Now I ain’t saying this is applicable here, but its interesting to see this in print.
Does anybody think any of the 3 Taiwan english lingo fishwraps will have this story? Maybe they will. Seems to be a little problem with the ‘tenses’ in the story, so it should fit right in.
[quote] 20.05.05
BEIJING - China has formed a special force of undercover online commentators to try to sway public opinion on controversial issues on the Internet, a newspaper said yesterday.
China has struggled to gain control over the Internet as more and more people gain access to obtain information beyond official sources. The country has nearly 100 million Internet users, according to official figures, and the figure is rising.
A special force of online commentators had already been operating in Suqian city in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu since April, the Southern Weekend said.
Their job was to defend the government when negative comments appeared on Internet bulletin boards and chatrooms, the weekly quoted local officials as saying.
I don’t find it hard to believe that China would do this. In fact, seems very likely.
After Gannongate, I also don’t find it hard to believe that the US government is doing this too. One or two people on this forum give me the impression that they may be employed to do just that.
Of course China would not do this. The “3 Taiwan English lingo fishwraps” are nothing but echoers of the splittist Chen’s evil pronouncements. There is only one China and the people in Taiwan know and support this.
[quote]Recorded by “Buffalo Springfield”
Album: “Buffalo Springfield” - 1966
There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, now, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down[/quote]
This is not surprising. If they are making this information public now, it has been going on for a while. I think we have had some PRC plants here for quite some time?
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]Now I ain’t saying this is applicable here, but its interesting to see this in print.
[quote] 20.05.05
Beijing - China has formed a special force of undercover online commentators to try to sway public opinion on controversial issues…
Their job was to defend the government when negative comments appeared on Internet bulletin boards and chatrooms,b[/b] nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_i … D=10126454[/quote][/quote]
Hardly surprising! Don’t you know that our own unstoppable fred s. do the same job for The Bush Cons.
[quote=“spook”]You think you’ve got problems. The CIA is beaming a high energy microwave signal at my head from space in an effort to control my thoughts.[/quote]Well duh. Why do you think it is that Chinese takeaway food always comes in those foil dishes?
[quote=“spook”]Well why do you think they call it aluminum foil?
Double ‘duh’ back at you. Never thought about that, did you?[/quote]Hah! foiled again Spook! Those clever Chinese immigrants knew about the mind control ray long before whitey! You think those coolie hats and mandarin hats don’t have a foil lining in them to keep the control rays off?!
My old man complained that in various Taiwanese political sites, pro-China users would reply to any pro-Taiwan comments in minutes, 24 hours, 7 days a week. Then they would post one after another making huge long chains of just pro-China comments until no one felt like visiting or posting in the forum.
On the other hand, the saving grace of China is that they are willing to feed anyone who studies up on a little history and is internet saavy.
Here are two thoughts:
Is Forumosa not blocked by the “Great FireWall of China”?
If so what would happen if say… a hundred and twenty seven of these operatives started posting non stop right here?
[quote=“ShrimpCrackers”]My old man complained that in various Taiwanese political sites, pro-China users would reply to any pro-Taiwan comments in minutes, 24 hours, 7 days a week. Then they would post one after another making huge long chains of just pro-China comments until no one felt like visiting or posting in the forum.[/quote]What, like the heyday of our unholy trinity, ac_dropout, cmdjing and zeugmite?
I think there’s a big difference in the tactics at work inside and outside of China. On local sites they are going to employ the tactics of threat and persuasion. Threaten unspecified punishment if the party line isn’t allowed to prevail, and pursuasion that the party line is correct in the first place.
On overseas sites of course threats don’t work. There can be no midnight knock at the door or trip to the state mental hospital. Persuasion usually fails as the party line is so artless and unattractive. All that’s left then is smothering. Fill the forum with so much cheesy propaganda that everyone leaves. Fortunately they don’t yet have enough operatives with foreign language skills to do this on non-Chinese boards.
You could think about setting up as many Chinese language pro-Taiwan forums as possible to keep these modern day Membrate Knights busy and their resources spread thin.
