3 ms·

Chinese woman jailed over Twitter post

13 points by J3L2404 16y ago

corin_ 16y ago
"Her detention is a sign of how closely China's government scrutinises comment on the internet." It shows how they punish it, but that statement is piss poor. Here in the UK (hi BBC, think you've heard of us, you've based here) we've seen an MP get suspended for saying something on Twitter. I don't remember reading that it was a sign of "how closely the British government scrutineses content on the internet". Oh, that's right, it doesn't fit the image of the story correctly.
wccrawford 16y ago
My first guess was that she threatened someone. Inciting violence is just about as good. Seriously, why do people think they can say things like that, joking or not? It's in the same category as yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded theatre.
- cmelbye 16y ago
  But is one year of "re-education" in a labor camp without a trial a fair punishment for that?
- duck 16y ago
  Sorry, but that is nothing like yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater. Scroll through this list - http://twitter.com/#!/search/kill%20him http://twitter.com/#!/search/kill%20him, and tell me what you think should happen to all the ones that don't sound like a joke?
- exit 16y ago
  because the things we say online are more like thoughts in ones head than words spoken out loud.
  - jhancock 16y ago
    I'm not sure the legal structure in China or the U.S. has caught up with your position on this. You can be certain the U.S. Secret Service chases down perceived threats from online and offline comments fairly regularly. This is the problem: Too much change, too fast. Much of what we say online today was prohibited to do so on the only available broadcast mechanisms in the U.S. as recently as mid-1970s. Even once the laws and regulators started to relax it took some time as the contents providers pushed boundaries. Its only been in the last 20 years that people could "broadcast themselves". China wrote its first laws to cover internet content less than 10 years ago. This is very new territory.
  - SimonPStevens 16y ago
    I think people need to start to take more responsibility for what they say online. It's philosophies like this that cause people to get into trouble over inappropriate comments on facebook/twitter. Online is far more public that just vocalising something out loud. Online is stored indefinitely. Online is searchable. Online is global. I'm not saying this case deserved any punishment (I favour freedom of speech), but people need to be aware that what they say online is public. If you wouldn't happily say it in public, don't type it online.
binarymax 16y ago
'Re-education'? Damn.
- 0_o 16y ago
  "re-education through labour" is the literal translation of the Chinese words "laogai"(劳改), which is already in Oxford dictionary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laogai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laogai
lionhearted 16y ago
> She had repeated a Twitter comment urging nationalist protesters to smash Japan's pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, adding the words "Charge, angry youth". She's encouraging racially based violence... I'm all for free speech, but this really crosses the line. The closest American analogy I can think of would be for someone to encourage the Ku Klux Klan to "string 'em up!" Seriously, I have Japanese friends that won't go to China any more out of fear, which is probably something the Chinese government doesn't want. There's quite a lot of violence against Japanese businesses, and sometimes people, in China these days. And that's a bad thing. The Japanese did bad things in WWII, but the younger Japanese had nothing to do with it. Not to mention, in the interim other Chinese have done much, much worse things to their fellow countrymen than the Japanese ever did. Edit: A year in a labor camp does seem excessive, but yeah, publicly encouraging violence and rioting against a specific nationality of people is not okay, and probably should be a crime of some sort, though probably with a lesser penalty.
- robryan 16y ago
  I guess your position and reputation come into it to, I could go insight as much violence on Twitter right now and nothing would come of it. Drawing a parallel though, if someone prominent with influence did this in America what would the repercussions towards them be?
  - yread 16y ago
    Yeah? How about saying that you'll blow up an airport "sky high"?
    - maeon3 16y ago
      For those of you saying that no injustice has occurred here and saying that an equivalent punishment would occur in America under these circumstances. Lets review what would happen to this girl in America vs China: 1. That person does not just "disappear." 2. The person is permitted to speak with an attorney without answering police questions 3. The police must file charges within a short time or release the person. 4. The person is entitled to a bail hearing. 5. The person is entitled to a public and speedy trial. 6. The finder of fact in the trial is a jury of citizens But other than these things, its the same thing here as there. However, China can't afford to jail people like they do in America, if they did they would need to throw 500 million people in there. See the incarceration rates us vs china. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_Sta...
RiderOfGiraffes 16y ago
People in the West will be up in arms about that, but it's happened in the UK as well: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-appeal-verdict http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-... Something no one in their right mind would believe was anything other than a joke has landed the tweeter two lost jobs, a criminal conviction, a fine, and he now faces a lengthy and costly legal action to appeal. http://www.google.com/search?q=paul+chambers+twitter http://www.google.com/search?q=paul+chambers+twitter In particular: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-appeal-verdict http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-...

13 points by J3L2404 16y ago

"Her detention is a sign of how closely China's government scrutinises comment on the internet." It shows how they punish it, but that statement is piss poor. Here in the UK (hi BBC, think you've heard of us, you've based here) we've seen an MP get suspended for saying something on Twitter. I don't remember reading that it was a sign of "how closely the British government scrutineses content on the internet". Oh, that's right, it doesn't fit the image of the story correctly.

wccrawford 16y ago

My first guess was that she threatened someone. Inciting violence is just about as good. Seriously, why do people think they can say things like that, joking or not? It's in the same category as yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded theatre.

cmelbye 16y ago
But is one year of "re-education" in a labor camp without a trial a fair punishment for that?
duck 16y ago
Sorry, but that is nothing like yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater. Scroll through this list - http://twitter.com/#!/search/kill%20him http://twitter.com/#!/search/kill%20him, and tell me what you think should happen to all the ones that don't sound like a joke?
exit 16y ago
because the things we say online are more like thoughts in ones head than words spoken out loud.
- jhancock 16y ago
  I'm not sure the legal structure in China or the U.S. has caught up with your position on this. You can be certain the U.S. Secret Service chases down perceived threats from online and offline comments fairly regularly. This is the problem: Too much change, too fast. Much of what we say online today was prohibited to do so on the only available broadcast mechanisms in the U.S. as recently as mid-1970s. Even once the laws and regulators started to relax it took some time as the contents providers pushed boundaries. Its only been in the last 20 years that people could "broadcast themselves". China wrote its first laws to cover internet content less than 10 years ago. This is very new territory.
- SimonPStevens 16y ago
  I think people need to start to take more responsibility for what they say online. It's philosophies like this that cause people to get into trouble over inappropriate comments on facebook/twitter. Online is far more public that just vocalising something out loud. Online is stored indefinitely. Online is searchable. Online is global. I'm not saying this case deserved any punishment (I favour freedom of speech), but people need to be aware that what they say online is public. If you wouldn't happily say it in public, don't type it online.

binarymax 16y ago

'Re-education'? Damn.

0_o 16y ago
"re-education through labour" is the literal translation of the Chinese words "laogai"(劳改), which is already in Oxford dictionary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laogai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laogai

lionhearted 16y ago

> She had repeated a Twitter comment urging nationalist protesters to smash Japan's pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, adding the words "Charge, angry youth". She's encouraging racially based violence... I'm all for free speech, but this really crosses the line. The closest American analogy I can think of would be for someone to encourage the Ku Klux Klan to "string 'em up!" Seriously, I have Japanese friends that won't go to China any more out of fear, which is probably something the Chinese government doesn't want. There's quite a lot of violence against Japanese businesses, and sometimes people, in China these days. And that's a bad thing. The Japanese did bad things in WWII, but the younger Japanese had nothing to do with it. Not to mention, in the interim other Chinese have done much, much worse things to their fellow countrymen than the Japanese ever did. Edit: A year in a labor camp does seem excessive, but yeah, publicly encouraging violence and rioting against a specific nationality of people is not okay, and probably should be a crime of some sort, though probably with a lesser penalty.

robryan 16y ago
I guess your position and reputation come into it to, I could go insight as much violence on Twitter right now and nothing would come of it. Drawing a parallel though, if someone prominent with influence did this in America what would the repercussions towards them be?
- yread 16y ago
  Yeah? How about saying that you'll blow up an airport "sky high"?
  - maeon3 16y ago
    For those of you saying that no injustice has occurred here and saying that an equivalent punishment would occur in America under these circumstances. Lets review what would happen to this girl in America vs China: 1. That person does not just "disappear." 2. The person is permitted to speak with an attorney without answering police questions 3. The police must file charges within a short time or release the person. 4. The person is entitled to a bail hearing. 5. The person is entitled to a public and speedy trial. 6. The finder of fact in the trial is a jury of citizens But other than these things, its the same thing here as there. However, China can't afford to jail people like they do in America, if they did they would need to throw 500 million people in there. See the incarceration rates us vs china. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_Sta...

RiderOfGiraffes 16y ago

People in the West will be up in arms about that, but it's happened in the UK as well: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-appeal-verdict http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-... Something no one in their right mind would believe was anything other than a joke has landed the tweeter two lost jobs, a criminal conviction, a fine, and he now faces a lengthy and costly legal action to appeal. http://www.google.com/search?q=paul+chambers+twitter http://www.google.com/search?q=paul+chambers+twitter In particular: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-appeal-verdict http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-...