“Weibo = Freedom of Speech” is a powerful equation. It shows what microblog platforms mean for China today. So what happens after March 16, the day of Weibocalypse, when netizens are required to register with their real identities in order to tweet or comment on all microblog platforms in China? Tea Leaf Nation was interviewed [...]
When it comes to inventing meddlesome regulation, Beijing is a cut above. Chinese people have already been told they must have their ID’s at the ready in order to patronize Internet bars, open an account on Weibo, China’s Twitter, and buy a train ticket. Now, some must do the same merely to purchase knives. On [...]
The New York Times reports that Chinese authorities plan eventually to require all new users of Weibo, China’s Twitter, to register using their real names. Free-speech advocates are not pleased. Neither, would it appear, are most Weibo users commenting on the subject. A joke making its way around the blogosphere: “There have been calls for dividing [...]
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