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
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.
25 July 2018
Yet another vaccine scandal hits China's big pharma, sparking fear, rage — and censorship
For over a decade, a series of similar scandals have plagued China's emerging pharmaceutical industry, and people seem to have lost faith.
9 July 2018
Chinese mobile phone cameras are not-so-secretly recording users’ activities
This design feature has given Chinese mobile users a tangible sense of exactly when and how they are being monitored.
25 June 2018
Freedom segregated: China to set up open internet zone on tourist island
"If visiting Twitter, Facebook is appropriate and harmless, why [are they] only granting foreigners access but not Chinese?"
5 May 2018
‘Peppa Pig’ has gotten too naughty for China's censors
A subculture connecting the cartoon character “Peppa Pig” with “Shehuiren”, a term that refers to organized crime syndicates, has resulted in a muddy puddle for the popular porker.
24 April 2018
Why did China take its own propaganda film offline? Netizens point to US tech sanctions
Netizens suspect that the film is being restricted due to new US sanctions against ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications hardware company.
22 April 2018
China Central Television backs Russian version of the Syrian crisis, saying chemical attacks were staged
Russia claims the Syrian chemical attacks were staged; China's state media echoes that narrative, but not everyone is buying into it.
20 April 2018
Chinese netizens’ #IamLGBT campaign pushes change at Weibo
The move is significant, but it doesn’t mean that LGBT content will be spared from the latest censorship crackdown.
11 April 2018
No Laughing Matter: China Shuts Down Popular Joke-Sharing App
"A country, a government, a supervision department. They are all scared of a joke-sharing application."
3 April 2018
With ‘Sharp Eyes’, Smart Phones and TV Sets Are Watching Chinese Citizens
By 2020, China could have a comprehensive nationwide surveillance network, wherein law enforcement will have easy access to data collected by any individual surveillance camera in the network.
Why Did More Than 200,000 Koreans Petition to Shutter a Popular Website?
"If you are a user of this site, it means that you participate in sharing its toxicity into the world."
28 March 2018
Overseas Chinese Nervous About the Cancellation of Household Registration Back Home
The cancellation of hukou may imply that they might not be able to receive their retirement pension or sell properties they own. Other big cities may follow in Shanghai's footsteps.
16 March 2018
How a Viral Eye Roll Broke the Silence on China's Heavily Censored Web
"The rolling eyes are like a bolt of lightening that destroys tens of thousands expressions of praise and outshines speeches made by hundreds of thousands of brain-dead people."
