Higher than skies, deeper than oceans and larger than space; Xi Jinping’s paranoia has now reached staggering levels. Thanks to his paranoia, China’s mind-controlling tools are now facing the CCP’s wrath. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released proposed guidelines on Wednesday that require a governmental security review of those apps that can influence public opinion.`
New guidelines to curb public influencing companies
Those apps which are capable of mobilizing the public will be targeted under these guidelines. The proposed rules would apply to “text, picture, voice, video and other information production”, as well as instant messaging, news dissemination, forum communities, live streaming, and e-commerce.
Before that, the CAC had also issued two new rules on Tuesday, reflecting Jinping’s anxiety over the massive reach enjoyed by China’s mobile apps. One rule requires social media companies with over 1 million users to undergo security assessments before listing overseas. The other rule governs companies’ use of recommendation algorithms.
Why Jinping is feared?
Make no mistake, the CCP has been using these mobile apps and its news websites to influence public opinion in its favour for decades. But now things have changed. 2022 is the most crucial year in Jinping’s political career. He is eyeing a third term in the office. Factional politics in the CCP is on the rise. All it takes to bring Xi Jinping down is one single strike, at one right moment, at one right spot! Hence, Jinping can’t blindly trust his own footmen soldiers.
The Trump-episode that prompted tech crackdown in China
A Wall Street Journal report had recently revealed that Jinping’s crackdown on its tech giants was inspired by Big Tech’s de-platforming of former US President Donald Trump last year. The Trump episode came as an eye-opener for Xi Jinping. And now, Jinping is running helter-skelter to avoid a similar Trump-like treatment in China. Through new guidelines, Jinping wants to render Chinese tech giants completely neutered and incapacitated.
Read More: Jinping cracked down on Tech Sector to avoid a “Trump Treatment”
China’s war on its censors
In December, reports also emerged that the CCP was not happy with its censors. The CCP believes they are not censoring enough; they are distributing anti-CCP content and launching a silent war on the CCP itself. Consider these numbers:
- China fined its Twitter-like microblogging site Weibo nearly 50 times last year.
- In December, China imposed penalties worth millions on Weibo and Douban for violating the country’s rules and regulations.
The message being sent out is loud and clear— you either please Xi Jinping or perish.
Read More: Chinese censors launch war on the Chinese Communist Party
Mind control tools are like a double-edged sword. Excessive reliance on the propaganda toolkit can prove fatal in long run. Jinping’s rivals, and especially the tech-savvy Shanghai faction, can deploy these tools against the Jinping regime.
So, this is like Jinping’s pre-emptive strike on his rivals. But will this crackdown bring any relief to the paranoid President? Cracking the whip on these mind-controlling tools will only aggravate Jinping’s troubles. At the end of the day, everything boils down to business and money. Jinping won’t allow these companies to earn profit as long as he remains at the helm. So, sooner or later, they will strike back at Xi Jinping at the right time and at the right spot; a strike that would be more than enough to bring down Xi Jinping’s tyranny once and for all.