README.adoc

* https://freeweibo.com a Weibo archive to overcome deleted posts
* https://en.greatfire.org/blog/2013/nov/google-can-bring-end-censorship-10-days-heres-how made some noise at the time
* https://twitter.com/GreatFireChina
* <<collateral-freedom>>

Their repo https://github.com/greatfire/wiki has been added to <<gov-takedowns-china>>.

Who is behind them:

* https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/30/greatfire/ from 2015 says "Started in 2011 by three anonymous individuals", and "Charlie Smith" is the pseudonym of the CEO.

[[wayback-machine]]
====== Wayback Machine (网站时光机)

Their Wayback Machine tool archive snapshots of webpages and allows youto browse the history of all archives:

* https://web.archive.org/
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machine
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/网站时光机

By the Internet Archive organization:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/互联网档案馆

This Chrome extension helps to quickly archive pages: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/wayback-machine/fpnmgdkabkmnadcjpehmlllkndpkmiak

But remember that if you archive too many in a very quick succession before the previous ones have been archived, even if manually through that plugin, your account/IP might get blocked, so just give a few seconds for the current archive to terminate before starting new ones.

This happened to Ciro in 2020-06-14, but then he emailed the admins as mentioned at: https://help.archive.org/hc/en-us/articles/360016379432-Accounts-Tips-Troubleshooting- and they re-enabled it.

It is possible to request social media pages you own to be removed from the archive in some circumstances: https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/143529/is-it-possible-to-request-to-remove-page-snapshots-from-a-personal-social-media

Some website specific techniques:

* YouTube videos: they do seem to download them!
** But as as of 2020, they seem to have some serious bugs failing with "Sorry the Wayback Machine does not have this video (<id>) archived (or not indexed yet)." on most videos: https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/149933/why-does-the-archive-org-of-most-youtube-videos-fail-with-sorry-the-wayback-mac
** And the interface may be very broken, possibly due to the arabic youtube interface, you might just have to click around sometimes. So the best thing is to just always use the magic direct video link: of form: https://web.archive.org/web/2oe_/http://wayback-fakeurl.archive.org/yt/<video-id>
** E.g. a deleted pair from <<aaron-dewitt>>:
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d81mEbL8Yw8&feature=youtu.be
*** https://web.archive.org/web/20201103072718if_/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d81mEbL8Yw8&feature=youtu.be
** It is possible to get a raw mp4 link with as mentioned at https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/391951-How-to-download-a-YouTube-video-archived-by-Wayback-Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/2oe_/http://wayback-fakeurl.archive.org/yt/<video-id> e.g.: https://web.archive.org/web/2oe_/http://wayback-fakeurl.archive.org/yt/c6uFGGunRxc[], the download did work on 2020-12-31. It redirects to
* Google Docs: visit the page while logged off (e.g. via browser private mode), click the print button, and then archive the resulting PDF URL

How to search by prefix/pattern: https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/146661/how-to-search-the-internet-archives-wayback-machine-by-url-prefix-or-pattern

[[archive-today]]
====== archive.today

http://archive.is/

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archive.today
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archive.is

Like <<wayback-machine>> by unknown shady individuals, so less trustworthy.

CrunchBase claims without source New York based: https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/145817/on-which-country-are-the-creators-and-servers-of-archive-today-archive-is-base

Does not care about robots.txt, so it sometimes works where Wayback Machine fails, so its better than nothing when it does. E.g. it is a good option for <<quora>>.

And no, you can't Wayback Machine archive an archive.is, they blocked the domain.

Has specific LinkedIn handling as it has a logged scrape account, e.g.: https://archive.vn/EPaEH[]. TODO find account URL.

Also has specific GitHub handling, e.g. as seen at: https://github.com/TinkoffCreditSystems/invest-openapi/issues/278 TODO what for?

Their github account was: https://github.com/volth an archive https://archive.vn/kqftP The account was completely deleted presumaly after GitHub noticed the anti-ToS usage: all their issues created have been deleted, not converted to ghost as happens with account deletion, and non-owners cannot delete their issues, only comments. Since he was such a large NixOS contributor, this was notice by other contributors: https://discourse.nixos.org/t/how-was-this-treewide-pr-performed/11174/15 | https://twitter.com/grhmc/status/1334138105738256389

From the non-trivial contributions, they were a big NixOS contributor, and are clearly fluent Russian:

* https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/91184 "[staging] perlPackages: update" was merged.
* https://github.com/TinkoffCreditSystems/invest-openapi/issues/278 "Инструменты "для квалифицированных инвесторов" недоступны через API" is a sample issue in fluent Russian

By cloning NixOS NixOS/nixpkgs we obtain an email, it uses custom domain http://volth.com/ as of 2021-02-04 has a copy of the Google 404: https://web.archive.org/web/20190913083033/http://volth.com/ This is the case since 2013. In 2011 it was some other random company.

Google photo matches exactly this "Masha Rabinovich" https://www.linkedin.com/in/masha-rabinovich-52aa3a197/[], or is just some image of a well known person? Account marked as "Bachelor of Engineering" at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

The same photo seems to be used for all fetches: https://archive.vn/IPEEd[].

Googling name leads to an YouTube account whose only video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1bp1VxMwP4 | https://archive.vn/9Xq6w "How to make an archive.is link with selection hashtag", so yes, the relation is almost certain.

https://www.northkoreatech.org/2016/09/21/north-koreas-dns-files-reveal-internet-websites/ has an archive.is related comment by an user of the same name Masha Rabinovich: September 22, 2016 at 17:55 "There are some more websites in .kp: http://archive.is/*.kp"

In 2008 they had some interest in compilers: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/tinycc-devel/2008-11/msg00015.html The obvious gmail email can be obtained from there. The only hit is in this creepy email list: https://api.intelx.io/file/read?type=1&systemid=989faa9e-46a1-440f-87fa-2a98b616c66d&k=7b256c65-6ebf-4bb8-a301-070bce8dec01

Removing the space leads to more matches:

* 2012-08: https://community.f-secure.com/en/discussion/14768/what-is-the-evidence-of-harmful-behaviour#M3733 a "masharabinovich" claims the website:
+
____
Your website http://browsingprotection.f-secure.com/swp/result?x=5Jg2kWKC8d86b4F-H5cdoS8dyu04vtzGtEXhQL6COLIX0k4wrv-N*w shows that someone in your company "found evidence of harmful behaviour" on my website http://archive.is/
____
* https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3AMasharabinovich shows 2012 attempts by Masha to automate wikipedia arching of dead links with archive.is.  Later in 2016 archive** in 2016 archive.is is was blacklisted entirely: http://wikipediocracy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7578
** possibly in 2018, Wikipedia widely adopted automatic <<wayback-machine>> usage on all external links: http://blog.archive.org/2018/10/01/more-than-9-million-broken-links-on-wikipedia-are-now-rescued/

Wikipedia suggests that the name Masha Rabinovich is likely of Russian Ashkenazi Jewish origin:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masha
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabinovich

so if the LinkedIn information is real, maybe they just went to study in Germany, or their ancestors migrated there.

The name in Cyrillic would be "Маша рабинович", but we couldn't find any information of interest by searching for that.

[[google-cache]]
====== Google Cache

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/1687222?hl=en

Google caches every indexed page that shows up on the search, you just have to click on the arrow and select "Cache" to see it.

The advantage over <<wayback-machine>> is that Google crawls many more pages than the Wayback Machine.

How to get the Google cache for a given URL: https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/15633/how-to-modify-a-url-to-get-a-google-cached-version-of-page

It is not possible however to see old caches, therefore you have to archive the Google caches with <<wayback-machine>> if you find anything interesting in them to not lose it:

* https://webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/45306/how-do-you-view-all-the-cached-versions-of-a-web-page
* https://support.google.com/websearch/thread/18638126?hl=en

The Google cache also has a text-only mode which is great for more complex webpages like those on <<zhihu>>, which due to JavaScript madness keep showing and disappearing.

====== geoscreenshot

https://www.geoscreenshot.com

Takes screenshots of the websites much like <<wayback-machine>>, but you can select the location.

Once the screenshot is made, you can "view the HTML", and that gives an Amazon AWS link, and warns that JavaScript and CSS might/will be disabled. The screenshot does not state what the origin URL/data is, so it cannot be used as a proof. But we can <<wayback-machine>> archive it to make sure it remains visible. E.g.:

* 2020-09-30 https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship | http://web.archive.org/web/20200930075102/https://s3.amazonaws.com/geoscreenshot-static/d3fdb97d-2ac3-4f57-a737-6fab2997fb1a.html see also <<github-censored-subdomains>>
* 2020-09-30 https://github.com/programthink/zhao/issues/38 | https://archive.vn/QKCMi see alo <<programthink>>
* 2020-09-30 https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship/ | https://archive.vn/bIzkH see alo <<mirrors>>

The free trial is very limited, and you can't share the screenshots on a public URL. See also: <<censorship-monitoring>>.

===== Lists of material censored in China

For materials hosted on GitHub, see: <<github-repositories-with-censored-information>>.

For books, see: <<books>>

Websites:

* <<falun-gong-media>> contains a few:
** <<bannedbook>>

===== gfwlist

https://github.com/gfwlist/gfwlist

Chinese people widely use this website list with browser extensions, so as to only use more expensive and risky <<censorship-circumvention>> traffic when accessing certain webpages.

The result is a well maintained list of interesting websites. About half of which is porn.

Get the full list with:

....
base64 -d gfwlist.txt
....

See also:

* https://github.com/gfwlist/gfwlist/issues/3 "How to use this repo?"
* https://github.com/gfwlist/gfwlist/issues/1141 "Add categories tags to each entry"

[[censorship-circumvention]]
===== Censorship circumvention (翻墙)

Lists:

* https://www.wallmama.com/ 墙妈妈 is one of the top Google hits and mentions amongst others:
** VPN obviously
** SOCKS5 (lantern, 蓝灯)
* https://github.com/vpncn/vpncn.github.io on <<github>> reviews VPN services
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantern_(software)
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/蓝灯
** https://github.com/getlantern/lantern on <<github>>
* SSR (<<shadowsocks>>)
* https://github.com/yinghuocho/firefly-proxy "A proxy software to help circumventing the Great Firewall."
* https://www.bypasscensorship.org
* https://github.com/awesome-doge/breaking-gfw-book

It is interesting to note how <<falun-gong>> is a good source of censorship-circumvention material, see e.g.: <<github-gov-takedowns>>.

Projects:

* https://github.com/Loyalsoldier/v2ray-rules-dat | https://github.com/v2ray/v2ray-core Contains cirosantilli.com: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Loyalsoldier/v2ray-rules-dat/release/geosite.dat[], victory.

More info:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_circumvention
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/突破网络审查

====== Hide destination IP until it leave the country

TODO is there any way to do use this to overcome IP blocks? You would wait until the packet leaves the country to reveal the final destination IP:

* https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/1358/what-tools-are-available-to-identify-which-country-a-specific-ip-address-is-loca
* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9802046/identifying-country-by-ip-address
* https://stackoverflow.com/questions/409999/getting-the-location-from-an-ip-address
* https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/12857/is-it-trivial-to-bypass-ip-blocking
* https://tor.stackexchange.com/questions/15483/how-can-i-use-tor-in-china

[[ensi]]
====== TLS 1.3 ENSI

* https://blog.cloudflare.com/encrypted-sni
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Name_Indication#Encrypted_Client_Hello

This amazing standardized feature encrypts the domain as well as the URL.

This means that censors are unable to block only certain websites via DNS blocks, which is one of the main techniques used. But they can still block by IP, no?

In 2020-08, it was reported that the firewall was already blocking it: https://www.zdnet.com/article/china-is-now-blocking-all-encrypted-https-traffic-using-tls-1-3-and-esni/

Therefore, <<what-should-western-countries-do-about-china,all the West has to do>> is to force all of its websites to serve ENSI-only!

====== ShadowSocks

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowsocks
* https://github.com/shadowsocksrr/ on <<github>>
* https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/08/circumvention-tool-deleted-after-police-visit-developer/
* https://github.com/shadowsocks/shadowsocks-iOS/issues/124#issuecomment-133630294 used to contain:
+
____
Two days ago the police came to me and wanted me to stop working on this. Today they asked me to delete all the code from GitHub. I have no choice but to obey.

I hope one day I'll live in a country where I have freedom to write any code I like without fearing.
____

TODO vs VPN:

* https://superuser.com/questions/1233614/what-is-the-difference-between-shadowsocks-and-openvpn

[[icp-license]]
===== ICP license 非经营性网站备案 (2000)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICP_license
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/非经营性网站备案

Part of the <<internal-censorship,Internet censorship machine>>, although it predates the GFW proper.

It can be seen at the bottom of many many many websites, it is likely mandatory to display it.

If you see one of those, you already know hat it cannot be trusted for politics.

For example, https://archive.is/ePBM9[as of April 2020], the <<zhihu>> sidebar shows:

____
京 ICP 备 13052560 号 - 1
____

where "京" indicates that the certificate was issued by the Beijing Provincial level city.

In 2014, almost 15 years later, <<russia>> finally caught up, what a relief: <<russia-mandatory-registration-of-bloggers>>.

====== Social media license

Ahh, this is a perfect excuse to delete all <<wumao>> comments!

* 2021-02-20 https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4129352 "Beginning next week, the Cyberspace Administration of China will require bloggers and influencers to have a government-approved credential before they can publish on a wide range of subjects. Some fear that only state media and official propaganda accounts will get permission. While permits have been needed since at least 2017 to write about topics such as political and military affairs, enforcement has not been widespread. The new rules expand that requirement to health, economics, education and judicial matters."

[[anonymous-accounts-ban]]
===== Anonymous accounts ban (2017)

* https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/ban-08282017112633.html
* https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/27/china-doubles-down-on-real-name-registration-laws-forbidding-anonymous-online-posts/
* https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/08/27/china-to-ban-anonymous-online-comments-blacklist-users/

[[cac]]
===== Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC, 国家互联网信息办公室)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace_Administration_of_China
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中央网络安全和信息化委员会办公室

This is where the Internet censors work.

[[cac-report-website]]
====== CAC report website (中央网信办举报网站)

Summary:

* http://www.cac.gov.cn/hdzx/jbzx/A091102index_1.htm
* https://www.12321.cn/web
* http://12377.cn

Reports such as https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/china-exporting-ccp-speech-controls-to-australia-as-second-university-caught-in-row-20200805-p55irf.html highlighted that these websites has a "report harmful or garbage information" entry, which can notably be used by Chinese expats to report people who badmouth the CCP, and in particular other Chinese nationals.

Typing "国家互联网信息办公室" on Google autocompleted to "国家互联网信息办公室举报" (举报 == report), and finds http://www.cac.gov.cn/hdzx/jbzx/A091102index_1.htm[].

This is clearly an official government website due to the `gov.cn` URL, and it also has an <<icp-license>>.

One of the categories of report on that page is: "网络不良与垃圾信息举报受理中心" (center for reporting harmful or garbage information, https://web.archive.org/web/20200704135840/http://www.cac.gov.cn/hdzx/jbzx/A091102index_1.htm[archive]).

Notably, there is one separate entry for illegal activity as well (网络违法犯罪举报网站) and another one for <<porn,pornography (中国扫黄打非网)>>, so it is interesting to see that there is one specifically for "misinformation".

The harmful information page redirects to: https://www.12321.cn/ (https://web.archive.org/web/20200907150310/https://www.12321.cn/[archive]) which has further categories.

The "report website" (举报不良网站) category links to https://www.12321.cn/web (https://web.archive.org/web/20200807060758/https://www.12321.cn/web[archive]) and then has a "link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionary[reactonary] and <<politically-sensitive,politically sensitive>>" (link:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/反动[反动]及<<politically-sensitive,政治敏感>>) checkbox.

After you submit, it leads you to: https://www.12321.cn/suc (https://web.archive.org/web/20200807063330/https://www.12321.cn/suc[archive]) in which you can optionally provide further contact details: https://www.12321.cn/reg[]. This appears to be no link with the previous page, so they might just do it via IP. Registration requires both a cell phone and an email.

From the website source code (very simple, hand written, we see that it uses <<baidu,Baidu Analytics>>. The CCP obviously trusts Baidu a lot :-)

On 2020-09-07, <<mirrors,cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship>>'s Google Analytics had a hit coming from http://jbcz.12377.cn/report/center/web.index[] ("This site can't be reached" on Chrome). This was soon after <<ciro-santilli>> mentioned <<cac-report-website>> at https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/149#issuecomment-688084645[]. This is presumably the censor's web UI to review reports. "jb" from jbcz presumably means Ju Bao (举报), the CZ Ciro couldn't guess. 2020-10-14 had another hit from: http://jbcz.12377.cn/report/load/operate.index[].

The toplevel http://12377.cn (https://web.archive.org/web/20200907235842/https://www.12377.cn/[archive]) is entitled "中央网信办（国家互联网信息办公室）违法和不良信息举报中心" and is another report website. It is also linked to from http://www.cac.gov.cn/hdzx/jbzx/A091102index_1.htm under different categories, so it is also official.

The first category in that page is "政治类" (political category). From there we have some awesome information.

First it links to the report guidelines (举报指南) https://www.12377.cn/jbzn.html?tab=4 (https://web.archive.org/web/20200902094911/https://www.12377.cn/jbzn.html?tab=4[archive])

____
涉攻击党和国家制度及重大方针政策，攻击"<<two-safegards,two safeguards,两个维护>>"，危害国家安全、泄露国家秘密，破坏国家统一和领土完整，损害国家形象荣誉利益，破坏国家民族宗教政策、宣扬邪教，诋毁英雄烈士等内容的互联网违法和不良信息，请在此举报。
____

which states:

____
Involved in attacking the party and state system and major policies, attacking the "<<two-safegards,two safeguards>>", endangering national security, leaking state secrets, undermining national unity and territorial integrity, damaging national image, honor and interests, undermining national and religious policies, promoting cults, and vilifying heroes. Please report illegal and harmful information on the Internet of martyrs and other content.
____

so yes, attacking the party and major policies is illegal in China, big news, right? "Involved in attacking the party and state system and major policies" is then one of the categories in the report page.

Soon after the previous events in 2020-09-08, anaytics got a hit from http://openurls.com.cn/ to https://cirosantilli.com/china-dictatorship[]. The only function of that website appears to be to open a newline separated list of websites into separate tabs. Maybe a censor bulk quickly having a look at several tasks. It is basically a clone of https://www.openallurls.com/[] but with an <<icp-license>> :-) The 2020-10-14 hit from http://jbcz.12377.cn was followed by another hit from http://openurls.com.cn/[], further reinforcing that this is part of their review procedure. 3 more hits on `/` and `/ciro-santilli` on 2020-02-22 after pinging a few people on https://github.com/zaohmeing/21- issues.

Other report websites:

* https://www.12339.gov.cn/ spy report website, see also: <<ministry-of-state-security>>
* <<hong-kong-national-security-department-hotline>>

[[wumao]]
==== Wumao (五毛)

50 Cent Party, 五毛党, Wumao Dang:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/网络评论员

They can be classified as a form of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_warfare[information warfare] (link:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/信息战[信息战]).

A wise person once said:

____
It is impossible to distinguish wumaos, idiots and <<not-chinese,brain washed>> people. So we just call all of them wumaos.
____

It has been pointed out however that there is a funny <<slang,slang>> name for brainwashed CCP supporters who are not necessarily paid professional wumaos: "link:https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/小粉紅[小粉紅]" (little pinks)

But of course, the <<ccp-cult,CCP is a cult>> (and <<democracy-is-a-religion,democracy, a religion>>), and therefore <<preconceived,any discussion is also pointless>> in general.

To a large extent, wumao's goals are to dilute useful conversation with shit, normally <<evil-west>> and <<western-democracies-are-not-perfect>>.

This leads to endless idiotic conversions of type:

____
You: Chinese friend, your house is on fire, let's try to put the fire out!

Wumao: I don't care, your house is also on fire!

You: that's true, that fire is also very serious, and I'm trying to put it out!

Wumao: look everyone, his house is on fire! Mine isn't!
____

Therefore, it is crucial to have a working algorithmic policy to handle them: <<how-to-deal-with-wumaos>>.

Notable wumaos <<what-should-western-countries-do-about-china,should be investigated by intelligence agencies>>.

If it is determined that they are knowingly funded by China, they should be put into jail as foreign agents.

There is a tradeoff between privacy rights and snuffing out wumaos, and it is hard to decide where to set the line. But snuffing out wumaos is important, and must be done.

If we were to give up on privacy completely, one possible rule would be: block anyone that lives in China and whose revenue therefore cannot be investigated properly by your government to determine if they are funded by the CCP.

Here are some people completely against blocking wumaos. Those silly Democrats never prepare well enough for war:

* https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/opinion/how-to-counter-chinas-global-propaganda-offensive.html
** it mentions the "Countering Information Warfare Act of 2016" https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2692[], which is exactly what Western countries should do

The <<baidu-baike>> definition of wumao https://baike.baidu.com/item/五毛/24163406[] (https://archive.vn/mADIL[archive])) is priceless:

____
五毛，网络流行语，指收钱为某单位在网络上说好话的人

Fifty cents, an internet buzzword, refers to people who collect money for a certain unit to say good things on the Internet
____

"Good". And not mention of the CCP in the article, of course.

Other names:

* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/网军 (online army), example: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Soft_Job/M.1478104872.A.916.html "Github也出現網軍了嗎?" (Is there an emerging wumao army on GitHub?) on <<ptt>>

Bibliography:

* 2020-03-12 https://twitter.com/jenniferatntd/status/1238076579466674178 <<jennifer-zeng>>'s publishing of purported Wumao guidelines with translation. Translated title: "<<cac,CAC>> (link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberspace_Administration_of_China[Cyberspace Administration of China]) Internal Documentation for Internet Commentators (no spreading)"
* 2018-09-27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCnnPf2OnHo "Chinese Internet Trolls Get Paid 50 Cents For Every Comment" by <<serpentza-laowhy86,laowhy86>>
* 2017-04-09 https://gking.harvard.edu/files/gking/files/50c.pdf "How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, not Engaged Argument" by "Gary King, Jennifer Pan, Margaret E. Roberts"
* https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/files-05202015150018.html
* 2015-05-20 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/files-05202015150018.html "Hackers Leak Files Showing Inner Workings of 'China's 50-Cent Army'", hacker group name "Unicorn Nocturne". TODO material, silly reporters that don't give links
* 2014 emails of some Wumaos were hacked/phished and leaked at https://xiaolan.me/50-cent-party-jxgzzg.html (down, no web archive, but https://archive.is/BNNQe[]) revealing operational details
** https://qz.com/311832/hacked-emails-reveal-chinas-elaborate-and-absurd-internet-propaganda-machine/

毛 (mao2) is a colloquial form of 角 (jiao3) both meaning "one-tenth". Coins actually use 角. See also:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renminbi#Coins The fourth and fifth series Wikipedia currently have a 50 cent picture:
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_series_of_the_renminbi
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_series_of_the_renminbi
* https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/8355/角-毛-10-cents-for-money-why
* https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/26832834/六元四角-vs-六块四毛钱

.50-cent coin (五角) from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_series_of_the_renminbi[fourth series of renminbi] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/第四套人民币[第四套人民币], 1987-1997). This image is going to be very useful. Note the beautiful plum blossom drawings reminiscent of <<chinese-traditional-painting>> which <<ciro-santilli>> loves. Note how it uses 角 (jiao3) instead of 毛 (mao2). http://www.bjzxcp.com/article-41679.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Wujiao.png[height=400]

[[how-to-deal-with-wumaos]]
===== How to deal with wumaos (如何应对五毛)

Above all, never reply intelligently to wumaos. Ignore all their notifications, and ignore their profile wherever possible. And if they start generating too many notifications, block them.

* <<reply-policy>>
* https://github.com/ckhung[C.K. Hung]'s wumao reply strategy: https://ckhung0.blogspot.com/2017/07/50-cents-party.html
+
____
為什麼我不刪五毛的回應反而要刪你的回應? 因為你只能跟人類講道理， 沒辦法跟原始物種講道理啊!

Why I delete your posts, but I don't delete wumao's posts? Because it is only possible to reason with humans, it is not possible to reason with primitive animals!
____
* https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2019/08/【麻辣总局】新型敏感词武器：赵弹磁铁/

===== Where to find wumaos

Wumaos are particularly easy to spot on <<censorship-monitoring,Western websites banned in China>> and when written in English, since there is no way that strong pro-CCP opinions would get any support in such circumstances:

* <<quora>> is completely infested by wumaos as of 2020, see more information on that section

When they write in Chinese, it is much harder to know if they are paid or not, most are just <<stupid,brainwashed>>, some places to find them:

* <<zhao-heming>>

[[ccp-apologists]]
===== CCP apologists (中共辩护士)

If it is ever proven that those people are directly supported by the Chinese government, their nationalities should be revoked, it is very simple.

<<ciro-santilli>> feels that it is unlikely however that the CCP directly pays those apologists, as that would be too risky for both parties.

Rather, Ciro believes that they are either:

* saying that the CCP is good to get more views and ad revenue from CCP supporters that want to hear it from a white (most cases)
* even bigger complete idiots who actually believe China is good (the minority)

Then, when they reach a certain size, the CCP can support them indirectly, notably by featuring them in <<chinese-government-media>> such as <<cgtn>>, e.g. as happened <<nathan-rich>> at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRK1XDlZkng[], in order to boost their views and ad revenue.

For this reason, it is very hard to stop them without quenching freedom of expression.

Ciro's currenty recommended approach is the following: if a proeminent pro-CCP YouTubber never ever criticized the CCP, and it gets featured in CCP media, treat that channel exactly as you should treat CCP media, which is by adding a notice at the bottom along the lines of:

____
This account supports the Chinese Government, which is a fucking murderous dictatorship.
____

followed by a funny meme image that is forbidden in China, e.g. <<xi-jinping-memes>>.

It would be amazing if we could demonetize the apologist channels only for views coming from Chinese citizens, but that seems hard without completely destroying privacy?

Related discussion at: <<what-should-western-countries-do-about-china>>.

It is also interesting to note that many of them don't speak a word of Chinese, or very basic Chinese. It is fine when you say "the CCP is great" as a foreigner, but if you say "the CCP is bad", then <<not-chinese>>.

* 伏拉夫 (fu2 la1 fu1): Russian, says I love China in ridiculously enthusiastic tone which is despised even by the Chinese, samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMVRdeUrk-8[]
+
Video by <<western-dissidents,Lele Farley>> making fun of him and <<nathan-rich>>: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM2_HgXKsM
+
It does not feel like he is paid by the Chinese government, but rather that he is just trying to get some views.
+
https://www.zhihu.com/question/334923127 如何评价俄罗斯籍中国网红伏拉夫？ on <<zhihu>> with 17k likes as of 2020-06.
* Daniel Dumbrill
+
Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Bl8MTbW9M9MQoPhxbarpw
+
Clip featured in <<cgtn>>: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUjatX2p0dA (http://archive.is/gCeIk[archive]) "Daniel Dumbrill: Hong Kong is far freer since its return to China" supporting <<hong-kong-national-security-law>>
+
Another one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMUA3GeScUI "Daniel Dumbrill: I want my children to be proud of being Chinese"
+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gygxrdNmzUQ "Speaking With a Uyghur Activist About Xinjiang Abuse" interviews https://twitter.com/arslan_hidayat[Arslan Hidayat], who was also interviewed by <<china-uncensored,China Unscripted>>: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUTUVxw7VXc and appears to be denouncing the oppression. Video description is filled to the brim with links about how the West is using Xinjiang for fake news. TODO how can he make a video with that guy and still live in China? This suggests strongly that his videos obtain direct CCP approval.
+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nNZbDF75dc "Daniel the Pro-China 'Shill'" replies to accusations of being pro-China
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Zeman Carrie Lam supporter
* "Living in China" by Jason Lightfoot: https://www.youtube.com/user/JasonLightfoot Sample video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mjik6q7FFo "The CCP is Wonderful! Thank you China not a government shill 谢谢你中国"

<<nazi>>-related people that come to mind:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Joyce William Joyce
+
____
William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born British fascist politician and Nazi propaganda broadcaster to the United Kingdom during World War II. He took German citizenship in 1940.

Joyce was convicted of one count of high treason in 1945 and sentenced to death, with the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords both upholding his conviction. He was hanged on 3 January 1946, making him the last person to be executed for treason in the United Kingdom.
____

On <<quora>>: https://www.quora.com/Why-does-there-seem-to-be-an-upsurge-in-CCP-apologists-and-apologism/answer/Ciro-Santilli

TODO decide:

* the JaYoe Nation https://www.youtube.com/c/JaYoeNation Sample video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smnVeGR15GI "Chinese Government Officials Corrupted My Videos! | JaYoe Conversation" 
* Mexicanos en China https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQYtqm1xB2uuNZaOniCH0Q Sample video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a71fDVMBwP8 "Is the CHINESE GOVERNMENT PAYING US to Make Videos: Our Trip to Shaanxi // 中国政府是否付钱给我们制作视频" https://youtu.be/a71fDVMBwP8?t=188 says they were sponsored for the vidieo.
* Gweilo60's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/gweilo60
* Eric Favreliere: https://www.instagram.com/ericfavreliere/

Bibliography:

* https://medium.com/swlh/how-china-is-influencing-youtubers-into-posting-state-propaganda-db72acf18dfa "EXCLUSIVE: How China is Influencing YouTubers into Posting State Propaganda" mentions https://youtu.be/2mQ8plzWl9g?t=520 "They tried to get me to post Chinese propaganda" by J.J. McCullough (2019) was approached to publish an anti-<<shen-yun>> video by what was likely a Chinese agent.

<<reddit>> threads:

* https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/lgkp8t/british_youtubers_paid_by_the_cpp/ about Jason Lightfoot

[[nathan-rich]]
====== Nathan Rich (Hotpot King, 火锅大王)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Rich
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/内森·瑞克

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaSlyjhR4WC7QhYuaivxb6g/videos

As mentioned at: https://medium.com/swlh/how-china-is-influencing-youtubers-into-posting-state-propaganda-db72acf18dfa[]:

____
His vlogging career is inexplicably successful. He has 385,000 subscribers on his channel, a huge amount for someone with so little time and so few videos on the platform.".
____

https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/au8az3/exscientologist_nathan_rich_is_a_convicted_felon/ mentions another interesting very strong circumstantial evidence:

____
His videos feature perfect Chinese in the subtitles along with Chinese video titles, meaning that he is almost certainly having these videos produced by someone else/and or a group of people. I can guarantee that based on his pronunciation of the few Chinese words he says in the video, his Chinese ability should not be anywhere close to fluent.
____

Sample videos:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRqcA04FtmM he says <<serpentza-laowhy86,SerpentZA>> is a fraud "because he criticizes China".

Reception:

* https://www.zhihu.com/question/310502367 "如何评价 B 站 UP 主「NathanRich火锅大王」？" on <<zhihu>>. TODO what is "B站UP"?
* 2020-07-05 <<cgtn>> approves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRK1XDlZkng "Nathan Rich: 'Hotpot King' delivering truth about HK to the world"

2020-06-01  https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3941420 "China propagandist Nathan Rich's criminal record revealed" contains an outline of Richs criminal records, with including mugshots. Most of this was already likely known, but it gives good detail. In particular, it comments on the fact that in 2013 Beijing started to more strictly do criminal background checks for VISA applicants: https://www.china-briefing.com/news/non-criminal-record-certificate-required-for-employment-license-application-in-beijing/[], and that Rich managed to get the VISA two years later nonetheless, notably including a drug trafficking charge.

白https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/en/youtubers_social_commentators_anybody_interested_i_remove_youtube_user_nathan_rich_from_google_services/ characterises him as "左五无毛". While this does not seems like a specific expression, and maybe is not even accurate, learning the meaning of "左五" is of interest:

* https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/白左
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/52409116
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/40252469
* https://pincong.rocks/question/3559

====== Barrett Channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1XG7bJnYqta_ezr12WZp7w

2021-09-21 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/beijing-funds-british-youtubers-to-further-its-propaganda-war-x5gqp5fg0 (on <<reddit>>: https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/kto2vj/beijing_funds_british_youtubers_to_further_its/[]) claims that:

____
The Times has found that some of their videos were funded by <<china-radio-international,Chinese Radio International>>, a media organisation that has been exposed as the secret owner of an international network of propaganda radio stations.

...

In November they visited the Shaanxi district of China with several other foreign YouTubers who live in China and make videos supporting the government.

The trip was organised and funded by the Chinese Radio International and an official press release described the visit as "International Internet Celebrities Witnessing the Happiness of Shaanxi People".

In a candid video about the visit that was subsequently removed, Lee admitted that a trip to a mountain was cancelled so they could witness "propaganda" regarding the area's prosperity.

He said: "It wasn't until the second day they started talking about cutting the trip short by a day, and there was no real reason given for that." A fellow YouTuber Jayoe Nation said: "They had to fit in more propaganda."

Lee replied: "They didn't say that, did they, but that's what happened."

Various videos from the trip show the YouTubers visiting locations in the district including a farm where Oli performed a farcical dance while holding vegetables.
____

Father and son British expats: Lee Barrett, the father, and Oli Barrett, the son.

100k subs one year after. Don't speak a word of Chinese it seems, but all videos have full bilingual translation.

Their tone is natural unlike others more exaggerated like <<nathan-rich>>, so maybe they believe in the shit they say? Either that, or they are a good fake by the CCP.

Sample videos:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq1mCL7EQrM "China Doesn't Have Free Speech!"

[[nigel-ng]]
====== Nigel Ng (ungle-roger, mrnigelng, 罗杰叔叔)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Ng
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/黃瑾瑜

2021-01-12:

* https://hongkongfp.com/2021/01/13/uncle-roger-apologises-and-deletes-video-featuring-fellow-youtube-star-who-criticised-china/ "'Uncle Roger' apologises and deletes video featuring fellow YouTube star who criticised China"
* https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55651798 "Uncle Roger comedian deletes video with China critic"

Nigel had published a collaboration video called "Uncle Roger Review UGLIEST DUMPLING EVER" with another YouTubber called https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjkGXhZsu5H64fWuNQNf1Xw[Mikey Chen], who unknown to Nigel, is a somewhat discreet <<falun-gong>> believer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=315&v=nD6792YoOmY[source])

The video then removed solely because of Mikey's believes expressed elsewhere. The apology on Weibo: https://weibo.com/7231497816/JCQPH5vzK[] Excerpt:

____
During the process of working with the content-creator, I wasn't aware of his political thoughts and his past incorrect remarks about China. This is my negligence, and I will be more careful when I make content in the future.
____

This is the original video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N_wKd5UUg4 according to this reaction video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsatmCWeVb8 No archives of the original were made unfortunately.

Nigel had 125k Weibo followers at that point, and reuploads every YouTube video he posts over there with Chinese subtitles: https://weibo.com/u/7231497816[], extremely likely done by paid professionals.

Saying hi: https://github.com/nigeljyng/dotfiles/issues/4

[[real-username-law]]
==== Real username law (2015)

* 2015-03 China forces real usernames on the net, and provoking ones
** https://advox.globalvoices.org/2015/04/16/new-internet-rules-in-china-target-usernames-avatars-as-subversive-tools/ "New Internet Rules in China Target Usernames, Avatars as Subversive Tools"
** https://www.engadget.com/2015/02/28/china-username-policy-purge/ "Chinese internet giants purge 60,000 accounts for inappropriate usernames"

And guess which idiotic Western website requires real usernames and no privacy? <<quora>>, of course: https://techcrunch.com/2011/02/14/quora-to-oddly-named-users-papers-please/

==== Journalism

===== Western journalists in China

* 2020-09-21 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-21/matthew-carney-foreign-journalist-china-intimidation-birtles/12678610 "'You will be put into detention': Former ABC bureau chief tells story of fleeing China for first time"
* 2016 <<video-bbc-local-election-interview-block-2016>>
* 2015 Ursula Gauthier from <<liubukou>>

[[social-credit-system]]
=== Social Credit System 社会信用体系

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/社会信用体系

Coverage:

* 2019-06-04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cGB8dCDf3c "A Look Inside China's Social Credit System | NBC News Now" by "NBC News"
* 2018-12-12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkw15LkZ_Kw "China's "Social Credit System" Has Caused More Than Just Public Shaming (HBO)" by "VICE News". https://youtu.be/Dkw15LkZ_Kw?t=238[328s] shows how you can donate money to the party to increase your score. This is not a hidden practice, they were filmed and everyone is showing their faces. What a brilliant idea that could never ever lead to corruption! Ciro's jaw just dropped. How can the commies not hide this kind of shit from the West, but hide other stuff the West couldn't care less about?
+
video::Dkw15LkZ_Kw[youtube,height=400,width=600]

=== Chinese foreign interference campaigns

See also:

* <<chinese-interference-in-western-media>>
* <<chinese-interference-in-the-western-education-systems>>

[[belt-and-road-initiative]]
==== Belt and Road Initiative (一带一路)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/一带一路

Related:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperation_between_China_and_Central_and_Eastern_European_Countries Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries
* 17+1合作

[[communist-youth-league]]
=== Communist Youth League of China 中国共产主义青年团

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Youth_League_of_China
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国少年先锋队

Had a membership of 109 million (by the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_National_Congress_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China[17th National Congress]).

Such state sponsored youth organizations are a hallmark of <<dictatorship,dictatorships>>, and serve both as an indoctrination device, and as a selection tool for future politicians:

* <<hitler-youth>>
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komsomol[Komsomol] was the Soviet youth organization

One may argue that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scout_Association[the scouts] are https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/creator-of-taggart-reveals-the-human-stories-behind-an-unlikely-and-unsettling-alliance-on-the-eve-of-wartherell-be-no-more-murders-tv-sleuth-writer-rules-out-comeback/[a similar organization in the West], but one notable difference is the scale of such dictatorship-led youth organizations.

Related news:

* 2020-02-19: https://supchina.com/2020/02/19/communist-youth-league-patriotic-idols/ "The Communist Youth League Thought It Was Creating Patriotic Idols. Instead, It Started A Conversation About Women's Rights". The anime-style mascots are named Jiangshanjiao 江山娇 and Hongqiman 红旗漫.

[[young-pioneers-of-china]]
==== Young Pioneers of China 中国少年先锋队

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Pioneers_of_China
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中国少年先锋队

<<brainwashed-by-usa,Brainwashing>> for kids younger than the <<communist-youth-league>>.

[[xi-salute-young-pioneers]]
.Xi Jinping basically <<nazi,Nazi saluting>> representatives attending the 7th National Congress of the Chinese Young Pioneers in Beijing, June 1, 2015. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-06/01/c_138108706.htm[Source] (http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-06/01/c_138108706.htm[biased]).
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Xi_scout_salute.jpg[height=500]

.<<hitler-youth>> giving the <<nazi,Nazi salute to Hitler>>. https://www.thoughtco.com/hitler-youth-and-indoctrination-1221066[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Hitler_youth_salute.webp[height=500]

==== Hitler Youth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth was the <<nazi,Nazi Germany>> youth organization.

[[one-child-policy]]
=== One-child policy (一孩政策, 1979–2015)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/一孩政策

http://ftp.iza.org/dp3214.pdf suggests that a 1% increase in the male/female sex ratio raised violent and property crime rates by some 3%, mentioned with percentage error at https://youtu.be/DytBlcScGNk?t=1304

[[rule-of-law]]
=== Rule of law 法治

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_law
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/法治

The commies keep saying over and over that rule of law is always observed.

Of course, some times shitty laws are passed, and we must fight those as well: <<follow-the-law>>. But many times, the commies don't even bother setting up a bad law, they just fuck a million people and that's it.

But in reality they punish anyone who poses a political threat, even if they did nothing wrong themselves, some cases that come to mind:

* <<xinjiang>>: millions were jailed/forced to live with a spy in their homes, even though they were not terrorists themselves
* <<falun-gong>>: what did they do wrong to other people that deserves putting them in jail? Is <<flg-medication>> enough to justify that? Are you sure that it is not a political motivation?
* <<the-709-crackdown>>: even lawyers who support anyone who went against the state are imprisoned. How can there be any justice when lawyers are put in jail due to their choice of clients?
* 2020-06 Hao Runze, son of <<hao-haidong>>, lost his job because his father spoke up against the CCP. Did the CCP speak up for him, like the speak up whenever a Chinese citizen gets hurt?

[[picking-quarrels]]
==== Picking quarrels and provoking trouble (寻衅滋事罪)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picking_quarrels_and_provoking_trouble
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/寻衅滋事罪

[[inciting-subversion]]
===== Inciting subversion of state power (煽动颠覆国家政权罪)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inciting_subversion_of_state_power
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/煽动颠覆国家政权罪

Also known in the West as <<richer,voting>>.

[[hurt-the-feelings-of-the-chinese-people]]
===== Hurt the feelings of the Chinese people (伤害中国人民的感情)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurt_the_feelings_of_the_Chinese_people
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/傷害中國人民的感情

[[politically-sensitive]]
===== Politically sensitive (政治敏感)

That's how the censors refer to stuff <<censorship,censored>> for political reasons, e.g.:

* <<ciro-santillis-zhihu-ban-2018-06-25>>
* <<cac-report-website>>

See also:

* 知乎的"政治敏感"，到底是谁的"政治敏感"呢？ (Zhihu's "politically sensitive" is "politically sensitive" to whom?)
* https://jikipedia.com/definition/145472014 "政治敏感"
* http://www.hainmc.edu.cn/news/info/1018/1870.htm "习近平三招教你培养政治敏感性、预见性" (Xi Jinping's three methods teach you to <<flg-cult,cultivate>> political sensitivity and predictability).
+
This stuff could have come directly out of <<nineteen-eighty-four>>'s "thoughcrime" references.
+
On the website of a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Medical_University[Medical University], the CCP is infiltrated everywhere.
+
Related: <<xi-jinping-thought>>.

Typing that on Google also suggested "People also searched for: 网络审查利弊" (What are the pros and cons of censorship?) Priceless. Bomb at: https://github.com/cirosantilli/china-dictatorship/issues/150[]. <<dictatorship-variability>> comes to mind.

[[residential-surveillance]]
===== Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location (指定居所监视居住)

More accurately: in prison at a secret location, and without the rights to see who you wish, not even a lawyer.

=== Support for non-scientific traditional practices

This is especially interesting given that one of the main propaganda reasons for banning <<falun-gong>> was <<flg-medication>>:

* <<xu-xiaodong>> reveals support for Tai Chi
* 2020-06-03 Beijing considering censoring anti Chinese traditional medicine https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/beijing-draws-up-plans-to-outlaw-criticism-of-traditional-chinese-medicine

[[drink-tea]]
=== Police invite to drink tea (被请喝茶)

* <<zhihu>> https://www.zhihu.com/question/60504957 "被请喝茶是怎样的体验？"
* <<pincong>> https://pincong.rocks/question/7226 "请大家都来曝光下身边被请喝茶或者拘留的例子，让葱油们引以为戒，让更多的人看到土共的凶残"

[[central-party-school]]
=== Central Party School of the Communist Party of China (Central Party School, 中共中央党校, 中央党校))

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Party_School_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中共中央党校

University to train the next dictators

Website: http://www.ccps.gov.cn/ (Central Committee Party School).

== Chinese companies

=== Zoom

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom_Video_Communications
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoom

American company, with Chinese-born now American Citizen CEO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Yuan[Eric Yuan] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/袁征[袁征]), migrated to the US around 1997), and development teams largely China-based to reduce costs.

News:

* 2020-12-18: China-based exec Xinjiang Jin (https://cn.nytimes.com/technology/20201221/zoom-tiananmen-square/[靳新江]), AKA Julian Jin, charged with sabotaging Zoom conferences, FBI issued a wanted warrant for him.
** 2020-12-22 https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/how-zoom-violated-its-own-terms-service-access-china-s-n1252092 summarizes a bit more details about the block
** https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55372493 "US charges ex-Zoom employee with shutting down Tiananmen Square events"
+
Zoom statement:
+
____
"We learned during the course of our investigation that the China-based former employee charged today violated Zoom's policies by, among other things, attempting to circumvent certain internal access controls," it said.

It added that the employee "took actions resulting in the termination of several meetings in remembrance of Tiananmen Square and meetings involving religious and/or political activities" and "also shared or directed the sharing of a limited amount of individual user data with Chinese authorities".
____
** https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/counterintelligence/xinjiang-jin
** (possible uncofirmed linkedin) https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-jin-953615175/[]: Zhejiang University, (ex?) CISCO Webex. Work start date of 1981 could be birth date to enlarge work experience, and that would reach the correct age of 39.
* 2020-06-10 <<zhou-fengsuo>>'s account as blocked after a celebration of <<tiananmen>>, which was attended by many people from China. The account was later reinstated, Zoom said it acted on a CCP request on error, and it won't do this for users outside of China anymore:
** https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zoom-video-commn-privacy/zoom-says-china-demanded-shutting-activists-accounts-over-tiananmen-event-idUSKBN23I3GP "U.S. lawmakers ask Zoom to clarify China ties after it suspends accounts"
** https://www.axios.com/zoom-closes-chinese-user-account-tiananmen-square-f218fed1-69af-4bdd-aac4-7eaf67f34084.html "Zoom closed account of U.S.-based Chinese activist 'to comply with local law'".
** https://docs.google.com/document/d/12DM3ccTe70yzqCDPu9uXlCD7WmfJq-yzvKdKBH0oppc/edit

.2020-03-27 photo showing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson[UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson] using Zoom on a Cabinet meeting (a high level Government meeting) during <<corona>>. If you don't properly ban risky dictatorship-linked software, it will get used at the highest levels of Government by clueless people. https://news.sky.com/story/coronairus-cabinet-talks-held-on-zoom-days-after-software-was-banned-by-ministry-of-defence-11963889[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zoom_Boris.jpg[height=400]

[[huawei]]
=== Huawei (华为)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/华为

Just look at the Chinese name of the company:

* 华 (China)
* 为 (to do something for)

How can the West not see this?

No proof is needed. They belong to a <<dictatorship>>, and therefore must not be trusted. Doing so is always a risk which we should not take.

Also have a look at their Wikipedia page:

____
Ren sought to reverse engineer foreign technologies with local researchers. At a time when all of China's telecommunications technology was imported from abroad, Ren hoped to build a domestic Chinese telecommunication company that could compete with, and ultimately replace, foreign competitors.

During its first several years the company's business model consisted mainly of reselling private branch exchange (PBX) switches imported from Hong Kong. Meanwhile, it was reverse-engineering imported switches and investing heavily in research and development to manufacture its own technologies. By 1990 the company had approximately 600 R&D staff and began its own independent commercialization of PBX switches targeting hotels and small enterprises.

The company's first major breakthrough came in 1993 when it launched its C&C08 program controlled telephone switch. It was by far the most powerful switch available in China at the time. By initially deploying in small cities and rural areas and placing emphasis on service and customizability, the company gained market share and made its way into the mainstream market.

Huawei also won a key contract to build the first national telecommunications network for the People's Liberation Army, a deal one employee described as "small in terms of our overall business, but large in terms of our relationships". In 1994, founder Ren Zhengfei had a meeting with Party general secretary Jiang Zemin, telling him that "switching equipment technology was related to national security, and that a nation that did not have its own switching equipment was like one that lacked its own military." Jiang reportedly agreed with this assessment.

Another major turning point for the company came in 1996 when the government in Beijing adopted an explicit policy of supporting domestic telecommunications manufacturers and restricting access to foreign competitors. Huawei was promoted by both the government and the military as a national champion, and established new research and development offices.
____

At any point the Chinese government could make a request that they cannot deny.

List of bad things Huawei has done: https://github.com/evil-huawei/evil-huawei Mostly not political.

List of Huawei joke:s https://github.com/HuaweiJoke/Huawei-Joke "This project is collecting jokes about Huawei company that are deleted due to censorship. You are welcome to contribute."

Some news:

* 2021-01-13 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-55634388 "Huawei patent mentions use of Uighur-spotting tech". Related: <<em_nation_type_uygur-2020>>
* 5G 2019-2020
** in 2020 the UK was trying hard to get kicked out of the 5 eyes in 2020 by using 5G equipment from Huawei
** 2020-06-25 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-53178998 "Huawei's £1bn research centre near Cambridge approved" so despite all the 5G stuff, the UK still allows them to create a new research center in the UK... are they blind?
** https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/28/tech/huawei-5g-uk/index.html (https://web.archive.org/web/20200129023355/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/28/tech/huawei-5g-uk/index.html[archive]) "UK will allow Huawei to help build its 5G network despite US pressure"
** 2020-04-17 only after more than 10 thousand people died in the country during <<corona>> did the brits finally change their minds: https://nypost.com/2020/04/17/uk-moves-to-drop-huawei-as-5g-vendor-citing-china-coronavirus-transparency/ "UK moves to drop Huawei as 5G vendor, citing China coronavirus transparency"
* 2018-12 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meng_Wanzhou[Meng Wanzhou] (孟晚舟), daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei (任正非) and Huawei CFO as of 2018, was arrested in Canada because the US accused her of breaking Iran sanctions
** https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-michael-kovrig-michael-spavor-canadian-detainees-china-explainer/ "Why are Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor still detained in China?" in apparent retaliation, under accusation of espionage.
** 2020-05-27 https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/27/canada-court-finds-against-huawei-cfo-meng-wanzhou-on-double-criminality-extradition-trial-to-continue/ "Canada court finds against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou on double criminality; extradition trial to continue"
* 2019-11 https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/11/29/has-huaweis-darkest-secret-just-been-exposed-by-this-new-report/#7896db9d4061 "Has Huawei's Darkest Secret Just Been Exposed By This New Surveillance Report?" Xinjiang Papers reveal the extent of Huawei's involvement in <<xinjiang>>

."When you send a good joke from your Huawei phone", <<xi-jinping>> is also listening and laughing with you, girls. https://i.redd.it/nodgcqmwtcg31.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/When_you_send_a_good_joke_from_your_Huawei_phone.jpg[height=600]

.<<rebel-pepper>> 2018-12-10 "Why does the whole world hate me" Huawei cartoon, where Huawei's shadow shows the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_and_sickle[hammer and sickle] to suggest that Huawei is controlled by the CCP. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/Huawei-cartoon-12102018152050.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Huawei_why_does_the_whole_world_hate_me.jpeg[height=400]

.<<rebel-pepper>> 2019-03-08 showing Huawei slapping the Statue of Liberty with "The Constitution of the United States" when Huawei sued the US Government for violating the Constitution when it banned government agencies from buying Huawei equipment. This illustrates the usual dilemma where <<what-should-western-countries-do-about-china,China uses Western freedom of speech as a weapon against the West itself>>. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/chinashuawei-03082019162541.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Huawei_Statue_of_Liberty.jpeg[height=400]

.Cartoon showing a huge China flag branded USB sucking up Western personal and military information like a vacuum cleaner in 2019-04-29 article entitled "Britain will regret doing business with Huawei". TODO cartoon author. https://retro-blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/04/britain-will-regret-doing-business-with-huawei/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/China_USB_theft.jpg[height=400]

.Cartoon suggesting that Huawei's 5G is a like a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Horse[Trojan Horse] being gifted to Europe. TODO: source of original non-China generic Trojan Horse background image that was edited and repurposed. https://twitter.com/DaichiWatanbe/status/1231189285325475840[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Huawei_5G_Trojan.jpg[height=400]

.<<rebel-pepper>> 2019-06-22 cartoon depicting Germany, Hungary and the United Kingdom as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gollum[Gollum]s from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings[The Lord of The Rings] and China as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauron[Sauron] offering a ring which reads "5G to rule them" and "Huawei" to the Gollums who are eager to obtain it. This is a reference to The Lord of the Rings backstory in which Sauron bribed and controlled the rulers of the world by giving them https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Power[rings of power]. Now that Ciro thinks about it, maybe this was actually Tolkien making a reference to the political situation of his time. https://twitter.com/RadioFreeAsia/status/1100504518142365698[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Huawei_5G_my_precious.jpg[height=400]

[[tiktok]]
=== TikTok (Douyin, 抖音)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TikTok
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/抖音

News:

* 2020-11-05  https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-censor-china-critical-content-uighur-uighurs-2020-11?r=US&IR=T "A senior TikTok executive admitted the company used to censor content critical of China, 'specifically with regard to the Uighur situation'", related to: <<xinjiang-re-education-camps>>
* 2020-07 https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/23/tiktok-creator-fund-200-million-us/ "TikTok unveils $200 million fund for U.S. creators": TikTok is trying to buy their stay in the West.
* 2020-07 https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/06/26/warning-apple-suddenly-catches-tiktok-secretly-spying-on-millions-of-iphone-users/#5265c8d734ef "pple Suddenly Catches TikTok Secretly Spying On Millions Of iPhone Users" by reading from the clipboard
* 2020-06 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53225720 India bans TikTok after Ladakh border tensions
* 2020-05 <<liu-keqing-singer>>
* 2019-11-28 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/28/tiktok-says-sorry-to-us-teenager-blocked-after-sharing-xinjiang-videos[]: "TikTok sorry for blocking teenager who disguised Xinjiang video as make-up tutorial". Subtitle: "Chinese-owned video sharing platform blocked Feroza Aziz after she posted film disguised as makeup tutorial"
* 2019-11 https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/11/25/20976964/chinese-americans-censorship-wechat-hong-kong-elections-tiktok

Reports:

* 2020-08 https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3982027 photo of ByteDance top brass with CCP members in Beijing and description of their meeting. Because obviously they have strong ties with the CCP like any other Chinese company.
* 2020-03 https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/fug8i1/the_chinese_tiktok_just_began_an_uninterrupted/ "The Chinese Tik-Tok just began an uninterrupted propaganda stream." during <<corona>>
* https://twitter.com/JoshuaDummer/status/1280877750245453828 "Wife trying livestreaming on Douyin. Comes over to me in the middle of a stream and puts me on camera. After about a minute, notice pops up saying that foreigners are not allowed to appear on livestreams 'without permission'."
** https://twitter.com/JoshuaDummer/status/1280881420047511552/photo/1
** https://twitter.com/JoshuaDummer/status/1280882119913291776/photo/1

Douyin does not seem to have a web interface: https://www.zhihu.com/question/269102675 "有没有抖音网页版或者抖音电脑版？"

[[baidu]]
=== Baidu (百度)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu

The "Google of China":

* Search engine: original business and still served at the toplevel domain
** https://www.baidu.com/
** Autocomplete suggestion for "Ciro Santilli": "cirosantilli的妻子" (Ciro Santilli's wife and Children)
** Clearly and obviously censors pages with <<keyword-attack,keywords>>, e.g.:
*** https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=Ciro%20Santilli%20Stack%20Overflow["Ciro Santilli Stack Overflow"] hits https://stackoverflow.com/users/9160762/ciro-santilli and not https://stackoverflow.com/users/895245/ciro-santilli-郝海东冠状病六四事件法轮功 which has way greater reputation (https://web.archive.org/web/20200807071610/https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=Ciro%20Santilli%20Stack%20Overflow[archive]). For example, a much smaller account with a much more common name hits: https://stackoverflow.com/users/763246/james-hill | https://web.archive.org/web/20200807072446/https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=james%20hill%20stack%20overflow
*** https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=cirosantilli%20github["cirosantilli github"] does not hit https://github.com/cirosantilli (https://web.archive.org/web/20200807071807/https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=cirosantilli%20github[archive])
*** but there does appear to be a manual aspect to the block possibly. For example, Ciro's top answer does hit, even though he has keywords in the page: https://www.baidu.com/s?&wd=dependencies%20devDependencies%20peerDependencies to https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18875674/whats-the-difference-between-dependencies-devdependencies-and-peerdependencies (https://web.archive.org/web/20200807072151/https://www.baidu.com/s?&wd=dependencies%20devDependencies%20peerDependencies[archive])
*** Pages censored in China do hit outside of China at least however, e.g.: https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=twitter first hits https://twitter.com (https://web.archive.org/web/20200807071312/https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=twitter[archive])
* Tieba blogging
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu_Tieba
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/百度贴吧
** https://tieba.baidu.com
* Maps
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu_Maps
** https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/百度地图
** Google Maps is not allowed to film in China for Streetview, so Baidu has its own
* Analytics
** https://tongji.baidu.com/web/help/article?id=174
** 百度统计代码介绍
** the <<cac>> uses their analytics as of 2020

[[baidu-baike]]
==== Baidu Baike (Chinese censored Wikipedia clone)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu_Baike
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/百度百科

The leading Chinese Wikipedia clone by <<baidu>>.

<<censorship,Censored to the brim>> needless to say, see e.g. <<baidu-baike-censorship-of-hao-haidong>>.

Website: https://baike.baidu.com/[].

Seems to not have edit history. <<wayback-machine,History >> is bad for censorship, because you never know when you might need to rewrite it ;-) See also: <<nineteen-eighty-four>>.

[[alibaba]]
=== Alibaba (阿里巴巴)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibaba_Group
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/阿里巴巴集团

==== Jack Ma's disappearance (2021)

Got bitchslaped by Xi, 3 months disappearance:

* 2021-02-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20210219160944/https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-blocked-jack-mas-ant-ipo-after-an-investigation-revealed-who-stood-to-gain-11613491292 "China Blocked Jack Ma’s Ant IPO After Investigation Revealed Likely Beneficiaries. Well-connected Chinese power players, including some with links to political families that represent a potential challenge to President Xi". Mentioned specifically are Jiang Zhicheng
* https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/23/the-strange-case-of-alibabas-jack-ma-and-his-three-month-vanishing-act

== Chinese censorship companies

[[dahua-technology]]
=== Dahua Technology (大华股份)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahua_Technology
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/大华股份

Facial recognition, used in <<xinjiang>>.

==== EM_NATION_TYPE_UYGUR (2020)

https://twitter.com/q3k/status/1322943395497680897 highlighted a snippet of code:

....
    //民族
    public static class EM_NATION_TYPE extends MyStructure
    {
      public static final int EM_NATION_TYPE_UNKNOWN = 0;                   // 未知
      public static final int EM_NATION_TYPE_UYGUR = 1;                     // 维族(新疆)
      public static final int EM_NATION_TYPE_OTHER = 2;                     // 其他
      public static final int EM_NATION_TYPE_UNIDENTIFIED = 3;              // 设备未识别
    }
....