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Censorship in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is mandated by the country's ruling party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is one of the strictest censorship regimes in the world.[1] The government censors content for mainly political reasons, such as curtailing political opposition, and censoring events unfavorable to the CCP, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, pro-democracy movements in China, the persecution of Uyghurs in China, human rights in Tibet, Falun Gong, pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Xi Jinping became the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (de facto paramount leader) in 2012, censorship has been "significantly stepped up".[2]
The government has censorship over all media capable of reaching a wide audience. This includes television, print media, radio, film, theater, text messaging, instant messaging, video games, literature, and the Internet. The Chinese government asserts that it has the legal right to control the Internet's content within their territory and that their censorship rules do not infringe on their citizens' right to free speech.[3] Government officials have access to uncensored information via an internal document system.
As of 2024[update], the World Press Freedom Index ranks China 172nd out of 180 countries in regards to press freedom and terms it the "world's largest prison for journalists".[4] Freedom House ranks the Chinese press as "not free",[5] the worst possible ranking, saying that "state control over the news media in China is achieved through a complex combination of party monitoring of news content, legal restrictions on journalists, and financial incentives for self-censorship".[6]
Other views suggest that Chinese businesses such as Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba, some of the world's largest internet enterprises, have benefited from the way China blocked international rivals from the domestic market.[7]
- ^ Fang, Lee (27 September 2018). "Google Executive Declines to Say If China Censors Its Citizens". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ Denyer, Simon (25 October 2017). "China's Xi Jinping unveils his top party leaders, with no successor in sight". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ Bristow, Michael (8 June 2010). "China defends internet censorship". BBC News. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- ^ "Index 2024 – Global score". Reporters Without Borders. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "China: Freedom in the World 2024 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ Esarey, Ashley (9 February 2006). Speak No Evil: Mass Media Control in Contemporary China (PDF) (Report). Freedom House. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ "Alibaba IPO: Chairman Ma's China". BBC News. 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2023.