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
17 October 2017
Tightened Security in Beijing Means Windows Ordered Shut and Bans on Knife Sales
The security measures are in place ahead of the 19th National Chinese Communist Party Congress, where the country's leadership is chosen.
12 October 2017
China's Sina Weibo Hires 1,000 Supervisors to Censor ‘Harmful Content'—Including Women's Legs
"Male users are less likely to be reported, while female users’ selfies, leg photos or waist photos that show off the success of their workouts are subjected to reduced scores."
8 October 2017
To Fight Against Smog, China Bans Coal in 28 Cities
Could a ban on coal help improve China's pollution problem? Or could the hastiness of its implementation backfire?
26 September 2017
Despite Censorship, a Former Chinese Soldier Brags of His War Crimes Online
On WeChat, Zhang boasted of killing a woman and raping her teenage daughter in the Sino-Vietnamese War.
20 September 2017
Speaking of Independence Is Getting Harder for Hong Kongers
"The universities can say they don’t support Hong Kong independence, but students and teachers should have the freedom of speech to discuss Hong Kong independence."
13 September 2017
Taiwanese Activist Was Forced to Confess on Camera to ‘Smearing the Chinese Government,’ Allies Say
"...if you see Lee Mingche confess against his will in court....please forgive him. This is just another drama staged by the Chinese government."
China Makes Chat Group Administrators — i.e. Regular Users — Criminally Liable for Unlawful Messages
Chat group administrators are becoming a key human resource in China's internet control infrastructure.
7 September 2017
Chinese Are Questioning the Government's Response to Pyongyang's Nuclear Tests
"Maintaining [social] stability is more important than human life?"
6 September 2017
In Quest for ‘Ideological Security’, China Pushes to Extend Communist Party Influence Inside Tech Firms
Until recently, companies had no obligation to participate in Communist Party activities. But now informal political pressure to do so is getting stronger and stronger.
30 August 2017
The Evolution of China's Great Firewall: 21 Years of Censorship
Technically speaking, circumvention technologies have outwitted the Great Firewall. Yet the new legal regime has changed the rules of the game.
28 August 2017
Chinese Tech Firms Are at the Cutting Edge of Artificial Intelligence — But at What Cost?
China has a more open attitude toward new technology, but is their success built upon a lack of awareness of individual rights?
27 August 2017
China to Ban Anonymous Online Comments, Blacklist Users
"With or without real name registration, they know who you are. What they intend to do is to make you fearful."
25 August 2017
Chinese Police Arrested a Man for Complaining About Hospital Food. Netizens Say It’s Police Abuse.
Even state-affiliated media outlets are criticizing police actions against a man who publicly complained about the price and quality of food at a state hospital.
20 August 2017
Cambridge University Publisher Removes 300 Academic Articles for the China Market
' If this is what they demand, CUP should give up its China- based site and carry on elsewhere. '
18 August 2017
‘You Can Lock Up Our Bodies, But Not Our Minds': Hong Kong Court Sends 16 Activists to Prison
"The appeal and jail sentence is a form of institutional violence and political suppression – it has ‘created’ the youngest group of political prisoners since the handover."
8 August 2017
In Highly Criticized Stunt, Chinese Reporter Drinks River Water to Prove It's Clean
"This reporter can definitely advance in his career. Come, there is a position in the Environmental Bureau. Come take the position."
What's Behind the Success of Satirical Media in Hong Kong?
"The reason why Most100’s parodies are so popular is related to the reality that people cannot change society and so they can only take pleasure in satires."
31 July 2017
Greenpeace's Taiwan Map Error: Oversight or Consequence of China's NGO Management Law?
"In Taiwan, it is very easy...to chant the slogan of independence...but in China, the price is that the dozen people in the office would disappear the next day.”
30 July 2017
Apple Removes Apps Offering Virtual Private Networks from Its China Store
"It represents the most drastic measure the Chinese government has taken to block the use of VPNs to date, and we are troubled to see Apple aiding China’s censorship efforts."
29 July 2017
The Rise and Fall of a ‘Patriotic Investment Charity’ in China
Despite the government crackdown, many Shanxinhui’s members insist that Shanxinhui is a legitimate patriotic business.
