China has announced the creation of its own version of
1984's Ministry of Truth. Afraid that the Chinese people will be exposed to the "wrong" kinds of information next month all foreign media will no longer be allowed to publish any content online. All media within its borders wishing to publish anything online must be a wholly owned Chinese company and seek approval from the appropriate ministry. Just think a book published as a fictional satirical look at the realities of authoritarian governments has become reality. Given the Chinese government's penchant for paranoia and fear of outside influences
the next step will be to introduce
Newspeak as further means of controlling the Chinese people's thoughts. If they take it to its ultimate conclusion they will introduce
Thoughtcrime as chronicled by
Philip K. Dick in his short story
The Minority Report.
Per the Guardian:
A new directive issued by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has said that companies which have, at least in part, foreign ownership will be stopped from publishing words, pictures, maps, games, animation and sound of an “informational and thoughtful nature” – unless they have approval from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
This means only companies wholly Chinese owned will be able to publish online, subject to strict self-censorship in line with the government’s views.
The new regulation states: “Sino-foreign joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative ventures and foreign business units shall not engage in online publishing services.”
It is the communist republic’s latest move to tighten control over what its people can view on the internet and highlights the increasingly restrictive political climate in China, where the leadership has sought to rein in public speech and thought.
