Capitalism, Freedom-- Forbidden Words

Via Crooked Timber:

From yesterday’s Guardian :

Civil liberties groups have condemned an arrangement between Microsoft and Chinese authorities to censor the internet.

The American company is helping censors remove “freedom” and “democracy” from the net in China with a software package that prevents bloggers from using these and other politically sensitive words on their websites.

The restrictions, which also include an automated denial of “human rights”, are built into MSN Spaces, a blog service launched in China last month by Shanghai MSN Network Communications Technology, a venture in which Microsoft holds a 50% stake.

Users who try to include such terms in subject lines are warned: “This topic contains forbidden words. Please delete them.”

I suggest Chinese bloggers break out the thesaurus. 

For freedom they could substitute in different contexts:  Liberty, independence, autonomy, franchise, self-determination, self-government, self-rule, and even opportunity. 

For democracy some of those apply as well as:  Egalitarianism, federalism, federation, liberation, representative government, emancipation, suffrage, commonwealth, and perhaps populism. 

For human rights how about:  Justice, equality, civil rights, inalienable rights, legal rights, natural rights.

And for capitalism: Laissez Faire, competition, ownership, free enterprise, private enterprise, free market, open market, self-regulating market, commercialism, and entrepreneurship.

Just trying to help.  On another note, I ran into something a little humorous a couple weeks ago,while helping my kindergartener with her final sharing assignment.  She was required to pick an animal she'd never heard of, learn about it, and share her discovery with the class.  She chose a Yak, because the name made her laugh.  I googled, and found this, which made me laugh.

Our first full day in Kashgar was October 1st and Chinese National day. The Celebration of 55 years of Communism - Every shop was open for business, catering to the thousands who’ve descended on the city to join the festivities. A capitalist free-for-all! But hang on - aren’t we celebrating communism here? All shop signs are in Chinese with smaller Arabic Uyghur script underneath. Western products fill the shops, people shout through megaphones to lure people into department stores. Firecrackers explode at every turn and Uyghur wedding processions cruise down the streets in highly decorated vehicles, complete with musicians crammed into the back of pick-up trucks jamming away on flutes and drums. We take an underpass to cross a busy shopping street and underneath the street running parallel to the one above is another shopping street!
We could learn a few tricks about capitalism from these Communists!

Whatever happened to finger painting?

-- Zap

Comments

[Ronald Rutherford]

I think your point on "I suggest Chinese bloggers break out the thesaurus." is right on. But even without the thesaurus what if freedom was free dom, FD, fredom, freedum, and the list is endless in creating ways around the software restrictions. You could even create your own language. Has not the Falun Gong used covert communication techniques?
The more the Chinese try to stiffle this form of communication the more it will gain traction. And the more Microsoft will benefit!