What in the World How does China control its internet?
Sep 2, 2025
Shawn Yuan, a journalist from the BBC's Global China Unit, provides a deep dive into China's sophisticated internet censorship, famously known as the 'Great Firewall.' He discusses how the government censors Western websites and manipulates pop culture, such as editing films and banning celebrities like Lady Gaga. Yuan highlights the generational divide in perceptions of censorship and the government's narrative control strategies. He reveals how these tactics affect daily life and self-censorship, painting a complex picture of information management in China.
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Growing Up With A Different Internet
- Shawn Yuan grew up in China and didn't notice censorship because alternatives were the norm.
- He contrasted missing Western apps like Instagram and Google with ubiquitous Chinese equivalents.
Missing Pop Culture Drives Workarounds
- Shawn recalls desperately wanting to see Lady Gaga videos and learning ways to evade censorship.
- Her meeting with the Dalai Lama made her content sensitive and blocked in China.
Stability As The Primary Goal
- The government censors to assert dominance and preserve stability, avoiding mass mobilisation.
- Xi Jinping links instability with collapse and prioritises preventing it through information control.