Neural 39 > p.8 > hacktivism > Who’s Who on the Chinese Free Speech Internet?

Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, The Travelogue or Dr. Brain Damages (Work In Progress)

satirical agent of humor and political perseverance. It is as easy to identify with this weird creature of survival, as it is difficult for the government to censor or criticize its potential—how could one possibly deride and scold this awkward animal? The Grass-Mud Horse is supposedly a species of the alpaca. The name is derived from cào nǐ

mā(肏你妈), whose near-equivalent word translates as “fuck your mother”. The greatest enemy of the grass-mud horse is the “river crab” (河蟹, héxiè) whose name resembles 和谐 héxié meaning “harmony”, referring to government censors who wish to create a “harmonious society.” The grass-mud horse spurred people’s imagination as evidenced in the thousands of image-collages that have appeared online. The fad spread like a benign virus and was later popularized as a stuffed animal, an activist icon-turned commodity. The popular theme song of the grass-mud horse was eventually banned by The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television in March 2009 together with the official blocking of the entire meme itself. The CCP maintains that they are building a free speech Internet while actively infiltrating civic discourses. In April 2010, the Chinese State Council published its “White Paper on Internet Policy,” which stated that there are 220 million bloggers in China and that 66 percent of Internet users actively partake in civic debate. Blogger Isaac Mao immediately issued a counter-report in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post arguing that in actuality 95

percent of blogging messages are still censored and deleted on a daily basis. He believed that censorship mechanisms were tightening and have shifted from the removal of specific content and sensitive keywords to entire websites and social networks. [3] This spirited exchange took place one year ago, but currently the rules of participation have changed again. So what is going on currently with the Chinese free speech Internet? The CCP is fed up with having to respond to “patronizing Western responses” about the treatment of dissidents, which hampers an “overall mission of economic growth and human rights.” This point was clearly indicated in the very first statecontrolled editorial issued after Ai Wei’s Wei’s disappearance, entitled “Law Will Not Concede Before Maverick.” This basic concept of “human rights” has been turned by the West into something that is incompatible with all of the great economic and social advancements of China. This is a great joke. And it is the principal reason why when the West uses “human rights” to apply pressure on China, it suffers the disdain of the Chinese people. . . The lot of a single Ai Weiwei, and the lots of a few Chinese mavericks [like him], cannot be put on the same level as the development and progress of human rights in China. [4] It is understandable that in the current crackdown, activists are rejecting the offer to partake in civic debate. During this era of China’s self-reported cyber democracy, every netizen who is playfully political and critical of government can be expected to have their correspondences tapped or deleted. It is currently very dangerous and unwise to even speak about the last-standing figures of integrity. Since it is impossible to deconstruct the PRC’s utopian rhetoric, one might as well to shut up and babble along with controlled directives, such as the endlessly repeated idea that China is overall advancing as an economic power. > Katrien Jacobs

[1] The bloggers analysis of the 50 Cent Army can be found here http://loveaiww.blogspot.com/2011/04/blogpost_3788.html

[2] On April 14, 2011, Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po reported Ai Weiwei as under investigation for tax evasion, bigamy and “spreading porn”. His family denied the allegations.

[3] Xinhua Agency, China Issues White Paper on Internet Policy,’ 8 June , 2010. A http://china.org.cn/china/201006/08/content_20206978_3.htm [accessed 24 May 2010].Isaac Mao quoted by Amy Nip, ’Censors delete 95pc of Blogs a Day, Forum Told.’ South China Morning Post, 20 June 2010;

[4] “Global Times attacks Ai Weiwei and the West, “Translated and Posted by David Bandurski for China Media Project, China Media Project, http://cmp.hku.hk/2011/04/07/11340/ Neural 39 > p.9 > hacktivism >

> seeking the self

Codable identities in TV series

Lie to me, TV series

*In the field of social sciences an "umbrella term" is one that embodies a set of concepts that fall under a common category. For the term ‘identity’ this set is very dense and complex, with multifaceted characteristics. The resulting infinite semantic combinations (or semiotic correspondences) are insufficient for generating a comprehensive definition or decoding of identity in its most intimate sense - the one that corresponds to the human "I". Some TV series have grappled with the definition and decoding of the concept of identity. The development of science and technology tends to be the crucial point for shedding light on new and unexplored social issues. In the Fox TV series "Lie to me," for example, identity is analyzed in terms of its possible physiognomic manifestations. The series was inspired by studies carried out by the American psychologist Paul Ekman who theorized the existence of a universal language for the expressions of deep human emotions. He believed that people express themselves through facial micro-expressions and small unconscious gestures that are common to all people and are therefore codified. By tracking and codifying these expressions Dr. Cal Lightman, the main character (played by Tim Roth) can understand other people’s minds in various criminal situations in which he is involved as a consultant. In this case the study of micro-expressions is not useful for the identification of a criminal deviance based on precise physical conformity (as with the positivist theory of Cesare Lombroso in the late 1800s). Albeit in the context