Hundred Flowers Campaign Redux?
Via Richard, the Chinese government plans to relax internet censorship this summer in advance of the Olympic Games in Beijing. For those of us long frustrated with the ever-unpredictable cyber nanny, this is good news- no longer will we (presumably) need a proxy to access sites such as BBC News or blogs hosted by Typepad and Blogspot.
The cynic in me is reminded of the Maoist era Hundred Flowers Campaign, launched in 1957 when the Chairman solicited criticism from the country's citizens. When Chinese intellectuals responded with complaints about the Communist Party's monopoly on political power and abrogations on free speech, Mao suddenly reversed the campaign and detained a large number of domestic dissidents, labeled them as "rightists" and sent them into labor camps. Historians differ on Mao's motives: some say he launched the campaign in order to weed out undesirable elements, while others believe he was alarmed by popular discontent and compelled to react strongly . In any case, the Hundred Flowers Campaign was but an eerie prelude to the forthcoming Cultural Revolution. The rest, as they say, is history
To the current Chinese leadership, a temporary relaxation of Internet censorship amounts to little more than holding their breath until the Olympics are over. They are undoubtedly aware of the Olympics' political history- of the Mexican government massacring protesting students in 1968 and the Seoul 1988 games triggering the end of South Korea's military dictatorship, to name just two examples. I suspect very little will happen, in practice, as high economic growth and national pride in holding the games should dampen unrest somewhat. Then again, every foreign journalist worth his salt will try to work politics into his reports: from environmental damage to the destruction of the hutongs to the occasional mass protests by factory workers and outlawed religious groups, and any other angle that might intrigue foreign audiences.
The Olympics will focus the spotlight on China as never before, and I would hope that foreign watchers will see the country for what it is: a prospering, developing country with many complex problems but hardly on the verge of revolution or collapse.
February 8th, 2008 - 19:29
I think Richard’s comparison is a bit more apt. If implemented, this policy would be a kind of electronic whitewashing. But I have little doubt that Chinese web postings will continue to be heavily censored throughout the Olympics. They’re not going to erase the keywords built into all their blog- and BBSware, after all.