Online Protests As Gay Content Removed From Weibo

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); });

2018-04-15 HKT 01:52

Share this story

facebook

  • There was a storm of online protests under the hashtag "I am gay". Photo: AFP

    There was a storm of online protests under the hashtag "I am gay". Photo: AFP

China's Sina Weibo said it would remove "homosexual" content from the popular microblogging platform, prompting a storm of online protests on Saturday under the hashtag "I am gay".

Weibo said in a statement on Friday it had begun a "clean-up campaign" to remove "illegal" content, including "manga and videos with pornographic implications, promoting violence or (related to) homosexuality".

It is the latest sign in a crackdown by the ruling Communist Party to purge the Internet of any content deviating from its "core values of socialism" while stifling criticism of social norms and established policies.

The three-month campaign will also tackle "violent video games, like 'Grand Theft Auto'," Weibo said on the official account of its administrators.

The popular Twitter-like platform, which boasts 400 million active monthly users, said it was implementing China's new cybersecurity law and had already removed some 56,240 items by Friday evening.

The announcement provoked a flood of reaction from stunned or outraged Chinese Internet users, with protesters rallying behind the hashtag "I am gay".

By midday on Saturday, it had been used by some 170,000 Weibo users, before it was apparently banned by the platform.

"There can be no homosexuality under socialism? It is unbelievable that China progresses economically and militarily but returns to the feudal era in terms of ideas," one angry commenter said.

"How is it that public opinion has narrowed so much in the last two years?" said another.

China only decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, but conservative attitudes remain widespread.

"It's simply discriminatory! Many mangas removed were not pornographic," observed a third.

The large online community of "funu" ("deviant girls"), heterosexual women who are avid fans of male gay romances and share comics or stories, was particularly critical.

Many messages protesting at the content crackdown were deleted.

Authorities closely monitor the Internet to purge any content deemed sensitive, such as political criticism or pornography, and require websites to have their own censors.

China has seen a tightening wave of censorship under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, who advocates a stronger promotion of socialist ideology in society.

One of its latest victims was Toutiao, one of China's most popular news aggregator apps, which was punished this week for allowing users to share ribald jokes or videos and has promised to increase its censorship staff to 10,000. (AFP)

RECENT NEWS

Tycoon Sits China's University Exams For 27th Time

Among the millions of fresh-faced high schoolers sitting the nation's dreaded "gaokao" college entrance exam on Wednesda... Read more

China's First Home-grown Large Cruise Liner Undocks

The first large cruise liner developed by China completed its undocking in Shanghai on Tuesday, marking its complete tra... Read more

Chinese, US Diplomats Hold 'frank' Talks In Beijing

Meetings between senior mainland and US officials in China this week struck an upbeat chord, with both sides agreeing to... Read more

China's Cruise Industry Set To Make Waves Again

China's cruise industry, suspended for more than three years due to the pandemic, is expected to resume operations in th... Read more

Toll From Deadly Landslide Rises To 19

All 19 people caught in a landslide in Sichuan province on Sunday have been confirmed dead, state media reported, announ... Read more

'Nato-like Alliance Disastrous For Asia-Pacific'

Defence Minister Li Shangfu on Sunday told the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore that any moves to establ... Read more