How the Nepal-Tibet disaster became the latest victim of China’s ‘Clean Internet’ campaign
China's 'Clean Internet' campaign is being used to suppress unofficial information regarding a recent disaster on the Nepal-Tibet border. Critics argue the policy allows authorities to control narratives by labeling independent reports as rumors.
Why it matters
The use of digital censorship to manage disaster response highlights the tension between state control and public access to information in China.
Wreckage of the Gyirong Port buildings from the Chinese side of the Nepal-Tibet border. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Pool Reuters/AP Wreckage of the Gyirong Port buildings from the Chinese side of the Nepal-Tibet border. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Pool Reuters/AP China How the Nepal-Tibet disaster became the latest victim of China’s ‘Clean Internet’ campaign The online campaign used to focus on tackling cybercrime and hacking but has since expanded to suppress information that differs from official narratives
Prefer the Guardian on Google T sering Phuntsok watched news of the Nepal-Tibet flood unfold from thousands of miles away in southern India. The 46-year-old Tibetan in exile has missing family members on both sides of the border; those in Nepal are named in official government lists, but in Tibet he has received no information.
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