Update: The Chinese keywords on messaging app LINE’s “bad words” list and why they are “bad”
Last week, the research lab I pitch in at published the first in a series of posts investigating censorship and privacy concerns in three chat applications: WeChat, LINE, and KakaoTalk. These instant messaging programs, which often replace text messages on smartphones, are expanding rapidly across the world. While WeChat has garnered most of the foreign press, LINE, a Japanese subsidiary of the Korean Internet giant Naver, is no pushover: it has over 200 million registered users, generated $130 million in revenue last year, and is poised for a $10 billion market cap value when it goes public next year.
I've already written a number of blog posts translating and describing some of the 150 words that were initially revealed to be on LINE's "bad words" list. This list, uncovered by Twitter users @hirakujira, was thought to be a precursor to future censorship by the LINE application, but The Citizen Lab's recent reports uncovered a second set of 370 keywords which do trigger censorship--but only for users who have registered with a Chinese phone number. Thus, LINE users in China would receive error messages when sending messages that contain any of these keywords and asterisked-out text when receiving them.
In addition to the series of 21 blog posts I did on the first chunk of the original list of uncovered "bad words" in LINE, I have translated the remainder of the 150 keywords on the original list as well as translated the majority of the 370 keywords on the recently decrypted list in the following spreadsheets:
Translation of Line "bad words" list extracted by @hirakujira and confirmed by Citizen Lab (150 words)
Many of the keywords are those that you would expect to find on any list of censored Chinese topics: Tiananmen/June 4, family wealth and corruption by top political officials, supposed infighting within the CCP, and even a whole section of keywords devoted to Bo Xilai. However, others referred to incredibly obscure events that garnered little to no attention from Western or mainstream Chinese media--sometimes the only references to these keywords were in lightly-trafficked message boards and Falun Gong-supported media (which is known for being critical of the Chinese Communist Party). Of course, that might speak to the effective job authorities have done censoring and curtailing the spread of such stories, but it could also be a reflection of a decision by whoever developed these lists to take preemptive measures to prevent the spread of rumors or slander.
Unfortunately (if you're a government censor), the creation of censorship lists containing rumors that you hope to contain has backfired on them with the revelation of these keywords. Instead of hiding these events forever via censorship or even letting them get forgotten in the sands of time as they likely would have on their own, the publication of the secret keywords gives prominence to previously heretofore overlooked incidents, creating a sort of Streisand Effect. In many ways, the revelation of this censorship keyword list (not the first time this sort of thing has happened: see QQ in 2004 or TOM-Skype in 2013) is a cautionary tale for those responsible for implementing censorship into software or websites.
Some of these more surprising and atypical words on these lists include:
彭丽媛的骚穴 (Peng Liyuan's hot, er, "hole"): an erotic fanfiction story featuring President Xi Jinping's wife as the main character.
浙江签单哥 (Zhejiang's receipt-signing Brother): As mentioned in this post, Zhejiang's Vice minister of propaganda was accused in by netizens of charging over 54 million yuan in expenses to his public office and illegally embezzling hundreds of millions in other corrupt activities. Netizens posted images of his receipts, which contained his signature, thus meriting him the name of "Zhejiang's receipt-signing-Brother." However, it is unclear whether or not this is merely a fabricated rumor or contains a kernel of truth since no reliable sources have corroborated the few unofficial user forums that mention this supposed scandal.
糊淘淘温饱饱 ("Hu Taotao, Wen Baobao"): a critical song about Hu and Wen, patterned as a nursery rhyme of sorts.
李源朝夫人 (Li Yuanchao's wife): Li is the Vice President of China and his wife, Gao Jianjin, is a music professor; I wasn't able to find anything negative about her, and in fact there was a very flattering profile of her in Hong Kong media, but the fact that her name appears on this list alongside corrupt officials and others embroiled in scandal makes me curious.
Like most companies who hope to successfully enter the Chinese market, the Japanese company LINE has partnered with a local company, Qihoo 360--best known for its controversial business practices against competitors like Baidu, Microsoft, and Tencent. Of course, this raises more questions: who initiated the implementation of the censorship "features" into LINE? Who is responsible for updating the keyword lists? How much say does LINE have over what gets added to these lists? It's unlikely LINE or Qihoo would be able to reveal such answers without suffering repercussions from authorities in China, and based on LINE's response to these censorship revelations, they appear to have justified the censorship of their Chinese users as a necessary step. I guess it will be up to other companies other than LINE to either reveal more about how the censorship system works for foreign content providers or to challenge the system.
Hmm, I have an idea: who wants to start a chat app company with me?
64屠城 (June 4 massacre / 64 túchéng) refers to the crackdown on the student-led protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. After months of demonstrations in the heart of Beijing and much internal infighting about how to handle the protesters, authorities decided to send in tanks and troops to quell the "disorder." Even though according to recent revelations, there wasn't actually much blood spilled on the square itself, hundreds or thousands were still killed (the exact figure is debated) that night across the city. These victims are commemorated every year on June 4 in Chinese diasporic communities around the world--most notably in Hong Kong which holds an annual memorial in Victoria Park. However, such remembrances are strongly discouraged on the mainland and every year there is a marked increase in censorship around the date.
屠城 is an interesting phrase in that it generally refers to massacres that take place in cities--typically the killing of civilians in a captured city by military forces. The Nanjing Massacre of 1937 (also known as the Rape of Nanking) is perhaps the most notable recent 屠城 in Chinese history; others include the Yangzhou Massacre and the three massacres in Jiading in 1645.
In a break from our usual series of highlighting words blocked from searching on Weibo, for the next two days I’ll be looking more deeply at the keywords on chat messenger app LINE’s “bad words” list. For more about this series, see this introductory post.
李正源李刚 (Li Zhengyuan; Li Gang / Lǐ Zhèngyuán Lǐ Gāng) are the names of two unrelated people named Li who were both involved in scandals involving drunk driving, censorship, and attempted abuses of power. In addition to the similarities in names and other parallels, both cases showed the growing power of social media as a tool for correcting injustices.
Li Zhengyuan, the son of Taiyuan's city's police chief Li Yali, beat up a traffic cop in Oct 2012. Zhengyuan had been pulled over by a traffic cop (交警 / jiāojǐng), Xia Kun (夏坤) for drunk driving, at which point he assaulted the officer in front of multiple eyewitnesses, who posted evidence of the beating online. He was not arrested and instead was escorted home by other police officers. A cover-up followed, with surveillance footage deleted and a blackout on reporting of the incident. Zhengyuan's father, Li Yali, was eventually found to be responsible for the cover-up in addition to selling positions on the police force, and was removed from his post in Dec 2012.
Li Gang is the name of a deputy police chief whose son, Li Qiming, was involved in a hit-and-run. In Oct 2010, Qiming drunkenly drove into and killed a rollerblading college student on Hebei University's campus grounds. He drove away and when security officers caught up to them, he sought to escape punishment by declaring "My father is Li Gang!"--assuming this gave him immunity. After this was reported, outraged internet users tracked down Qiming, turning him and his brazen declaration into a meme and symbol of injustice in Chinese society. Authorities tried--and failed--to control the increasing outrage by censoring the event, and in the end Qiming was sentenced to six years in prison.
In a break from our usual series of highlighting words blocked from searching on Weibo, for the next two days I’ll be looking more deeply at the keywords on chat messenger app LINE’s “bad words” list. For more about this series, see this introductory post.
万鄂湘亚视 (Wan Exiang, Asia Television / Wàn Èxiāng Yàshì) refers to a reported visit that law professor and a vice-president of the Supreme People's Court Wan Exiang made to an Asia Television office in Hong Kong. Hong Kong media photographed the unofficial, embroiled* head of ATV Wang Zheng greeting Wan and reported that Wang wined and dined his mainland friend. Furthermore, Wang supposedly ordered a number of female Miss Asia beauty pageant contestants--ATV broadcasts the annual Miss Asia pageant--to accompany them to dinner and entertain them. Though the article doesn't go so far as to suggest anything more than singing took place, the juxtaposition of young females and a mainland Chinese legal administrator in a headline were apparently enough to land this keyword onto LINE's bad words list.
*Wang, who is from mainland China, is not technically allowed to run ATV since ATV is a free-to-air television station in Hong Kong. Hong Kong media laws were written this way to prevent meddling by Chinese authorities--which is what Wang is alleged to have done, by promoting pro-mainland coverage, leading for calls to dismiss him and punish ATV.
In a break from our usual series of highlighting words blocked from searching on Weibo, for the next two days I’ll be looking more deeply at the keywords on chat messenger app LINE’s “bad words” list. For more about this series, see this introductory post.
和田 暴乱 (Hotan rebellion / Hétián bàoluàn) was a series of incidents that took place in July 2011 in the Xinjiang city of Hotan. As mentioned in the previous post, the northwestern province of Xinjiang is home to many Uyghurs--an ethnic minority group in China, many of whom follow Islam--and of whom continue to suffer great hardships and discrimination at the hands of the dominant Han majority, despite the governments efforts.
However, sometimes the government's efforts are less than stellar: for instance, in 2011, the government sought to dissuade Uyghur women from wearing burqua-like black veiled-clothing, which they saw as radicalizing the population. This campaign was cited by some Uyghurs as what incited an allegedly suppressed protest in July 2011 and eventually led to a violent attack on a police station in Hotan later that month, where 18 Uyghurs wielding knives and homemade explosives killed two security guards before taking hostages. The attackers were eventually overpowered, and those who weren't killed were captured and sentenced to death.
In a break from our usual series of highlighting words blocked from searching on Weibo, for the next two days I’ll be looking more deeply at the keywords on chat messenger app LINE’s “bad words” list. For more about this series, see this introductory post.
维族 砍人 (Uyghurs stab people / wéi zú kǎn rén): Though China has officially recognized fifty-six native ethnic groups, all of which have an array of unique concerns and issues, the two most “problematic” for state officials are the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and the Tibetans in Tibet, regions where unrest has broken out in recent years. A mix of ethnic tensions, desires for independence or greater autonomy, and increasing income inequality make these particularly volatile regions, especially as more Han Chinese migrate to Xinjiang and Tibet. Government officials have responded by investing heavily in the regions’ infrastructures and social welfare systems in a sort of effort to buy peace and acquiescence in these border provinces.
Despite these investments, Uyghurs face continued discrimination and economic hardship in the region. There have been a number of collective responses by Uyghurs, including protests and demonstrations, some of which have been violent and some of which have been branded as terrorism. Notable violent events in Xinjiang that have been blamed by authorities on Uyghur sepratists include a 2008 attack on a police station, and attacks in 2011 (in both Kashgar and Hotan) and 2013 featuring knife-wielding terrorists.
In a break from our usual series of highlighting words blocked from searching on Weibo, for the next two days I’ll be looking more deeply at the keywords on chat messenger app LINE’s “bad words” list. For more about this series, see this introductory post.
网络封锁 (Internet block / wǎngluò fēngsuǒ) refers to the restrictions on access to sensitive websites that Chinese netizens face. Unlike the majority of the 150 words on LINE's "bad words" list, this one doesn't refer to any specific current event is the type of word you'd expect to find on a censorship list (because discussing the censorship system, along with pornography and protests, is almost guaranteed to be censored).
In a break from our usual series of highlighting words blocked from searching on Weibo, for the next two days I’ll be looking more deeply at the keywords on chat messenger app LINE’s “bad words” list. For more about this series, see this introductory post.
These seven keywords are all related to former Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's family wealth, which the New York Times detailed in an Oct 2012 article "Billions in Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader."
张蓓莉200万耳环 (Zhang Peili 2 million RMB earring / zhāng bèi lì 200 wàn ěrhuán): Zhang Peili is Wen Jiabao's wife, and by many accounts (including his own: the Wikileaks Cablegate documents state that Wen was "disgusted" by his family's bribe-taking) she is the driver for much of the family illicit wealth. However, I'm not certain where the 2 million figure comes from (this article quotes a Taiwanese jewelry dealer who says he spotted Zhang wearing a ring worth 2 million, but I don't see that figure cited elsewhere).
温家 戴梦得 (Wen [Jiabao] Diamond / wēn jiā dài mèng dé): Zhang Peili was once a regulator for China's Ministry of Geology, and she used her contacts and state money to set up various diamond businesses. The New York Times article called her China's "diamond queen."
温家宝 27亿 (Wen Jiabao 2.7 billion [USD] / wēnjiābǎo 27 yì): the figure mentioned in the NYT article as to the estimated wealth of Wen's family.
影帝温家 (Actor Wen Jiabao / yǐng dì wēn jiā): the title of a critical book on Wen, "China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao" (中国影帝温家宝), which claims that Wen's persona as a warm, caring politician is all a charade.
温家 资产700亿 (Wen Jiabao assets 70 billion / wēn jiā zīchǎn 700 yì): Not sure where 70 billion comes from, but Wen's family does have a lot of money...
温家宝夫妇 (Wen Jiabao husband-and-wife / wēnjiābǎo fūfù): A reference to Wen and his wife Zhang Peili.
总理家人 隐秘 (Premier family secret / zǒnglǐ jiārén yǐnmì): The family's immense wealth was once a secret that only a few insiders and journalists were aware of, but after the NYT article it is now common knowledge.
In a break from our usual series of highlighting words blocked from searching on Weibo, for the next two days I’ll be looking more deeply at the keywords on chat messenger app LINE’s “bad words” list. For more about this series, see this introductory post.
