China bans letter 'N' and George Orwell's Animal Farm as President Xi JinPing extends grip on power

China bans letter 'N' and George Orwell's Animal Farm as President Xi JinPing extends grip on power

Martin Coulter
02/03/18
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/china-bans-the-letter-n-and-g...

The Chinese government has banned the letter 'N' and George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 in a major online censorship clampdown.

Experts believe the crackdown is part of leader Xi Jinping's plans to become a dictator for life. The move has been met with criticism from around the world. 

The China Digital Times reports that a list of proposals made by Beijing's National People's Conference includes the letter 'n', George Orwell's novels 'Animal Farm' and '1984', and the phrase 'Xi Zedong', a combination of Mr Xi and former dictator Chairman Mao Zedong's names. 

It is not entirely clear why the letter 'n' was briefly banned, just one among hundreds of words and phrases, although some speculate it could be considered a sign of dissent.

Charlie Smith, co-founder of GreatFire.org, which helps users track and bypass Chinese censorship, told The Guardian: “[Censors] probably determined it was sensitive and then moved to add that content to the blacklist so others would not be able to post something similar,” he said, noting that the seditious symbol had now been emancipated.

“I doubt that they actually put that much thought into it so sadly, the letter ‘N’ was a victim of this rash decision.”

Censors also banned images of Winnie the Pooh after dissenters shared images of the cartoon bear hugging a jar of honey alongside the quote: "Find the thing you love and stick with it." 

The Disney bear's image has been compared to President Xi Jinping, prompting periodic blocks on the use of Pooh pictures online.

Mr Xi's rule has been characterised by a relentless crackdown on critics and independent civil society voices such as lawyers netted in a sweeping crackdown on legal activists that began in July 2015.

Joseph Cheng, a long-time observer of Chinese politics now retired from the City University of Hong Kong, said that following the passage of the constitutional amendment: "There will be even less tolerance of criticism."

Additional reporting by the Press Association

Views: 153

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by Gralton on March 3, 2018 at 1:08pm

Sounds familiar.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown, 1970

Subtitled “An Indian History of the American West,” this book tells the history of United States growth and expansion into the West from the point of view of Native Americans. This book was banned by a school district official in Wisconsin in 1974 because the book might be polemical and they wanted to avoid controversy at all costs. “If there’s a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it,” the official stated.

Comment by Less Prone on March 3, 2018 at 3:16am

Banning literature sounds credible but that they would ban alphabet letters is weird. First of all the Chinese writing is based on symbols. A Simple Explanation Of Chinese Characters

They do have a romanized alphabet that is seldom used in any publications, but helps foreigners to learn the Chinese Characters. It makes no sense to remove any letter from the pinyin alphabet.

Online Pinyin Input Method

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Less Prone favorited tjdavis's video
17 hours ago
Less Prone posted a photo

Social Engineering 101

That's how it goes.
17 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

A Prelude to WW III ? It Seems There We Are Trailblazing Idiocy into More Blood and Destruction!

They're rolling out the 25th Amendment trying to stop Joe Biden from insanely thrusting the US in a…See More
23 hours ago
Less Prone posted a video

Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To See - CTMU [Full Version; Timestamps]

DW Description: Chris Langan is known to have the highest IQ in the world, somewhere between 195 and 210. To give you an idea of what this means, the average...
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

RFK Jr. Appoinment Rocks the World of the Federal Health Agncies and The Big Pharma Profits!

The Appointment by Trump as Secretary of HHS has sent shockwaves through the federal government…See More
Tuesday
tjdavis posted a video

Somewhere in California.

Tom Waites and Iggy Pop meet in a midnight diner in Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes.
Tuesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

1 possible 1

"It's possible, but less likely. said the cat."
Monday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Monday
tjdavis posted a blog post
Monday
Tori Kovach commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

You are wrong, all of you.

"BECAUSE TARIFFS WILL PUT MONEY IN YOUR POCKETS!"
Monday
Tori Kovach posted photos
Monday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Whatever Happened?

Whatever Happened?  The unsung heroes will go about their dayRegardless of the welcome they've…See More
Sunday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post A Requiem for the Mass Corruption of the Federal Government
"cheeki kea Nice work! Thank you! "
Sunday
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post A Requiem for the Mass Corruption of the Federal Government
"Chin up folks, once the low hanging fruit gets picked off a clearer view will reveal the higher…"
Sunday
Doc Vega's 4 blog posts were featured
Saturday
tjdavis's blog post was featured
Saturday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's blog post Replicon Started in Tokyo October 08, 2024
"Your right LP it's insane for sure and hopefully improbable, keeping an open mind. Checking…"
Saturday
rlionhearted_3 commented on tjdavis's blog post Bill Gates Deleted Documentary
Saturday
rlionhearted_3 commented on tjdavis's blog post Bill Gates Deleted Documentary
"The white dude in the center is Bill Gates!!! "
Saturday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's blog post Bill Gates Deleted Documentary
Nov 15

© 2024   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted