Murdering an idea has been the goal of power-hungry tyrants since civilization began.
Before the advent of human rights as something to be valued, those in power suppressed entire populations with the threat of violence. As civilization progressed, more sophisticated means of control had to be developed and maintained.
One tool is propaganda in which the truth is bent and outright lies are manufactured to support a narrative designed to influence all who hear it.
Another tool is censorship, in which ideas and information that clash with a power's image are subdued or destroyed.
Through the skillful use of propaganda and censorship, a power can manipulate an entire group of people and for all intents and purposes create its own reality.
Let's see how China, who recently instated its president for life through the abolishment of term limits, controls the free flow of information granted by the world wide web and what some Chinese citizens think about it.
A Duel To The Death, Not Really
The population of China is large, and the portion that makes use of the internet has continued to grow.
Urbanization and technological innovation continue to augment what was once considered a second rate global power.
Major American and European corporations cast a hungry gaze on the untapped market potential, yet are usually met with state-backed Chinese business resistance.
One such case has to do with the tech giant Google going up against a smaller yet stalwart opponent, Baidu, or the state-sponsored Chinese Google.
The primary economic goal in China for each company is to be the most-used search engine service by the Chinese people. When a certain threshold of popularity is reached, investment confidence is achieved.
The company that wins then becomes more valuable worldwide through the stock market and other such metrics.
Google's first foray into China was in early 2000 when it offered its service in more East Asian languages. It held the position as the top search engine used in China for some time.
Because Google was founded and based in the United States, it kept its results uncensored for China just like it did for the rest of the world. For a time anyway.
By 2005, Baidu held a market share rivaling Google in China. Google, already experiencing pressure from alleged Chinese state interference in search results which diminish user experience, chose to capitulate and create a new website specifically for China.
Google.ca would self-censor and be subject to Chinese law relating to censorship. Many topics simply did not show up when using the site especially those criticizing China, communism, violent state-driven actions and China's political leadership.
In 2007, Google's fall from grace meant nothing as Baidu eclipsed Google's market share controlling over 50 percent and still rose to dominate China's Internet.
Today, Baidu maintains its lead and the authoritarian policymakers sit with faces of happy contentment.
Baidu Does What Google Didn't
Baidu's search engine launched in 2003 but the company existed since 2000. From the very beginning, censors were allowed to oversee the website and make sure no lines were crossed.
Furthermore, Baidu treats itself more like a retailer front then a library with a heavy focus on entertainment and advertising rather than news and information. What this means is that most of the results one finds when using Baidu are watered down state party rhetoric and Chinese companies only interested in selling products or services. Companies can pay up their brand in the search results.
The death of Wei Zexi illustrates how a closed information system purporting to be unbiased while practicing deceptive tactics has real consequences.
Regardless, Baidu maintains its position as the premier search engine in China and continues its role as a valued lapdog of the Chinese communist party.
Walls Of Fire, A Shield Of Gold
The information control industry booms in China through employing over two million workers dedicated to rooting out harmful material online and blocking it. Vast networks of state-run servers continually chug and churn to meet the high demand placed upon them.
Just recently, Winnie the Pooh was blocked due to the resemblance the naive honey-loving bear shares with Mr. Xi Jinping.
Terms such as "I don't agree" and "constitutional rights" were seen as overly radical by this communist regime and have been blocked as well.
Quelling dissent is not new to China, not that you'd know it from using the internet from a location under their jurisdiction. Mention of incidents such as the 1989 massacre of Tiananmen Square is transformed into pictures of smiling tourists to the site upon which hundreds of peaceful protesters were killed by armed soldiers.
If a citizen in China gets caught visiting or searching a forbidden topic too many times, they can expect a visit from a police officer. Thankfully the penalty for such actions is usually benign, yet seeing how China is ranked as one of the lowest in terms of journalistic freedom, it can be just as likely the government makes people disappear.
With total control of the media, everything that comes out of the country is suspect.
What the People Think
The Pew Research Center and American Life Project came out with a report showing that the overwhelming majority of Chinese people-both internet users and non-users-support a government controlled and managed web service.
I have heard arguments from educated Chinese people that part of the reason this is the case is that the West has a stronger media and cultural presence online, at least at present.
It must be kept in mind that while China is large and relatively powerful in its own sphere, it is still a nation that is growing and has not yet achieved the levels of structural advancement that the U.S. has.
This being the case, it is only fair that China uses whatever tools are available to ensure its continued survival as a viable and cohesive world power, or that is what is claimed on the other side.
China is still one of the only "communist" regimes left in the world today and has historically faced major colonial pressure from the Western powers.
Of course, such arguments would hold more weight if basic historical facts such as the trouble with Tibet in 2012 or earlier issues dating back to the 1950s weren't marked for deletion by China's bloated propaganda arm.
Still, the idea that China has to do what it has to in order to survive in a Western-dominated world is something to think about if nothing else.
I contend that most of the people of China have been lied to by the state-controlled media, which demonize the West and diminish the values of a free press and freedom to dissent. But that's just me.
A VPN Today Keeps The Secret Police Away
While it is reported that the majority of China's population supports state intervention into the world wide web, there will always be dissenting whispers gathering in dark corners that won't cause enough waves for a full-on crackdown.
Virtual Private Network technology has been used by countless students, researchers, journalists and others to get access to information suppressed by the state.
VPNs coupled with Tor on a virtual machine are probably as secure as one can get online and a great set up for plausible deniability if security should fail.
With More Laws Come More Criminals
No matter how many things are censored and no matter how perfect surveillance is, there will always be ways around it for the cunning and the ruthless.
History has shown that black markets rise up to meet demand as long as the demand is strong enough.
Part of what China does is try to control such demand. Only time will tell if they succeed.