David Bandurski, Far Eastern Economic Review, July: They have been called the “Fifty Cent Party,” the “red vests” and the “red vanguard.” But China’s growing armies of Web commentators—instigated, trained and financed by party organizations—have just one mission: to safeguard the interests of the Communist Party by infiltrating and policing a rapidly growing Chinese Internet.…
Showing all posts tagged China
The Beijing countdown continues
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: It is time for Western human rights activists to pressure China in new ways, writes Antony Loewenstein With less than one month until the start of the Games, Beijing is trying to make itself more beautiful. Pollution is still…
Raging against rising internet repression
My following article appears in the US magazine The Nation on the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit and the issue of web repression: During the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008–sponsored by Harvard University and Google in Budapest, Hungary, in late June, and attended by over 200 bloggers, human rights activists, writers, journalists, hackers and…
Rise of human rights consciousness
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: We don’t need American, mainstream journalists telling us that something is wrong in China, writes Antony Loewenstein Chinese dissidents will continue to push for democratic change. This is certain in an Olympic year, but these voices are undoubtedly stronger…
The dangers of blogging for democracy
My following article appeared in yesterday’s edition of Crikey: 64 people have been arrested for blogging their views since 2003, according to… a recent… University of Washington report. Three times as many people were arrested for blogging about political issues in 2007 than the year before. More than half of all the arrests since 2003 were made…
Battle of the Brainwashed
My latest New Matilda column is about the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in Budapest last week: Are Chinese netizens any more thin-skinned than Westerners when attacked online for their opinions? Antony Loewenstein reports from the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit During the Harvard University sponsored Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008 in Budapest last…
China is not a one-sided story
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: Westerners must look at China in all its diversity, including voices of reason, writes Antony Loewenstein During last week’s Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in Budapest, Hungary, where I presented a paper on the role of the internet in…
Censorship ain’t no barrier
What was discussed at the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008 in Budapest last week.
Watching the censorship debate
My speech today at the Global Voices internet censorship conference in Budapest was streamed live across the world (starts at one minute): Webcast powered by Ustream.TV The event was liveblogged, too.