[national-radio-and-television-administration]]
==== National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA, 国家广播电影电视总局)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Radio_and_Television_Administration
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/國家廣播電視總局
[[xinhua]]
==== Xinhua News Agency (新华通讯社, 新华社, CCP media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinhua_News_Agency
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/新华社
* http://www.xinhuanet.com/
** http://news.cn/ mirror of the above
* https://twitter.com/PDChina
===== New China TV
https://www.youtube.com/user/ChinaViewTV
International propaganda by <<xinhua>>.
Basically as covert as Falun Gong media: <<flg-transparent>>.
[[internal-media-of-china]]
===== Internal media of China (内参)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_media_of_China
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/内参
The name for this top document is the "Big Reference" (大参考), since the 70s down to today in the 2020s.
TODO: there must be websites hosting some level of those, right?
At https://youtu.be/846AtqraCYg?t=615 the BBC mini-documentary series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can%27t_Get_You_Out_of_My_Head_(TV_series)[Can't Get You Out of My Head (2021)] Episode 04 "But What If the People are Stupid" comments that Xinhua had 3 levels of privileged real news for people higher and higher up in the party hierarchy, and that the top one had extra large letters so that the old men who were in that category could read it. See also: <<jiang-zemin-magnify,Jiang Zemin with magnifying glass>>.
This is a good example of <<different-levels-of-truth>>.
[[cctv]]
===== China Central Television (CCTV, 中国中央电视台, CCP media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Central_Television
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国中央电视台
* 2011 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12321492 "China TV 'substitutes Top Gun for air force footage'"
[[cgtn]]
====== China Global Television Network (CGTN, 中国环球电视网, CCP media)
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgrNz-aDmcr2uuto8_DL2jg
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国环球电视网
<<cctv>>'s international branch in English, China's <<voa>>.
* 20201-02-04: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/04/media/cgtn-uk-license-ofcom/index.html lost UK license
[[peoples-daily]]
===== People's Daily (人民日报, CCP media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Daily
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/人民日报
Website: http://people.cn/
The website has per-language and per province subdomains, e.g.:
* http://en.people.cn/
* Province subdomains
** http://js.people.cn/ Jiangsu
* http://fj.people.cn/ Fujian
As of 2020, some deleted articles show the home page instead of the article, without redirection. Some examples can be seen at: <<hao-haidong>>.
But older pages just show 404.
[[global-times]]
===== Global Times (环球时报, CCP media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Times
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/环球时报
* https://twitter.com/globaltimesnews https://archive.is/7oshu
* https://www.facebook.com/globaltimesnews/
[[china-daily]]
===== China Daily (中国日报, CCP media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Daily
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国日报
English-language propaganda newspaper.
Responsible for <<china-watch>>.
[[china-radio-international]]
===== China Radio International (CRI, 中国国际广播电台, CCP media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Radio_International
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国国际广播电台
* http://www.cri.cn
* http://english.cri.cn/
Operates for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCRW which is mentioned at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46557096 from <<spy>>. WTF, you have to obviously block them!
[[pro-chinese-government-media]]
===== Pro-Chinese government media (pro-CCP media)
These might be independent, but they are clearly pro CCP and thus cannot be trusted:
* https://kknews.cc/ refers to <<falun-gong>> as an "Evil Cult" (邪教) https://kknews.cc/zh-mo/entertainment/lj4y9yb.html (http://archive.is/osBDv[archive])
* http://facts.org.cn/ anti-religion website in English, basically an English <<kaiwind>>
[[guancha]]
====== Guancha News (观察者网)
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/观察者网
Website: https://www.guancha.cn/
YouTube channel, mostly Chinese commentary videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJncdiH3BQUBgCroBmhsUhQ
Ideology:
* anti-<<falun-gong>>: https://www.guancha.cn/politics/2019_09_18_518339.shtml
[[kaiwind]]
====== Kaiwind (pro-CCP media)
http://kaiwind.com/
Anti-religion, and notably, anti-<<falun-gong>> website in Chinese.
It must be said however that they do contain at least some information that seems to be true/interesting.
Including open secrets that every Falun Gong believer knows about but does discuss much publicly, e.g. details of <<li-hongzhis-family>>, and Sun Senjun's account.
Ciro has no proof that this is linked to the government, but it is very likely, even the Chinese embassy website links to it:
* http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/lj/t36322.htm
* https://web.archive.org/web/20180414233331/http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/lj/t36322.htm
[[falun-gong-media]]
==== Falun Gong media (法轮功媒体)
A great example of how <<falun-gong>> is <<flg-organized,highly organized>>.
Likely highly de-facto controlled by <<li-hongzhi>>, and extremely <<flg-transparent,lacking clear full disclosure of their affiliation>>.
For example, Li refers to Falun Gong media as "our media" in <<flg-canon>>, and has given many many talks in gatherings specific to those media. E.g. in the https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/20090606L.html[Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting (2009)]:
<<making-cult-members-work-long-hours-for-free,You have really been working hard>>. [...]
You have your path, while human beings have their affairs. You have things that you need to do. Don't give any concern or attention to political things or what happens between parties. Of course, our media don't really have a choice about reporting on it, since those are probably things that ordinary people are interested in.
It could be argued that those media are not "directly" controlled by Li Hongzhi, and Ciro does believe that they were created independently of him initially.
But without doubt they are controlled by his top followers, and if Li Hongzhi ever gave directions, which Ciro has no proof he has ever done, then those media would follow.
And since Li has given such direct endorsement to it, contributing has become a de-facto religious obligation, and one which constitutes a great part of <<making-cult-members-work-long-hours-for-free>>.
Ciro believes without evidence that Li Hongzhi gives specific directives to the top tenants of those organizations from time to time when important issues arise. Ciro believes that one of such issues is the support of Donald Trump: <<flg-trump>>.
Furthermore, Li appears to directly cite some of the main media in Canon or talk at their conferences as Canon.
One thing must be said in their favour however: they are incorruptible in their fight against the CCP.
* https://medium.com/@Ben_D_Hurley/the-agenda-that-drives-falun-gongs-media-organisations-62201ddeff66[]: Ben Hurley's 2019 overview, notably hitting on <<flg-transparent, transparency issues>>
List of smaller ones that didn't deserve a section:
* https://www.secretchina.com/
* https://fofg.org/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_of_Hope
** https://www.soundofhope.org/
** https://www.bayvoice.net/gb/
* http://lotus-sacre.com/
* http://dongtaiwang.com
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freegate
* https://hongzhi.li/ nice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_hack[domain hack]
* https://www.qi-gong.me/
* http://www.zhengjian.org/
* https://www.huaglad.com/ 澳洲新闻 Australian news website, links to <<epoch-times>> on footer: https://web.archive.org/web/20201101122433/https://www.huaglad.com/
* https://visiontimes.com/ Vison Times, Vision China Times, 看中国
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_China_Times
** https://www.visiontimes.com.au/
** https://www.secretchina.com/
===== Epoch Media Group
At some point both <<epoch-times>> and <<ntdtv>>, previously "independent", were added under a single umbrella organization, known as the "Epoch Media Group".
[[epoch-times]]
===== The Epoch Times (明慧网, Falun Gong media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/大纪元时报
Falun Gong's newspaper with news for "general public consumption" an no clear affiliation indication.
In <<flg-canon,canon>>: https://gb.falundafa.org/chigb/jiangfa10_3.htm or https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/20091017L.html "Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting" from 2009-10-17:
There are so many things you have to do. You have to do your ordinary job and do it well, you have to manage your family's affairs, and as Dafa disciples you need to make time for Fa-study and exercises; you also need to clarify the truth, as well as participate in Dafa projects, such as The Epoch Times.
In 2020-11-08 https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/11/8/n12534746.htm the Epoch Times published a poem by Li Hongzhi, just after Trump was announced to lose the presidential elections, see also:  <<flg-trump>>.
* https://www.epochweekly.com/
[[ntdtv]]
===== New Tang Dynasty Television (NTD, NTDTV, 新唐人電視台, Falun Gong media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tang_Dynasty_Television
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/新唐人電視台
Li speaking to New Tang conference in <<flg-canon,canon>>: https://big5.falundafa.org/chibig5/jiangfa9_3.htm 在新唐人電視討論會上的講法 or https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/jjyz3_73.htm "Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting" from 2009-06-06:
Things are changing rapidly as the Fa-rectification forges ahead and as Dafa disciples' righteous thoughts grow stronger. The energy emitted by NTDTV is very strong
"Fa-rectification", amazing jargon, see also "Cult-speak" from <<orange-papers>>.
Related shows:
* https://www.youtube.com/user/Laowaikanzhongguo Laowai kan Zhongguo 老外看中國
* https://www.youtube.com/user/NTDOffTheGreatWall Off the Great Wall
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVWMVBg1RPrDlakdmbyTKBA Zooming In with Simone Gao
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3HxxpOJ0WWIuZsb7FtSLWQ The BL (The Beauty of Life) No clear indication, but obvious since intro video shows Falun Gong images.
* https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYSHqbSBDD0X3NC-ze8z5xQ 中國禁聞 (Chinese Forbidden News). Nice name, a play of words on "新闻" (xinwen vs jinwen)
[[china-uncensored]]
====== China Uncensored (pro-Falun Gong media)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgFP46yVT-GG4o1TgXn-04Q
Hosted by Chris Chappell.
Syster interview podcast channel: China Unscripted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o1sZefER0E The three makers of China Uncesored appear on the videos.
Older shows had an "ndt.tv" water mark on top right, e.g. a 2013 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmMvS3lgJBs
The video description also links to http://e.ntd.tv/NTDChinaUncensored which is now down, but has archives such as https://web.archive.org/web/20130321071835/http://e.ntd.tv/NTDChinaUncensored which suggest a redirect back to the YouTube channel:
Redirecting to...
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZZhVHPaO1ziCc9dRPrgbz2KU0aZF7CJ-
TODO why did newer videos remove the water mark and clear link? Did they break links, or just to hide Falun Gong influence?
Home page gives extremely unusual importance to Falun Gong resources, e.g.:
* http://www.chinauncensored.tv/about/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20190426203719/http://www.chinauncensored.tv/about/[archive]) "China Uncensored is available to watch on this website, on YouTube, on New Tang Dynasty Television"
* http://www.chinauncensored.tv/campaigns/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20190512160736/http://www.chinauncensored.tv/campaigns/[archive]) "Chinese police illegally arrested Canadian citizen Sun Qian from her home in Beijing for practicing Falun Gong."
Website credits as of 2020:
* Host Chris Chappell
* Producer Matt Gnaizda: his LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-gnaizda-6598a75/ has a gap from 2009 to 2017, after having graduated from University of California, Berkeley, and worked "regular" jobs. This gap could have been when he converted to Falun Gong and started working for Falun Gong media
** https://twitter.com/mattgnaizda
** https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-matt-gnaizda <<epoch-times>> credits him with several articles between 2005 and 2014
* Humor Ninja Shelley Zhang. She appears  appears to be a professional comedy writer:
** https://twitter.com/shelzhang
** https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelley-zhang-a5741a56/
** https://thechinagirls.wordpress.com/
* https://www.quora.com/How-is-the-YouTube-show-China-Uncensored-funded/answer/Ciro-Santilli
* https://www.quora.com/Is-the-YouTube-channel-China-Uncensored-a-trustworthy-source-of-information-on-China
* https://www.theepochtimes.com/youtube-scraped-most-popular-channel-on-china-politics-from-search-suggestions_2675796.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20190119083517/https://www.theepochtimes.com/youtube-scraped-most-popular-channel-on-china-politics-from-search-suggestions_2675796.html[archive]) <<epoch-times>> highlights the channel "Why YouTube's Most Popular Channel on China Politics Doesn't Show in Search Suggestions"
[[minghui]]
===== Minghui (明慧网, Falun Gong media)
https://en.minghui.org/
Falun Gong's primary "social network"/"Falun Gong"-only news/propaganda website. More Falun Gong specific than <<epoch-times>>.
Literally: clear (明) wisdom (慧) network (网)
Li speaking to Minghui conference in <<flg-canon,canon>>: https://big5.falundafa.org/chibig5/jiangfa10_1.htm
TODO how https://www.clearwisdom.net/ compares?
[[shen-yun]]
===== Shen Yun Performing Arts (神韵艺术团, Falun Gong media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shen_Yun_Performing_Arts
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/神韵艺术团
A good testimony from an ordinary employee from 2013: <<aarvoll-shenyun,Aarvoll's account>>.
Openly directly controlled by <<li-hongzhi>>. He features as director on librettos, e.g. the 2013 one (credited "D. F." (Da Fa) and with his photo).
Shen Yun's headquarters are also located in/near <<dragon-springs>>.
Li mentions Shen Yun in <<flg-canon,canon>>: https://gb.falundafa.org/chigb/jiangfa11_2.htm
On thing Ciro couldn't help but notice is that the "CCP guards beating up Falun Gong people" scenes felt a lot like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_opera[Revolutinary operas] of the <<mao-zedong>> period in their aesthetics. Maybe this is an intentional reference.
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mQ8plzWl9g "They tried to get me to post Chinese propaganda" by J.J. McCullough (2019) talks about Shen Yun and Falun Gong in general, and how he was offered to post anti-Shen Yun propaganda for 500 dollars.
video::2mQ8plzWl9g[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[jennifer-zeng]]
===== Jennifer Zeng (曾錚, pro-Falun Gong media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Zeng
https://twitter.com/jenniferatntd
2005 book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Witnessing-History-Womans-Fight-Freedom/dp/1741144000
[[bannedbook]]
===== bannedbook.org (禁闻网, pro-Falun Gong media)
The main Chinese name is 禁闻网 which stands for "banned news network", and is more accurate than the domain name "bannedbook" since the majority of material published appears to be recent banned articles.
Classifying this as Falun Gong media because most or possibly all of the sidebar recommended websites 推荐网站 are also Falun Gong media e.g. as of 2020-04: https://web.archive.org/web/20200427221744/https://www.bannedbook.org/[] includes <<epoch-times>> and https://hongzhi.li/[], so yeah, not much doubt.
From this we deduce that the "banned book" in the domain name originally likely referred more specifically to the banned Falun Gong sacred books: <<flg-canon>>.
Once again, <<flg-transparent>> is in need.
TODO who is behind this website? They store full text copies of banned articles, e.g. https://www.bannedbook.org/bnews/baitai/20190816/1175647.html is a full text copy of http://yashalong.blog.caixin.com/archives/188877 which is mentioned at: <<nazi>>.
[[tuidang]]
===== Tuidang movement (退党, Falun Gong media)
* https://tuidang.org/
* https://en.tuidang.org/
Falun Gong campaign asking Chinese people to revoke their CCP membership.
Extremely common when <<falun-gong-preaching>> on the streets in touristic areas where Chinese tourists will be present. Fake names will be accepted, so it is obviously just a symbolic act.
A bit less than 10% of the Chinese population are registered CCP members: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Communist_Party[]. So it is not obligatory, and there likely restrictions. But there must also be some kind of benefits involved. See also: https://daily.jstor.org/communist-party-of-china/
[[usa-government-media]]
==== USA government media (美国政府媒体)
** https://www.voa.com/
** https://www.voachinese.com/
** https://www.voacantonese.com/
Partial support:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxun https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/博讯
[[ned]]
===== National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Endowment_for_Democracy
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/美国国家民主基金会
[[boxun]]
====== Boxun (博讯, USA government media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxun
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/博讯
[[china-digital-times]]
====== China Digital Times (CDT, 中国数字时代, USA government media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Digital_Times
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国数字时代
<<ned>>-funded as mentioned e.g. at: https://www.ned.org/china-digital-times-provides-crucial-insight-and-information-about-china-and-the-covid-19/
They have some amazing anti-<<ccp,CCP>> content, notably:
* https://chinadigitaltimes.net/space/Main_Page[Grass-mud-horse Index], mentioned at: <<where-can-i-find-good-words-for-a-keyword-attack>>
* as of 2021, their Chinese content is not well unified with the English one, and is much better, e.g.:
** https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/chronicle-of-major-events list of major events
A scraped mirror of CDT was created on <<github>> pages by Tang Wenzheng from <<fuck-xuexiqiangguo>> is present at:
* https://china-digital-times.github.io/?/
* https://github.com/china-digital-times/china-digital-times.github.io JavaScript SPA that reads data from the data repository, which is stored as JSON (JAMstack)
* https://github.com/china-digital-times/data/ the data
Firs commit  Jun 30, 2019. The first article is from 2010, so maybe it did scrape everything. It appears to be automatically updated daily. The images seem to be re-uploaded to https://statically.io/[], e.g. https://china-digital-times.github.io/?/id/664606 contains https://cdn.statically.io/gh/china-digital-times/files/master/2021/04/image-1617989397104.png which just fetches from GitHub automatically: https://github.com/china-digital-times/files/blob/master/2021/04/image-1617989397104.png[] while the original article https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/664606.html stores images locally: https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/files/2021/04/image-1617989397104.png[]. This approach is more censorship resistant, since all images are under a single domain, so takedown would require a full statically domain takedown, which would break other things. Although CDN blocks are not unheard of, e.g. as mentioned at: https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/267715/is-stack-overflow-accessible-in-china[].
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx28EUiKEUc "From 'fart people' to citizens on China's internet | Xiao Qiang | TEDxLiberdade" by TEDx Talks (2014). Presentation by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiao_Qiang[Xiao Qiang] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/蕭強[萧强]), founder of <<china-digital-times>>. He was a Physicist from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Science_and_Technology_of_China[USTC] who went mad after <<tiananmen>>. <<wife>> also studied there and said that's the most anti-CCP of all big Chinese universities.
video::MCxzMYVvHBg[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=227]
[[hric]]
====== Human Rights in China (organization, HRIC, 中国人权)
* https://www.hrichina.org/en
* https://www.hrichina.org/chs
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_in_China_(organization)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国人权_(组织)
[[hoover-institution]]
===== Hoover Institution (胡佛研究所, USA government media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Institution
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/胡佛研究所
[[jamestown-foundation]]
===== Jamestown Foundation (USA government media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Welle
[[bbc]]
===== BBC (英国广播公司, British government media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/英国广播公司
[[dw]]
===== Deutsche Welle (DW, 德国之声, German government media)
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/德国之声
==== Anti-CCP media
[[bitter-winter]]
===== Bitter Winter (寒冬)
* https://bitterwinter.org/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CESNUR
Italian-based magazine about freedom of religion.
China category: https://bitterwinter.org/category/china/news/
===== Human rigts organizations
* <<chinese-human-rights-defenders>>
* <<front-line-defenders>>
* <<hric>>
[[amnesty-international]]
====== Amnesty International (国际特赦组织)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/國際特赦組織
* https://www.amnesty.org/en/
UK based, had investments from United States and European governments.
[[human-rights-watch]]
====== Human Rights Watch (人权观察)
* https://www.hrw.org/
* https://www.hrw.org/zh-hans
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Watch
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/人权观察
New York based.
==== USA-based media bias
2018 graph that everyone needs to see: https://ei.marketwatch.com/Multimedia/2018/02/28/Photos/NS/MW-GE557_MediaB_20180228115701_NS.jpg
[[voa]]
===== Voice of america (VOA, 美国之音, USA government media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_America
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/美国之音
[[rfa]]
===== Radio Free Asia (RFA, 自由亚洲电台, USA government media)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Asia
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/自由亚洲电台
Website: https://www.rfa.org
Just because they are/were funded/founded by the CIA, it doesn't mean that we can't use their xref:rebel-pepper[amazing satirical cartoons] to fight xref:dictatorship[], right?
[[hong-kong-media]]
=== Hong kong media (香港媒体)
[[scmp]]
==== South China Morning Post (SCMP, 南华早报)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_China_Morning_Post
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/南華早報
<<hong-kong>> based, but bought by <<alibaba>> in 2016, but it still continued to publish censored stuff widely, e.g.:
[[apple-daily]]
==== Apple Daily (苹果日报)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Daily
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/蘋果日報_(香港)
Website: https://hk.appledaily.com/ Fully down 2021, long live <<wayback-machine>>.
Founded by <<jimmy-lai>>.
Pro-democracy. Raided soon after <<hong-kong-national-security-law>> started.
Forced to shutdown 2021-06: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/23/hong-kong-apple-daily-symbol-of-pro-democracy-movement-to-close
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf-qyxEIuHI Hong Kong billionaire's last interview as a free man by BBC News (2021)
[[hkfp]]
==== Hong Kong Free Press
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Free_Press
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/香港自由新聞
Website: https://hongkongfp.com/
=== Media that we are not sure is biased or not
[[caixin]]
==== Caixin (财新传媒)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caixin
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/财新传媒
Beijing based, but does publish stuff that seems to be very sensitive:
* <<covid>> Government fuckups
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-35761277 "China magazine Caixin defiant on censorship of article"
[[videos]]
== Videos (视频)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcZOZrP1P_V5d7RMOKXF1PT70fcfYJpgY[]: <<ciro-santilli>>'s "China Politics" playlist. It is a collection of all sensitive videos he has ever found on YouTube. Ping him if you find any he hasn't included.
Interesting videos that were deleted/made private since he added them:
* 2019-04-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20190424021220/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPnnHCeRH3w the Leica ad: https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/18508009/leica-china-censored-ad-tiananmen-square-protests-weibo Re-upload by <<scmp>>: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcuLZDHLFt8
* 2019-05-18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAEUafI_lyI not on Web Archive, lesson learned
[[funny]]
== Funny (搞笑)
Humour is the greatest weapon against <<dictatorship,dictators>>:
* <<xi-jinping>>
** <<chrysanthemium-xi-jinping>>
** <<winnie-the-pooh>>
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Religious_Affairs_Bureau_Order_No._5 officially named "Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas" (藏传佛教活佛转世管理办法)
* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/3pqljx/zimbabwes_ruthless_dictator_mugabe_wins_chinas/ 2015 Zimbabwe dictator wins Confucius prize
* http://www.miniharm.com/
* South Park S32 E1 "Band in China" (2019), episode criticizing <<censorship,Chinese censorship>>
** free preview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6DI6XuvCwE
** free episode but only for US / Canada... https://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s23e02-band-in-china
** reply from show creators to censorship https://twitter.com/SouthPark/status/1181273539799736320
** BBC's report https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-49968867
* https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EGPZYFeUUAAYMQf?format=jpg&name=large "Tibet, Uyghur, Hong Kong, World" China death knocking door cartoon. TODO source, originally seen at: https://twitter.com/Lawrence_HKer/status/1181026542786203648 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191008075035/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EGPZYFeUUAAYMQf?format=jpg[archive])
* <<life-of-brian-1979>>
* <<zone-theory>>
* <<weibo-logo>>
* <<no-humour>>
[[cartoonists]]
=== Cartoonists (漫画家)
Reasonable lists:
* https://caglecartoons.com/?s=China The website blocks Web Archive.
Other cartoonists/illustrators:
* Greta Samuel
** https://gretasamuel.com/
** https://mobile.twitter.com/samuel_greta
** https://idzpodprad.pl/aktualnosci/chinczycy-groza-smiercia-polskiej-ilustratorce-pracodawca-chce-ja-zwolnic/ "Chińczycy grożą śmiercią polskiej ilustratorce! Pracodawca chce ją zwolnić?¨" Google translates to: "The Chinese are threatening the death of the Polish illustrator! Employer wants to fire her?"
* Rin Sanada (真田鈴) from <<xi-jinping-porn>>
[[rebel-pepper]]
==== Rebel Pepper (变态辣椒, RFA cartoonist)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebel_Pepper
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/王立銘
Real name: Wang Liming (王立铭)
Personal media:
* https://twitter.com/remonwangxt
* https://rebelpeppercartoons.com/
Without a doubt, the greatest anti-Communist joke cartoonist of the 2010s.
As of 2019 he does work for <<rfa>>, so a possible list of all cartoons of this era can be found at: https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/story_archive
His best work can be found scattered throughout this document in the relevant sections.
.Rebel Pepper's self portrait as a perverted pepper (the literal translation of his Chinese name "变态辣椒") used in his Sina and <<tencent>> accounts before those got deleted https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china_watch/2014/08/140827_china_cartoonist[according to the BBC]. https://ecdm.fandom.com/zh/wiki/变态辣椒[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Rebel_pepper.jpg[height=400]
[[kuang-biao]]
==== Kuang Biao (邝飚)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuang_Biao
Sample work:
* <<li-wenliang-by-kuang-biao,Li Wenliang with barbed wire mask>>
* <<trump-twitter-kuang-biao,Trump Twitter ban cartoon>>
==== Scarfolk Council
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarfolk
* https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/
* https://twitter.com/scarfolk
* https://twitter.com/richard_littler
Not about China specifically, but broadly anti-dictatorship, and so much of it applies perfectly!!! With that typical British humour touch of course.
We have to translate the following into Chinese and add to the relevant sections:
** https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/2020/06/unknown-poster-campaign-1970s.html "Unknown Poster Campaign (1970s)", content "For more information please re-read"
** https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/2018/01/loose-tongues-public-information-1977.html "Talking about the contents of this poster is illegal"
** <<scarfolk-public-displays-of-personal-distress-are-unpatriotic,Public displays of personal distress are unpatriotic>>
* <<scarfolk-children-the-cause-of-crime>>
* <<scarfolk-win-your-human-rights,Win your human rights>>
* https://scarfolk.blogspot.com/2020/03/social-distancing-laws-1970.html "Illegal to gather in groups of one". This is a reference to <<covid>>, but it also applies perfectly to the lack of freedom of assembly in China
** https://www.italki.com/post/question-175686 丢面子和丢脸有什么大的区别吗? (What's the difference between the two above.)
* <<scarfolk-whatever-you-do-dont,Whatever you do, don't>>
* <<scarfolk-children-the-cause-of-crime,Children: the cause of crime>>
[[scarfolk-lose-face]]
."Lose face" spoof poster by <<scarfolk-council>> (2020). "Lose Face" reminds one of the popular Chinese expression "miànzi 面子" translated at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(sociological_concept)#Chinese as "face; side; reputation; self-respect; prestige, honor; social standing" and the corresponding "to lose face": (丢脸, 丢面子 https://baike.baidu.com/item/丢面子 on <<baidu-baike>>). https://scarf