China Digital Times
501(c)3 organization | |
45-5274376 | |
Headquarters | Berkeley, California |
Official language | English, Chinese |
Website | chinadigitaltimes |
China Digital Times (CDT; Chinese: 中国数字时代) is a US-based 501(c)(3) organization that runs a bilingual news website covering China.[1] The site focuses on news items which are blocked, deleted or suppressed by China's state censors.[2]
History
The website was started by Xiao Qiang of University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism in fall 2003. Xiao has asserted that Chinese internet users are using digital tools to create new autonomous forms of political expression and dissent, "changing the rules of the game between state and society".[3]
According to Freedom House, researchers at China Digital Times have reportedly identified over 800 filtered terms, including "Cultural Revolution" and "propaganda department".[4] The types of words, phrases and web addresses censored by the government include names of Chinese high-level leadership; protest and dissident movements; politically sensitive events, places and people; and foreign websites and organizations blocked at network level, along with pornography and other content.[5]
For many years, the site has leaked propaganda from the State Council Information Office, which overseers news websites in China.[6]
The site also publishes the Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a wiki-based directory of Chinese Internet language.[7] The project is named after the Grass Mud Horse (cǎo ní mǎ (simplified Chinese: 草泥马; traditional Chinese: 草泥馬)), a pun on the phrase cào nǐ mā (肏你媽), literally, "fuck your mother", and which is one of the Baidu 10 Mythical Creatures.[8] The publication has also covered the backlash against increased censorship from China's independent media, and employees of state media.[9]
In 2009, it published a set of documents leaked by a Baidu employee which revealed events, people and places that were deemed politically sensitive.[5]
In 2013, China Digital Times published an English-language e-book, Decoding the Chinese Internet: A Glossary of Political Slang, which contains Chinese Internet language that criticizes the government.[10][11]
Staff and operations
Sophie Beach is the Executive Editor of its English site, and her writing about China has appeared in publications including the
China Digital Times provides content about China for The World Post, a partnership between
Response by the Chinese government
The China Digital Times website has been blocked in mainland China since 2006[16] and in response, Xiao launched a Chinese-language site in 2011. That site has since also been blocked, but numerous methods are used to ensure the site remains accessible in China – including email lists, social media and mirror sites.
A popular section on the site is 'Minitrue', which is short for 'Ministry of Truth', a reference to the
References
- ISBN 978-1-118-61129-6.
- ISBN 978-0-16-093479-7.
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0568-1.
- ^ CHINA; Freedom on the Net 2012 Freedom House
- ^ ISBN 978-92-3-100039-3.
- ISBN 978-0-429-01303-4.
- ^ "Decoding the Chinese Internet updated edition". MCLC Resource Center. 17 July 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-135-01153-6.
- ^ "Why Xi Jinping's Media Controls Are 'Absolutely Unyielding'". Foreign Policy. 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
- ISBN 978-1-351-18797-8.
- ISBN 978-1-137-58805-0.
- ^ "Sophie Beach". HuffPost.
- ^ "Anne Henochowicz". ChinaFile. 30 September 2015.
- ^ "TV Biopic On Deng Xiaoping Stirs Controversy In China". The Huffington Post. 20 August 2014.
- ^ "China Digital Times provides crucial insight and information about China and the Covid-19". NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ See "China Digital Times blocked" from Danwei.org Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Website chronicles China's massive effort to control Internet content". mcclatchydc.
- ^ Shannon Tiezzi; The Diplomat. "Details Emerge on China's Anti-Terror Crackdown". The Diplomat.