With more convictions, Weibo intensifies speech censorship

On July 13, Weibo once again intensified its censorship of speech. Weibo made an announcement on Wednesday that it would censor any violations of “misinformation” that was posted or disseminated using “homonyms,” “orthographic variants,” and “orthographic errors.”

i) investigating illegal actions, such as the use of “orthographic errors” to spread “misinformation”; ii) improving the platform terminology management and the keyword recognition mechanism; and iii) establishing an incentive mechanism and strengthening the promotion and advertising on the website to encourage users to use Chinese characters consistently. Additionally, complaints and reports from the users are welcome.

“Who would want to use homophonic and pinyin abbreviations if the original word is not banned,” “What’s the reason to use homophones? Isn’t it because some very normal words are all sensitive censored words?” “If Weibo wants to censor it, they need to think about the reasons that forced people to use this language in the first place.” “Please cancel the input function at all. So that everyone can only accept information indoctrination and can’t express our opinions.” “How can you don’t know the reason for using homophones? to avoid “being blocked,” many responded on social media.

Some online users even have mocked the use of self-created “Martian Characters.”

Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right, which refers to the political ability of a nation’s citizens to express their opinions and ideas as their wishes.

A conviction for speech refers to being convicted, detained, fired, blocked from a user account, or suppressed by public opinion because of a particular comment.

With the development of the Internet, the CCP is concerned about the “unfavorable” speeches spreading quickly. From building a firewall to block information that does not meet the requirements to restricting the use of different words in recent years, CCP is done so to crack down on dissidents and suppress unfavorable ideas and comments to their own rule to maintain their control over the Chinese people.

According to Wikipedia, there have been ongoing instances of being convicted for speech since the CCP ruled China. Thirty-nine persons were found guilty of making offensive statements under the administrations of Mao Zedong, Hua Guofeng, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao. Currently, seventy-six persons have been found guilty in Xi Jinping’s time. The number will continue to rise.

Nowadays, it is also openly encouraged to complain and report the so-called “incorrect” use of words. When you welcome people in the future, you will not inquire, “Have you eaten yet?” but rather, “Have you been convicted of your words?”