China: More restrictions on freedom of the Internet for Uyghurs

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) is deeply concerned about plans of the Chinese Internet Authority (CAC) to make the Communist Party of the People’s Republic the “strongest voice on the Internet” in 2016. The human rights organization warned that international Internet companies are increasingly forced to subordinate to the Chinese national security agencies and to help undermine the freedom of expression – especially for the Uyghur population in the northwest of the country – by providing access to data. “Another indication is the new anti-terrorism law which came into effect at the beginning of 2016 – a serious restriction of the freedom of the Internet for the Uyghur population,“ said the STP’s Asia-expert, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Friday.

During the two-day meeting of the “National Online Propaganda Work Conference”, which ended on January 6, 2016, the CAC (which reports to President Xi Jinping directly) announced that 2016 will be a “year of innovation” concerning Internet control. Without further details, CAC-chief Lu Wei emphasized that his authority was aiming to “strengthen socialism based on a Chinese approach towards Internet management”. What the CAC means is systematic and comprehensive monitoring of all Internet content as well as attempts to influence the public opinion in a positive manner by means of “opinion makers” who are hired by the censors.

The anti-terrorism act, which came into effect on January 1, forces Internet companies to cooperate in anti-terrorism-prosecutions. Under threat of punishment, they are obliged to ensure that “terrorists” cannot publish contents on their websites. “In China, I will thus become virtually impossible to disseminate information on the situation of the Muslim minority via the Internet,” said Delius, “In the Chinese legislature, the term “terrorism” is very broadly defined. All organizations or individuals demanding more human rights for the Uyghurs could be treated as “terrorists” and almost all Uyghur political prisoners are detained based on charges of terrorism.“ He accused the Chinese authorities of fueling the spiral of violence between the Han Chinese and the Uyghurs in the conflict region by criminalizing all human rights initiatives and information work. “Instead of an open discussion about the background of the violence and credible political solutions, China’s leaders are relying on defaming and locking up critics. This will not solve the conflict between the nationalities, but lead to a further escalation.”

Header Photo: Gustavo Jeronimo via Flickr