Beijing has abandoned the plans to force bloggers to use their real names. Now the bloggers would be only encouraged to use their real names.
The Chinese government, as Xinhua reports, is still worried about blogs’ potential for slander, libel, abuse, pornography and ‘breaches of secrecy’.
Chinese censors want to ensure the use of real name online. This, they say, would encourage responsible behaviour and discourage any misuse.
The proposal for legislation forcing bloggers to reveal their real names had come as a threat to whatever little ‘freedom of speech’ enjoyed by the Chinese in a strictly censored country, including the country’s cyber world.
The fact that Beijing has put aside its plans for real-name blogging does not mean it has become more liberal towards freedom of speech. The Chinese cyber world is one of the most strictly censored so much so that the Chinese cyber world is said to be separated from the rest of the world by the ‘Great Firewall of China’.
The Chinese government has been trying hard to cut the country off from the influences of the rest of the world. But the task is getting tougher each day. The changes in policies of the Chinese government are obviously influenced by the outside world. When the ‘protector’ itself is susceptible to ‘attack’ by the outside world, those ‘under protection’ will obviously be influenced. These kind of restrictions and prohibitions can’t persist for very long. Obviously, the Chinese are willing to break free from the captivity.
Source: Financial Times
Image Source: xeni.net
