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
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.
19 July 2017
China's Xinjiang Residents Are Being Forced to Install Surveillance Apps on Mobile Phones
Local netizens reported that police officers at check points are randomly searching residents' devices to see if they have installed the surveillance app.
17 July 2017
Censorship After Death: Chinese Netizens Quietly Mourn Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo
"After [Liu Xiaobo's] death, any mention of his name in English and Chinese is enough to get messages blocked."
6 July 2017
In China's Ideological Battle, ‘King of Glory’ Game is a Top Target
Chinese Communist Party media are concerned about the game's storyline, which they say "subverts Chinese history."
30 June 2017
Is It the 20th Anniversary of Unification With China…or the Fall of Hong Kong?
Hong Kongers have several reasons to be unhappy with the city's relationship with China.
27 June 2017
China's Great Firewall Grows Ever-Stronger As Virtual Private Networks Disappear
"If one day I cannot climb over the wall, will you miss me?"
In China, an Antagonistic Anti-Refugee Stance Finds Support Online
Netizens bullied Yao Chen, a famous Chinese actress who is the UN Refugee Agency’s first Goodwill Ambassador in China, and rejected the idea of taking in refugees.
17 June 2017
Hong Kong Activists Urge Restaurants to Remove Shark Fin Soup From Menus
"Just as Hong Kong consumers have a responsibility to stop eating shark fin, restaurant groups like Maxim's also have an equal responsibility to stop selling it."
16 June 2017
The Disturbing Wedding Trend in China of Groomsmen Sexually Assaulting Bridesmaids
"Bridesmaid is such a high risk role -- sexual harassment, rape and now death."
13 June 2017
China Shutters Entertainment News Sites, Citing ‘Socialist Values’ and Cybersecurity
Crackdowns on entertainment news outlets indicate that controls are not only directed at the foreign enemy, but at thoughts and activities seen to go against “socialist core values”.
8 June 2017
China Bans ‘Soft Burial’, an Award-Winning Novel About the Deadly Consequences of Land Reform
'[...] as for the living, when they seal off their past, cut off their roots, reject their memories, either consciously or subconsciously, their lives are soft buried in time.'
30 May 2017
Chinese Foreign Ministry Rebukes Student for Exalting Free Speech in Graduation Remarks
Foreign ministry officials are using Yang's speech to prove a recycled conspiracy about overseas Chinese students being contaminated by Western ideology.
25 May 2017
Is the Belt and Road Project the Answer to China's Economic Woes? Some Aren't So Sure.
"...the risk for bad debt is huge. While other countries can easily back down from the initiative, as the leader of the initiative, China will be the last to quit."
22 May 2017
Panic Over Russian Online Suicide Game Sparks ‘Whale Hunt’ in China
Pro-government groups are waging a campaign against the game, and internet censors have predictably gone into overdrive.
