Chinese censorship abroad
Chinese censorship abroad refers to extraterritorial censorship by the government of the People's Republic of China (Chinese Communist Party; CCP), i.e. censorship that is conducted beyond China's own borders. The censorship can be applied to both Chinese expatriates and foreign groups. Sensitive topics that have been censored include the political status of Taiwan, human rights in Tibet, Xinjiang internment camps, the persecution of Uyghurs in China, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, the PRC government's COVID-19 pandemic response, the persecution of Falun Gong, and more general issues related to human rights and democracy in China.
Self-censorship is undertaken by foreign companies wishing to do business in mainland China, a growing phenomenon given the country's market size and enormous consumer base.[1][2][3][4][5] Companies seeking to avoid offending the Chinese regime and Chinese customers have engaged in self-censorship, as well as disciplining of staff that have offended the regime.[1] When pressured by the Chinese regime, some companies have apologized or made statements in support of the regime's policies.[6][7]
The PRC government pays 50 Cent Party operatives and encourages "Little Pink" nationalist netizens to combat any perceived dissent against its position on Chinese issues, including opposing any foreign expressions of support for protesters or perceived separatist movements, with the country's "Patriotic Education campaign" since the 1990s emphasising the dangers of foreign influence and the country's "century of humiliation" by outside powers.[8][9]
Censorship of overseas services is also undertaken by companies based in China, such as WeChat[10][11] and TikTok.[12] Chinese citizens living abroad as well as family residing in China have also been subject to threats to their employment, education, pension, and business opportunities if they engage in expression critical of the Chinese government or its policies.[13][14] With limited pushback by foreign governments and organisations, these issues have led to growing concern about self-censorship, compelled speech and a chilling effect on free speech in other countries.[15][16][17]
Journalism[edit]
The PRC limits press freedom, with Xi Jinping telling state media outlets in 2016 that the Chinese Communist Party expects their "absolute loyalty".[129] In Hong Kong, inconvenient journalists face censorship by stealth through targeted violence, arrests, withdrawal of official advertising and/or dismissal.[130] Foreign journalists also face censorship given the ease with which their articles can be translated and shared across the country.[131]
Foreign journalists have reported rising official interference with their work, with a 2016 Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China survey finding 98% considered reporting conditions failed to meet international standards.[132] Interference includes withholding a visa to work in the country, harassment and violence by secret police and requiring press conference questions to be submitted for pre-screening.[132] Journalists also reported that local sources who speak to them face harassment, intimidation or detention by government officials, leading to a decreased willingness to cooperate with journalists.[132] Foreign journalists also face hacking of their email accounts by the PRC to discover their sources.[130]
The 2017 results indicated increasing violence and obstruction, with BBC reporter Matthew Goddard being punched by assailants who attempted to steal his equipment after he refused to show them footage taken.[133] In 2017, 73% of foreign journalists reported being restricted or prohibited from reporting in Xinjiang, up from 42% in 2016.[133] Journalists also reported more pressure from PRC diplomats on their headquarters to delete stories.[133]
Visas have been denied to a number of foreign journalists who wrote articles displeasing to the PRC government, such as the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Expelled journalists include L'Obs reporter Ursula Gauthier, Al Jazeera journalist Melissa Chan in 2012, BuzzFeed China bureau chief Megha Rajagopalan in 2018, and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, who was denied a visa in 2019 after being hired by AFP.[134][135]
As a result of increasing intimidation and the threat of being denied a visa, foreign journalists operating in China have increasingly engaged in self-censorship.[131] Topics avoided by journalists include Xinjiang, Tibet and Falun Gong.[131] Despite this, controversial stories continue to be published on occasion, such as the hidden wealth of political elites including Wen Jiabao[136] and Xi Jinping.[137][131]
The PRC government has also increasingly sought to influence public opinion abroad by hiring foreign reporters for state media outlets and paying for officially sanctioned "China Watch" inserts to be included in overseas newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and the Daily Telegraph.[138]
In April 2021 a diplomatic controversy arose between Sweden and China when Jojje Olsson, a Swedish journalist posted in Taiwan, published a series of threatening and abusive letters sent to him by the Chinese Embassy in Sweden.[139]
Publishing[edit]
Cambridge University Press drew criticism in 2017 for removing articles from its China Quarterly covering topics such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and the Cultural Revolution to avoid having its Chinese operations shut down.[169][170] Attempts of censorship are documented for Brill and Taylor & Francis.[171] Springer Nature also acceded to Chinese demands to censor articles relating to Chinese politics, Taiwan, Tibet and human rights.[172][173] In August 2020, Springer Nature was reported to have rejected the publication of an article at the behest of its co-publisher, Wenzhou Medical University, from a Taiwanese doctor because the word "China" was not placed after "Taiwan."[174] Springer Nature has removed articles without even informing the authors and refused “to reverse the decision but continuing to justify it as being in the best interests of the global academic community and necessary for the advancement of research.” [171]
In 2017 the Australian publisher Allen & Unwin refused to publish Clive Hamilton's book Silent Invasion about growing Chinese Communist Party influence in Australia, fearing potential legal action from the Chinese government or its local proxies under the auspices of the United Front Work Department.[175][176]
Publishers using Chinese printers have also been subject to local censorship, even for books not intended for sale in China.[177] Books with maps face particular scrutiny, with one Victoria University Press book Fifteen Million Years in Antarctica required to remove the English term "Mount Everest" in favour of the Chinese equivalent "Mount Qomolangma".[177] This has led publishers to consider printers in alternative countries, such as Vietnam.[177]
Whistleblower Edward Snowden criticised Chinese censors for removing passages in the translated version of his book Permanent Record, in which passages about authoritarianism, democracy, freedom of speech and privacy were removed.[178]
Sports[edit]
In 2019 ESPN's Chuck Salituro, the channel's senior news director, sent an internal memo to staff banning any discussion of political issues concerning China or Hong Kong when covering the controversy of Daryl Morey's tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters.[195]
At the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans car race a Taiwanese team was asked by event organizers to switch the Taiwanese national flag for the Chinese Taipei flag.[196]