As China's social media takes off, Beijing's censorship campaign heats up

Chinese government censors are silencing influential opponents by shutting down their social media accounts on the pretext of a campaign against online rumors, victims of the practice say.

The authorities believe that liberal ideology will undermine their rule, says Murong Xuecun, a famous author and outspoken critic of censorship whose accounts on four Twitter-like platforms disappeared suddenly last Sunday evening. The space on Chinas Internet for public opinion is being narrowed.

Social media sites such as Sina Weibo, which has 300 million users, have become forums for unprecedented freewheeling discussion and news-sharing. Despite being subject to careful censorship, they have expanded the range for self-expression beyond recognition throughout the past five years.

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Particularly striking has been the role of a few well-regarded intellectuals who have drawn millions of followers with often-barbed comments on current affairs that are seldom sympathetic to the Communist Party or the government.

They appear to be among the first to be affected by a campaign by the State Internet Information Office, launched two weeks ago, targeting those who create and spread rumors online, said the state-run news agency Xinhua.

SHADOWY PURPOSE

Though Xinhua made reference to bloggers spreading rumors about bird flu, other observers see a darker purpose behind the campaign.

The government fears that more and more opinion leaders are gaining recognition by ordinary people and they represent an alternative authority to the government, argues Zhang Xuezhong, a lawyer whose own Sina Weibo account was mysteriously closed on Monday.

Such opinion leaders are a focus of the official crackdown on rumors.

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As China's social media takes off, Beijing's censorship campaign heats up