A “panopticon” in which everybody treats everybody else with distrust is quickly forming in China, after Beijing in March implemented a new set of regulations governing Internet users and content, an article by National Cheng Kung University professor of political science Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富) said.
The guidelines, which seek to reassert the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) control over the nation, encourage people to report any online comment that could erode the CCP’s rule — for instance, comments that contravene the party’s fundamental beliefs and those that could undermine social security, Hung wrote in an article published in the latest issue of the Mainland Affairs Council’s overview of developments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The guidelines also encourage Internet users to disseminate content created by the CCP, which are designed to spread the CCP’s ideology and justify its grip on territories, the article said.
They further undercut the already limited freedom of speech on the Internet granted Chinese and include rules on when, what and how content produced by the party is to be broadcast online, it said.
This type of content is always catered toward the CCP and sometimes Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) himself, it said.
It shows Beijing’s concerns over an increasingly liberal and democratized Internet, which has the power of linking large numbers of people instantaneously, Hung wrote.
In other news, the Chinese-language Ta Kung Pao yesterday reported that it had received information about two main “escape routes” Hong Kong activists have used to flee to Taiwan since pro-democracy protests began in the territory in June last year.
The report lists three locations in the territory — Sai Kung Town, Aberdeen and Shau Kei Wan — where Hong Kongers are picked up by boats and taken to the Taiwan Strait, where they board another boat and are dropped off either in Hsinchu or Chiayi county, or Taichung, Tainan or Kaohsiung.
Alternatively, they are driven to Xiamen before being taken out to sea and landing in Hsinchu County, the report said.
Hong Kongers entering Taiwan in this way enlist the help of fishers, whose starting price is HK$300,000 (US$38,704) and could cost more than HK$500,000 for celebrities, it said.
Fishing boats are less prone to attract the attention of Taiwanese law enforcement, while yachts have a 80 percent chance of being inspected, the report cited fishers with knowledge of the matter as saying.
Since China’s National People’s Congress passed a resolution to introduce national security legislation for the territory, Taiwanese authorities have stepped up inspections, and some Hong Kongers have been unable to enter the country even after three attempts, it said.
When asked for a comment, the National Immigration Agency cited a response it issued in December last year, saying that it had not received reports of stowaways from Hong Kong, but that it would keep close tabs on the situation.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
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