a media activist, researcher and educator currently based in Hong Kong. my chinese writings are in inmediahk.net and my twitter account is @oiwan.
Latest posts by Oiwan Lam
23 April 2019
Leica's promo video referencing Tiananmen Square massacre went viral on Chinese social media. Then, it disappeared.
For days, users were forbidden from writing the words "Leica" in English and "徕卡" in Chinese on Weibo.
1 March 2019
As patriotic propaganda video praising Huawei goes viral, netizens mock the company's political connections
"The lyrics is so straightforward with no rhetorical consideration -- Huawei is good, Huawei is beautiful --, this is a kind of aestheticism with Chinese characteristics."
13 February 2019
#MetooUyghur campaign asks Chinese government to prove that Xinjiang detainees are still alive
Uyghur communities from all over the world are using the #MetooUyghur hashtag to demand answers about the welfare of their loved ones.
Users flood Reddit with China censorship memes, balk at $150 million investment from Tencent
While Chinese companies regularly invest in US media companies, this makes for an unusual match.
11 January 2019
Chinese authorities go after citizens for using VPNs, skirting online censorship
The news of two men being fined for using VPNs may serve as a wake up call to Chinese netizens.
5 January 2019
China's push for ‘one country, two systems’ in Taiwan meets vigorous opposition
"As a Hongkonger, I urge Taiwanese people to never believe in CCP’s 'one country, two systems.' Once they take control, they can do whatever they want."
2 January 2019
China persecutes independent leftists in the name of Marxism
While many Marxists believe in workers' struggle as the driving force for social and political transformation, Chinese ideologues consider young leftist students’ who stand by workers' rights simply troublemakers.
31 December 2018
Why Chinese netizens believe a commodity index can predict global affairs
According to the myth, the Yiwu commodity index predicted the outcome of the US 2016 presidential election and is set to do the same for Europe's "yellow vest" protests.
22 December 2018
China's campaign against Christmas makes celebrating a difficult choice for citizens
"Are all these measures to enhance and promote Chinese culture or a sign of losing confidence on one’s own culture?"
17 December 2018
What do Chinese internet users think of Google's ‘Dragonfly’ project?
Internet users remain divided over whether or not Google's supposed return to China is a good thing -- or not.
11 December 2018
Crackdown in Beijing: ‘Using Twitter is more dangerous than street demonstrations’
The number of Twitter users who have been directly threatened by authorities is estimated to be in the hundreds or even more.
21 November 2018
Winning Taiwanese director calls for independence at the Chinese Oscars
"I really hope one day our country will be regarded as an independent entity. This is my biggest wish as a Taiwanese."
6 November 2018
Political cartoonist Badiucao abruptly cancelled his Hong Kong exhibition — and then went silent
The event was seen by many as a test of the limits of free speech in Hong Kong.
23 October 2018
As China legalizes Xinjiang ‘re-education camps’, Weibo netizens cheer on
China has switched its public relations tactics from denying to defending the camps, and the u-turn immediately reflected back on the social media conversation.
17 October 2018
Hong Kong Free Expression Week features Umbrella Movement activists and political cartoonist Badiucao
In recent years, Hong Kongers who support democratic rights and territorial independence have faced fierce repression.
22 September 2018
Amidst typhoon rescue efforts in Japan, a Taiwanese diplomat dies. Did misinformation play a role?
Some hearsay even claimed that Taiwanese had to proclaim themselves as Chinese in order to get on the buses. The news had enraged [Taiwanese] netizens.
Beijing authorities slam Swedish police for humiliating Chinese tourists, but there's another side to the story
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wanted to make use of the incident to stir patriotic sentiment to exercise pressure on Swedish government. But netizens know ... what’s right and wrong."
7 September 2018
As China faces record-breaking flood levels, authorities arrest two women for spreading ‘rumors’ of health risks
"If they could react to the floods as effectively [as they do to the 'rumors'], that would be great."
31 August 2018
‘Fake news’ is in the eye of the beholder: China is centralizing efforts to stop online ‘rumors’
In July 2018, Chinese state internet regulators received 6.7 million reports of illegal and false information.
3 August 2018
If Google goes back to China, it will be on the government's terms. What will that mean for human rights?
Google may be prepared to compromise human rights principles for the Chinese market. But it will still depend on the Chinese government to grant its entry.
