2 face trial as China enforces online control amid pandemic

Share this contentTAIPEI: More than a year after two amateur computer coders were taken by police from their Beijing homes, they are set to be tried on Tuesday in a case that illustrates the Chinese government's growing online censorship and heightened sensitivity to any deviation from the official narrative on its COVID-19 response.

But what got them in trouble with authorities appears to be archiving articles showing an alternative to China's official narrative about its pandemic response just as the country started facing questions over its handling of the initial outbreak.In keeping the censored articles and providing a place for them to be discussed, the two run afoul of increasingly strict regulations in an already stifling online environment under President Xi Jinping.

"A lot of things happened in China then that made us very upset, and he may have been affected by that," said his girlfriend, Tang Hongbo. She was also detained but released after 23 days when it became clear she did not know much about the project."Every day we were looking at the Internet, and we were all in this tragic mindset.

"It's not just the 'real name' system – the deletions of posts, the bans, have reached a point that’s really shocking domestically," Cai wrote in another 2018 post. "He wants information to flow. He wants quality information to flow freely," said Chen Kun, his older brother."We have this type of value deep in our bones, the independence of discourse on the Internet and the free transmission of information."Cai and Chen met in 2011 at a summer camp hosted by Liren College, a socially conscious educational program.

"They were told that Chen Mei has family members abroad, has provided foreign organisations with information about the pandemic and is basically handing a knife over to the enemy," said Chen Kun, who now lives in France.

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

China posts slowest population growth in decadesChina's population has grown at its slowest pace in decades, reaching 1.41 billion, census results showed on Tuesday, highlighting fears of a looming crisis over an ageing society.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »

Tourist gets counselling after scare on glass bridge in ChinaKUALA LUMPUR — A tourist was left hanging on for his dear life after the glass-bottomed bridge he was walking on at a resort in northeast China’s Jilin Province was damaged by a gale. Mother Nature has other plans.
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Food bloggers now banned from livestreaming binge eating in China, fines for those who waste food
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

China: Search for leopard missing more than a weekThree leopards escaped from Hangzhou Safari Park more than a week ago. Two were recaptured over the weekend, but one remains at large.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »

Food bloggers now banned from livestreaming binge eating in China, fines for those who waste foodKUALA LUMPUR, May 11 ― It is now against the law to waste food in China following the passing of the Anti-Food Waste law recently. Chinese portal Xinhua reported that the law was aimed at... Hmmm .... something Singapores should learn from! SGFoodAgency govsingapore leehsienloong ChannelNewsAsia zaobaosg straits_times MothershipSG
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »

Subway security guard in China fired for sharing X-ray photos of girl’s sex toysThe security guard had shared the photos showing leather whips, anal plugs, erotic underwear and electric toys that he took from the bag of a secondary school girl. He also said that beautiful girls were “not serious”. Only those who are mentally retarded will believe this kind of article!
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »