China censors Obama's inaugural speech
China censored Barack Obama's inaugural address on television and the Internet. No sooner had the interpreter for the new U.S. president's speech uttered the word «communism» than Chinese state television cut off the audio feed.
China has censored Barack Obama's inauguration speech on television and the internet. As soon as the translator of the new US president's speech uttered the word "communism", the sound cut out on Chinese state television. The speech then faded out completely and a presenter asked an expert about the upcoming challenges facing the American economy.
In his speech, Obama explained that previous generations of Americans had overcome "communism and fascism not only with missiles and tanks, but also with stable alliances and firm convictions". The word "communism" was missing in the translations of the speech on the major Chinese internet portals Sina and Sohu on Wednesday. A second paragraph of the speech, in which Obama addressed states that silenced their critics, was missing entirely.
The government in Beijing has massively expanded censorship on the internet in recent weeks and closed more than 200 websites. The official reason given for this is "vulgar content". The censorship is linked to several politically significant dates, such as the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
In his speech, Obama explained that previous generations of Americans had overcome "communism and fascism not only with missiles and tanks, but also with stable alliances and firm convictions". The word "communism" was missing in the translations of the speech on the major Chinese internet portals Sina and Sohu on Wednesday. A second paragraph of the speech, in which Obama addressed states that silenced their critics, was missing entirely.
The government in Beijing has massively expanded censorship on the internet in recent weeks and closed more than 200 websites. The official reason given for this is "vulgar content". The censorship is linked to several politically significant dates, such as the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
