Christian apps and songs, as well as millions of posts critical of the party's history deleted
Christian content on the internet violates government rules. Many Christian sites have been shut down. To celebrate the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, the authorities are cracking down on 'historical nihilism', i.e. non-official views of the Party. Films and TV programmes about the party's history are being promoted, especially its “successes” since 2012, when Xi Jinping became general secretary.
Beijing (AsiaNews) – Beginning last month, Christian content on the Internet and social media has been deleted. China’s internet regulator also deleted at least two million posts or discussions about the history of the Communist Party, deemed “dangerous” for social stability.
During Holy Week and Easter, many Christians found it difficult to upload Christian videos and material. On 14 April, they received a notice that music with “sensitive” religious themes would be removed.
Music platforms like Kugou and Kuwo changed their rules. Douban, a social networking service that allows users to record information and create content, took down Christian articles.
According to the China Christian Daily, several Christian sites that contain “sensitive” Christian words have also been shut down. These include Gospel Times, Gospel TV, Gospel League, WeDevote Bible, and Old Gospel. Users received the notice that the site or account “violates” Internet rules and “has been removed”.
Censorship of Christian content goes hand in hand with censorship of “revisionists”. During a press conference on 8 May in Beijing, Wen Youhua, division director at the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC), said that more than two million 'dangerous' posts, containing discussions on the history of the Chinese Communist Party, were deleted because they “disseminated harmful information with historical nihilism”.
The latter is a term coined by the Chinese government that refers to discussions or research that challenge the official history of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Last February, President Xi Jinping warned against “historical nihilism”, ordering all party members to study Party history, ahead of celebrations on 1 July to mark the CPC’s founding a hundred years ago.
To educate party members about its history, the CPC produced and released many original films and TV programmes covering its history since its foundation in 1921, but focusing – as Xi pointed out – especially on the “historic successes” achieved since 2012, the year when Xi became general secretary of the Party.
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