Highlights
– Supporters of Tibetan autonomy mark the 49th anniversary of failed 1959 revolution with ongoing protests
– “The Great Firewall” will likely stem the spread of online anti-government propaganda throughout China
– Internet censorship is a valuable tool used by the Chinese government to quash internal dissent
Protests and Crackdowns
On March 10, 2008, Tibetan monks in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, engaged in small-scale protests to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the failed 1959 revolt against Chinese rule. Although reportedly peaceful, the Chinese government reacted quickly by deploying troops and arresting protest leaders in an attempt to staunch the spread of further unrest throughout Tibet and other adjoining provinces.
This heavy-handed crackdown provoked further unrest throughout Tibet and lead to reported riots and violence. Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama, claimed there were upwards of 80 deaths as a result of the Chinese military and security services crackdown on protesters in Lhasa. The Chinese government claims that as of March 14, 2008, only 10 were killed in violence.
Online Crackdown
While the bulk of the Chinese government’s crackdown occurred on the streets of Lhasa, government censorship also extended to the Internet. For example, reports from inside China indicate that Chinese Internet users have been blocked from accessing YouTube.com. It is believed that Chinese government officials ordered the blackout of YouTube.com due to the recent proliferation of videos documenting protests in Tibet on the popular video-sharing site. It has also been reported that the websites of popular Western news services including the Los Angeles Times and the UK-based Guardian newspaper have been blocked.
This blackout likely extends beyond these websites to any site that carries news about the turmoil in Tibet. It is widely believed that the Chinese government is capable of monitoring the website surfing habits of Chinese Internet users and preventing these users from accessing content that the government deems objectionable. The keyword filtering is dynamic in nature and can likely be tuned by the government to increase the level of effort required by Chinese citizens to access news reports about events like the situation in Tibet.
The Goals of Censorship
It is no surprise that the Chinese government has engaged in online censorship as various pro-Tibetan groups rely heavily on the Internet to disseminate propaganda from inside Tibet to the rest of the world. Chinese government officials likely fear that this same propaganda will be used by supporters of Tibetan autonomy to rally external support for their cause and could also be used to rally internal support throughout other Chinese provinces. Therefore, the government’s online censorship efforts are likely designed to prevent the further spread of protests across China and not necessarily designed to prevent news of the protests from leaking to an international audience.
The Power of the “Great Firewall”
In recent years much attention has been paid to the so-called “Great Firewall of China” and its role in policing the behavior of Chinese citizens online. While it is generally understood that technically savvy individuals can overcome this censorship tool, it must be understood that via the “Great Firewall” the Chinese government has made the dissemination of anti-government propaganda within China more difficult. As such, the “Great Firewall” represents an effective tool in the Chinese government’s battle to suppress internal dissention and continue its rule.
