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China’s prohibitive controls on freedom of speech have provoked an unprecedented outpouring of online protest, after celebrities, popular bloggers, businessmen and ordinary netizens took to the web to voice their support for journalists at an influential newspaper who protested against censorship of their work. Hacks at …

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  1. LarsG
    Meh

    Great, the protest will really have an effect on the Authorities, I'm sure they will change their minds once they feel the power of the protest.

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    1. Ole Juul
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      Still

      They need the general population to play like a team in order to move the country forward. Suppression, like we've seen in the past, cannot continue in the same way any more. Perhaps I'm too optimistic, but I'm sure we will see changes, even if they are very small.

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  2. MrXavia

    Well I get the real name registration thing, saves a lot of time in certain cases, and will stop people posting what they are not willing to associate with their real names.. (i.e. no posting rubbish online which they wouldn't say to someones face)

    I suspect they will be calm with the protestors, whether they change their policy, no idea.. it would be nice to think that they would, but I doubt it at the moment, its too soon for that dramatic change...

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    1. Jay Holmes
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      If thats even your "real" name!

      Completely agree, with the real name case. Some, no scratch that MOST people need to realise that free speech doesnt come with a blanket ability to say whatever you want to whoever you want, it comes with an inherent responsibility to use your right to stand up for yourself not use it to abuse people online whilst hiding behind some anonymous tag.

      However what the Chinese government are doing is removing that choice from their people, they are censoring for censorings sake because they are scared that if they dont do this the people will see what life is like around the rest of the world and they will want it too!!

      Rant over lol

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    2. Graham Marsden
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      Thumb Down

      "will stop people posting what they are not willing to associate with their real names."

      Perhaps you are not aware of Mao's "Hundred Flowers" campaign which invited people to speak out against the Communist Regime, ostensibly to encourage debate and to improve the country.

      Of course what subsequently happened is that those who did speak out were rounded up and sent to "Re-education Camps" (ie Prison Labour Camps where many of them were subject to torture or even died)

      PS and is MrXavia *your* real name??

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Headmaster

    The Reg being a UK mag

    ...they are not going online 'to protest censorship', they are going online 'to protest about censorship'.

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  4. Ole Juul

    I couldn't help but notice

    There are an awful lot of anonymous postings on the Reg and elsewhere on the web. Is there anything to be afraid of? I mean, if this is such a free society as is commonly implied, then we can all just be ourselves - right?

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