China’s cyberspace watchdog aims to ‘clean up’ the internet and fight ‘hostile forces’

Country’s top internet regulator pledges to harness video content to target China’s youth with ‘political education’
Officials told to use live streaming, short videos and cartoons to create ‘captivating and inspiring’ educational content

Censorship in China

Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing

Published: 8:30pm, 2 Mar 2023

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China’s top internet regulator has pledged to target the nation’s youth with shorter videos, live streaming and cartoon products for “political education” amid warnings that “hostile forces” are infiltrating the country through the internet.

“Our focus should be directed towards the younger generation,” Zhuang Rongwen, the head of the Cyberspace Administration of China, wrote in an article published Wednesday in a prominent state-run magazine that focuses on ideology work.

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Zhuang said officials need to better understand the unique psychological and cognitive traits of young internet users. He said the government’s strategy is to reach young people through the websites and platforms they frequently use, with a focus on social media.

The call came just three days before the opening of the “two sessions”, one of the most important and watched political events in China, which includes the annual parliamentary meeting.

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Zhuang said officials should tap into innovative forms of media, such as live streaming, short videos, cartoons, and vlogs to create educational content that is both “captivating and inspiring”.

Beijing has been watching closely as China’s younger generations spend more time on mobile devices, with a growing preference for short-form and interactive content, such as live-stream and short videos.

A December report by the China Internet Network Information Center, a state-run research organisation, concluded that video platforms could significantly impact youth values and viewpoints, adding they have become an essential source of information for many.

When significant social events happened, 48.7 per cent of young people turned to video platforms to receive information, it said.

The country’s major short video platforms include ByteDance-owned Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok – as well as Bilibili and Kuaishou, according to the report.

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China’s population is increasingly turning to short videos for information. As of June 2022, China had 962 million short video users, accounting for 91.5 per cent of all internet users.

In his article, Zhuang also called for vigilance against cyberattacks, “infiltration,” and “defamation by hostile forces” in response to the “negative content” and “destructive thought patterns” on the internet.

He did not provide details about who the hostile forces were.

Zhuang also urged officials to fight “wrong viewpoints” and “destructive thought patterns” online, which could “erode our values, disrupt public opinion and even threaten social stability.”

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Zhuang described destructive thought patterns as materialism, extreme individualism and historical nihilism.

“Historical nihilism” is a term coined by the Communist Party to refer to discussions or research that challenges its official version of history, which are seen as a challenge to its legitimacy.

Zhuang called for a “strong fighting spirit” to “firmly reject incorrect ideas” and step up efforts to “clean up” the internet to ensure the safety of online ideology and politics.

China has built a sophisticated system to control online information and frequently conducts campaigns to clean up information deemed undesirable.

State news agency Xinhua reported last month that Beijing will continue a campaign begun last year to “clean up” online content and undesirable information, with an emphasis on overseas media and citizen journalism.