As activists and journalists continue to try unsuccessfully to visit Chen Guangcheng (which is often referred to as “adventure tourism to Shangdong” by netizens, for the journey can be very risky and visitors are often beaten up by security agents), the Operation Free Chen Guangcheng campaign has been followed by waves of censorship in cyberspace.
A list of Chen Guangcheng-related keywords are currently banned on Sina Weibo’s search function. The list was originally uncovered and tested by the CDT team on October 22 [using simplified characters]. Two of the keywords, “Chen Guangcheng” (陈光诚) and “Dongshigu” (东师古, the name of the village where Chen is being held), are no longer banned during today’s re-test.
Below is a recent list of keywords:
“Let there be light” (要有光), “Let there be honesty” (要有诚), “Free Guangcheng” (自由光诚), “Village of Frozen Corpse and Bones”(冻尸骨村), “Village of Eastern Corpse and Bones” (东尸骨村).
[In Chinese, two characters in Chen Guangcheng’s name, “Guang” (光) and “Cheng” (诚), literately mean “light” and “honesty”. “Let there be light” and ”Let there be be honesty” have been two catchphrases of the Operation Free Chen Guangcheng campaign.
“Village of Frozen Corpse and Bones” and “Village of Eastern Corpse and Bones” have the same pronunciation as “Dongshigu Village” in Chinese, which is the place where Chen is being held.]
Note: CDT Chinese has launched a project to crowd-source filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information.
