Legal Research

Great Firewall of China Descends on Tiananmen Square

By Evan VanDyk

As the rest of the world prepares to observe the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, the Chinese government is taking its usual steps to prevent citizens from talking about it. According to various reports, TV broadcasts have gone black when the issue is brought up and articles have been censored and pages ripped out of foreign- and Hong Kong-based newspapers.

In addition, draconian restrictions on internet traffic have been put in place, including keyword-based censoring and active monitoring. The censors have also blocked websites such as Twitter, Flickr (in case the illegal photo gets shared), various search engines and webmail services.

Not surprisingly, it doesn’t appear that any observances will be permitted in Beijing, and foreign journalists have been banned from the square. The only place in China where mention of the event is permitted is Hong Kong, where commemorations are planned.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on June 03, 2009 (boomark / email).