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Whether it’s the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Central Civilization Office or the Ministry of Education, they all pretend to love the nation’s children more than their own parents do. Thus came the order that all new computers sold in China from July 1 must include a specific type of filter software to prevent youngsters from accessing online pornography. This kind of trick is often used to deprive people of their rights.
Government organizations have been plundering the citizens’ wallets, under various guises, to control their freedoms and infringe on their rights over the past 60 years.
Chinese authorities are doing this again in requesting all domestic and foreign computer makers to preload a software package called “Green Dam – Youth Escort” onto computers sold in China. It is supposed to block pornographic content by censoring pictures, keywords and websites identified on a constantly updated blacklist as containing “harmful” content.
First, if the intentions behind this policy are open and upright, why has the government ordered domestic media not to criticize it? The overseas Chinese website, Boxun, reported that China’s central government ordered a ban on negative media coverage about the software.
Luqiu Luwei, a well-known journalist in Hong Kong, also criticized this move on her twitter, pointing out that if the policy truly benefits the people there is no need to stop people from asking questions. The government’s ban on negative reports hints that the “wolf” has an ulterior motive.
Second, are all the Chinese people young children? According to the software developer and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, this software package is aimed at protecting minors from exposure to unhealthy content on the Internet. Then why do they force all computer producers and sellers to pre-install this software? Treating all 1.3 billion Chinese people like children is a violation of their human rights and a denial of their interests.
Third, why must the government hijack the entire nation? The Chinese government’s forced purchases and forced sales of this specific software package are the biggest such hijack in commercial history. This not only violates the principles of business and free trade, but also the government’s own laws, including the Fair Trade Law and the Antimonopoly Law.
Fourth, why does the government expect the taxpayers to be happy after being exploited in this way? As is widely known, Chinese taxpayers have unlimited duties but lack corresponding rights; thus taxpayers cannot restrict this official tyranny. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spent more than 40 million yuan (US$5.9 million) of taxpayers’ money to buy this filter software and is now forcing taxpayers to consume it – all without consulting the public.
Fifth, who determines what constitutes “unhealthy content”? Lacking public participation and concrete criteria, defining this is an impractical task that could lead to the abuse of power. Some users that have tested this software have found it to wrongly identify as pornography large areas of yellow color and even math questions containing key words like “touch,” “play” and “ball.” This feedback exposes the software’s technically crude and careless programming, to say nothing of the huge controversy as to what constitutes harmful content.
Sixth, why should information related to human rights be judged harmful? For example, the software has been found to block searches on keywords including “liangxin fan,” meaning “prisoner of conscience.” Information related to human rights is surely bad for a government that wants to fool its people – not unhealthy for its citizens.
Seventh, if the government’s purpose is not to control the people, why has it required that all computers sold in the country include this software? Apart from those who are under age, adults have the right to decide what content they want to access and what issues they want to understand. For decades the government manipulated the people’s minds and kept them unaware that their rights were being violated. But now, in the Internet era, it is no longer easy for the authorities to block “undesirable” information from the citizens.
Eighth, what charges should be brought against the government bodies that are breaking the law? The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is violating the Fair Trade Law and the Antimonopoly Law by intervening in the market. After all, parent-control software is available on the market for consumers who wish to buy it; why do the authorities require everyone to install this particular one? Is there any dirty deal between the ministry and the software developer? Will this “cooperation” ever be investigated?
Ninth, does the government truly love our children more than we do? What has this irresponsible government done to protect the children found working as slaves in brick kilns, or those fed poisoned Sunlu powdered milk, or those killed in the Karamay fire tragedy? What about the little girls raped by officials and the endless child victims of abducting and trafficking? In fact, the government just wants to raise more obedient slaves among the next generation in order to continue the deprivation of their rights.
Tenth, can Internet security be guaranteed by software that makes mistakes? Some users already claim to have unblocked it; some say the core technology of the Green Dam is a pirated version of a U.S. product. Moreover, some Internet experts have found security loopholes when Green Dam is subject to hackers’ attacks. Although the authorities and the software developer have declared that Green Dam can be freely uninstalled, experts who have tested and analyzed the program found that more than 100 files remained after it was “removed.”
If this software package can be freely uninstalled, why waste so much of the taxpayers’ money installing it? What’s worse, who can fully trust that they know everything about this software and nothing more is hidden by this unrestricted and unchecked government?
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(Ran Yunfei is a noted critic on current affairs and an activist promoting civil society in China. This article is translated and edited from the Chinese by UPI Asia.com; the Chinese original can be found at http://www.my1510.cn/article.php?id=6b3ce1d387ae65fa ©Copyright Ran Yunfei.)
