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As the world continues to watch the unrest in Egypt, state-run media in China is filtering out information about the mass demonstrations. Commentators believe the Chinese regime wants to prevent the Egyptian protests from fuelling domestic anger against its own dictatorial rule.
Anti-government protests in Egypt continue to make headlines around the world, except for in mainland China. Chinese state-run media have focused instead on evacuation efforts to get citizens out of Egypt.
This appears to be part of the Chinese regime's efforts to control information on the unrest. Over the weekend, overseas media reported discussions on the protests are being censored on Chinese internet.
Commentators say this is because Chinese authorities fear the Egyptian protests could raise questions of their regime's legitimacy.
[Tang Jinglin, Chinese Lawyer]:
"We all believe this event is encouraging for the Chinese public. Authorities are blocking information because it wants to prevent the public from becoming confident with anti-dictatorship efforts. However, the public will overcome various blockages and get the information out."
The protests in Egypt began more than a week ago with an outpour of anger over corruption and President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year long dictatorial rule. It followed a successful uprising in Tunisia that ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14.
[Wu Fan, Political Commentator]:
"We see hints from these events. China is in a similar situation, maybe even worse. The Chinese Communist Party is of course a single party dictatorship. The military is controlled by the CCP. Since the 1989 Democracy movement, the CCP has been very fearful, and keeps a close eye on the public, suppressing and cracking down on them."
