To the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), amassing cyberpower is a matter of life and death. The tight control over affairs in cyberspace is essential to regime stability and longevity in China; the CCP stated, “If our party cannot traverse the hurdle represented by the Internet, it cannot traverse the hurdle of remaining in power for […]
Tag: CCP
WeChat isn’t China’s Facebook. It’s something bigger.
It’s often hard for people outside of China to wrap their heads around the vast capabilities of WeChat. Writing it off as a “knock-off Facebook” does it an injustice. In fact, it might be the most potent form of propaganda China has ever employed. “China’s App for Everything” may appear to be but a copycat […]
The Emperor’s New Groove
Just weeks ago, China officially unveiled the J-20, its first stealth fighter, at Airshow China. The sleek jet was met both with derision from engineers who view it as little more than a knockoff of the American F-22 and F-35 and concern from policy experts who worry that the modern and inexpensive fighter may tip […]
A Case for Opening the Great Firewall
“Across the Great Wall we can reach every corner in the world,” read the first email from China to Germany in 1987. Today, the prophecy looks rather ironic; China’s internet censorship protocol, “the Great Firewall,” blocks Chinese netizens from Google, Facebook, and the rest of the world. To ask for total internet freedom is impractical, […]
Doomed to Fail: why Hong Kong’s street protests hurt more than they help
Fires, tension, warning shots fired into the night: the 2016 “fishball riot” is the latest in a long line of destructive clashes between democratic activists and the Hong Kong police. Unfortunately, the violence is sending Hong Kong down a path democracy can’t follow. 2016 marks the 19th year Hong Kong has been part of China; […]
Mr. Xi Jinping, Tear Down This (Fire)Wall
In Beijing, signs throughout the city read: “Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, Virtue.” Like most political slogans, this particular one relies heavily on wishful thinking and an element of deception. China ranks 22 out of 50 OECD economies in innovation, a surprisingly low number given the prowess of the Chinese economy. Innovation itself is synonymous with taking […]