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| Photo by: androidcentral |
While China strongly controls the Internet in their
country, but its more than 600 million people have used messaging application
to push the limitations of the ruling Communist party’s restriction on freedom
of speech. In China, internet companies are required to ensure that users of
online messaging services register with their real names. This has been said by
the state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) cited the government's
National Internet Information Office (NIIO).
On the part of the users, they will be required to agree
to "seven bottom lines", including a promise to "uphold the
socialist system", a euphemism for China's one-party dominated regime,
when they register, CCTV said.
However, hundred of millions of Chinese use the
Twitter-like Sina Weibo, and an instant messaging app WeChat. This app allows
users to share text, photos, videos and voice messages over mobile devices and
spread it with the use of internet.
Some reports said that China has blocked some foreign
messaging apps including Kakao Talk and Line, which are maintained by South
Korean companies. South Korean experts said Thursday that they were told by
Chinese officials their action is all about anti-terrorism purposes only yet
was no confirmation from Beijing or in Chinese media.
The NIIO said users running public accounts on services such as
WeChat cannot post "political news" without official consent and the
same when creating multiple accounts.
Because of this, there are hundreds of people have been imprisoned
during the campaign, while several bloggers have been handed prolonged jail
sentences, resulting in a failure in the use of microblogs. A blogger named Dong
Rubin, who is known for criticizing Communist Party officials, was punished byto
six-and-a-half years.
In May, China targeted public WeChat accounts which are used to post
news stories, accusing them of "spreading rumors" where several liberal-leaning
accounts were enforced to close.
