Once again, the Chinese government has failed the Chinese people.
I have a feeling Hosni is fucked.
Egypt has, for the past few days, been embroiled in riots and unrest as the Egyptian people take to the streets protesting Hosni Mubarak's 30 year-old reign in the North African country. While violence rocks Cairo, the Internet cuts off, and Mubarak refuses to step down, the world waits with bated breath to see the outcome of this story... Will change come to Egypt, or will the 82-year old president hold onto his office? Whatever the outcome, we can definitely say that Egypt has changed in a profound way-- either politically or in the hearts of its people. Everyone is enthralled.
Well,
almost everyone.
"China has blocked the word 'Egypt' from the country's wildly popular Twitter-like service, while coverage of the political turmoil has been tightly restricted in state media.
"China's ruling Communist Party is sensitive to any potential source of social unrest.
"A search for 'Egypt' on the Sina microblogging service brings up a message saying, 'According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, the search results are not shown.'"
I would to state unequivocally that nothing makes me as angry as censorship. I read this article (link below) and I get furious. I might have a few things to say.
First of all: The Chinese government blows. The only reason we talk to them is because they have goods, and we want those goods. Period. Otherwise, we would have classed the human rights violations the government routinely commits against its people as sanction worthy and would have nothing to do with these despots.
Plus, how stupid do you have to be? Egypt blocked Twitter when the protesting started-- and it only served to enrage people and attract attention to the issue worldwide. Does the Communist Party and its puppet agencies like Xinhua think that they can get away with this level of arrogance?
He calls himself a President. I call him the oppressor of over a billion people.
Worse, I object to using the phraseology "China blocked the word 'Egypt.'" China didn't do this. The Chinese government did this. Why do I care about this? It's pretty important, and it's also why the ruling party does not want the Chinese people-- does not want China-- to learn about the unrest taking place in Egypt even as I write this post.
Here's the thing. 20% of the world's population lives in China. That means that as long as the media is restricted regarding the protests in Egypt one fifth of the human race is kept from learning about something happening in a powerful Arab nation. That is what boggles my mind and surely terrifies the Hu Jintao regime-- the greatest people on Earth are being kept from being told that a nation's populace can topple an unjust ruler.
Who is China? Is it the few assholes who made this stupid policy decision and restricted information that is on every street corner in Washington DC, Paris, London, and Sydney? Or is it the 20% of humanity that suffers under the depredations of said assholes? China is not the the single-party "Republic" that does the ordering, but instead the people in the cities, in the country, in Beijing and along the Yellow River. It is a sleeping giant waiting to be awakened, and it will be truly terrifying if it wakes up angry.
The Communist Party of China would do well to remember that, and act accordingly... because someday China will remember, and then the few who oppress the many will pay. I can't say they won't deserve it.
I look forward to seeing the events in Egypt unfold. I hope justice prevails, and I hope that the violence and bloodshed taking place in Egypt, while terrible, buys freedom from an unjust rule and true democracy for a beleaguered nation.
And I hope China gets to hear about it.
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