5 Reasons Xinjiang Internet Won’t Soon Be Restored

Home » Internet Blackout March 9, 2010 2 Comments

Nur Bekri, Xinjiang's top Uyghur leaderOn Monday it was reported by China Daily that that “Xinjiang [is] soon to be back online”.  This optimistic statement was made by Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang government and the highest ranking Uyghur official.  As much as I want to believe what he says and although I desperately hope for more internet freedom in the province, I would like to share with you five indications why this won’t be true:

#1 They’re Sending Mixed Signals

Although Nur Bekri is the highest ranking Uyghur, he is not the top dog in Xinjiang – Wang Lequan is.  So why doesn’t Wang make these comments?  Even if you ignore this fact, though, Bekri is sending mixed signals after his press conference last week when he told reporters that he expects new attacks by separatists.  In the midst of this heightened state of security do you really think they’ll open “full restoration” to the internet?

#2  Hinting at Tightened Control

During this same press conference Bekri also hinted at the need to “manage the Internet more effectively”…or as the China Daily interprets it, “tightening controls over the internet”.  This seems to support my previous theory that the new amendment to the public security law passed on February 1st is an attempt to build another Great FireWall around Xinjiang.  [Read my thoughts about this new security law]

#3  Making News without Making a Commitment

This is another unfortunate example of what I consider ‘making news without making a commitment’.  Read between the lines with the language used: “…in the near future“, “It won’t be long...”, “as soon as possible“.  They haven’t actually done anything yet, but somehow it’s news.  Chalk it up to the beauty of politics.  What would the harm be in setting a date to open the internet?  None I can see, unless of course there isn’t really a specific date.

#4  Past Actions Create Doubt

Let’s look back at what’s happened so far:

Based on this series of events it seems quite unlikely that the next step is “full” restoration.  In December they promised a gradual restoration and now they’re jumping to full.  It doesn’t quite add up.

#5  Why Should They?

Throughout this whole ordeal I’ve been trying to figure out the one question I can’t quite answer: what is the purpose of this blackout?  It could be they are trying to keep certain facts (or rumors) from leaking or perhaps they are trying to keep foreign influence out.  Of course, for the sake of security they could just be trying to interrupt “terrorist communication”.  If any of these happens to be the answer, though, restoring full access to the internet would be counter-intuitive.

You tell me, am I being to cynical?  Should I instead be giving Nur Bekri the benefit of the doubt?

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2 Comments

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  • Maitreya Bhakal said:
    March 14th, 2010 at 7:11 am

    The Chinese government simply went overboard with this whole 'stability' thing.
    Even by its standards and its (skewed) version of what can achieve stability, censoring the WHOLE of the internet amounts to simply over-reacting.

    A majority of websites have nothing whatsoever to do with riots or politics or similar issues, which can cause 'rumours'.
    For example, what's the point of blocking a physics website, or a healthcare website, which are in no way related to politics or ethnic issues?

    Maybe the censors just didn't want the extra trouble and took the easy way out.

    [Reply]

  • T. Adams said:
    May 7th, 2010 at 6:27 am

    Why? The answer is simple. Power. They are excising their power. They are reminding Xinjiang that China has the power. When you live with such paranoid leaders that they have to be involved in such minute details of the population’s life as school days, when one can turn on the heat and the AC, and one time zone, it can only have one answer, they are so afraid of losing their power they have to flex it when they can. There is no other reason for such positioning over such mundane things. If they think their power is so fragile that an email from abroad will create a revolution, they really should be looking at their form of government.

    As the Imperialism of China is trying to put geographical history back 2000 years, what do you expect? Their own childish behavoir will be their downfall.

    [Reply]

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