Soon after the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Incident on June 4, China launched another crackdown. However, this time, it was implemented by Chinese hackers with keyboards, instead of Chinese soldiers with guns.
According to media reports, on the evening the Hong Kong Occupy Central democratic movement was set for July 1, the popvote.hk Web site that hosts an online referendum was flooded with more than 10 billion hits from Chinese hackers, which paralyzed it. Several days later, the Web sites of Next Media in both Hong Kong and Taiwan were also attacked and paralyzed by Chinese hackers, as Beijing sees the group as a major supporter of the movement.
We will probably never know the identity of the Chinese hackers, but it is very unlikely that there was no political motive behind the attacks. Since the Chinese government’s budget for maintaining stability is actually higher than its budget for national defense, who can believe that it is unrelated to such attacks?
According to Article 45 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, when selecting a chief executive: “The ultimate aim is the selection of the chief executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.”
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress also decided by an unanimous vote in 2007 to allow Hong Kong to select its chief executive by universal suffrage within 10 years.
The movement’s call for the people of Hong Kong to decide the selection method for their chief executive by universal suffrage through a referendum is basic democratic politics, and it is in line with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) own political promise. However, Hong Kongers’ humble call for democracy is being callously blocked.
First, China’s State Council released a white paper on June 10, entitled The Practice of the One Country, Two Systems Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, emphasizing that Beijing has “overall jurisdiction” over the region. Then, Chinese hackers launched a massive cyberattack. The Chinese government’s intention is self-evident.
In recent years, the rise of China has received worldwide attention and the Chinese government often uses this to raise the morale of its people. In 1949, then-Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) said, after gaining control over the whole of China, that “the Chinese people have stood up.”
However, what really stood up was the CCP, while the Chinese were still suffering. Several decades later, the CCP says that China is rising. As the country continues to rise, the rights of the Chinese are still crawling in the dust. More seriously, rising China refuses to participate in the international community or treat its people in a civilized way. An example of the latter is its view on dissent.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) took office, the Chinese, as well as the whole world, had great expectations for him and his team. However, the rule of Xi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) quickly disappointed them with its constant mistreatment of Chinese dissidents. Moreover, the Xi-Li regime has gone from bad to worse by displaying a new type of authoritarianism.
If oppression is the prelude to reform as some claim, then perhaps brutality can also be the prologue to civilization. The question is, can China oppress the changing attitudes of the Chinese or change their characters with its brutality?
Originally, the CCP hired commentators to post favorable comments or spread rumors on the Internet. They are known as the “50-Cent Party” because they are paid 0.50 yuan (US$0.08) for each post. As this failed to make the desired impact, the CCP paralyzed the pro-democracy Web sites directly to prevent dissidents from voicing their opinions or promoting the taking of action. Such a move was more than uncivilized. It was brutal.
Last year, German psychologist Manfred Lutz published a book, Bluff! The Falsification of the World. In this book, published in Taiwan as the Age of the Lie (大謊言時代), Lutz writes that, driven by clear, but unspoken purposes, the media are creating an artificial world filled with merchandise both real and fake. Such falsification does exist in a democratic society after all. However, the Chinese authorities do not even bother to wear a mask anymore when handling dissent.
When Beijing ordered the China Youth Daily to suspend the publication of its “Freezing Point” section in 2006, Lung Ying-tai (龍應台), now Taiwan’s minister of culture, wrote an open letter urging then-Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to “convince [about the suspension] with civilization.”
Today, the Chinese government no longer needs to suspend the media, as it simply orders Chinese hackers to silence them. How we have regressed. By doing so, it will be more difficult for Beijing to convince others in the face of the greater disappointment.
Hu Yuan-hui is an associate professor of communications at National Chung Cheng University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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