I wanted to send this story about China's Great Firewall for you to check out. VBS.tv recently went over to China to film some culture pieces for our site and we wanted to do one on The Golden Shield Program, AKA The Great Firewall of China. But alas, no one would talk to us about it. In this animated series, Jingjing and Chacha, the cartoon mascots of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security's 30,000-unit strong "Golden Shield" program do their best to explain the country's extensive efforts at web censorship. Even though the two look like repurposed Powerpuff Girls, the program they were created to put a cuddlier face on is serious shit, and has been responsible for bringing down dire sentences on citizens who perform even such trivial web transgressions as signing up for the Democratic Party online.
To get the nod to hold the Olympics, China assured that news organizations would have complete access to information and freedom to report. Interestingly enough, reporters at the Olympic Village press center have been unable to access a number of websites. Especially those with content such as the Tibetan succession, Taiwanese independence, the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, Amnesty International and any other site hosting something as inappropriate as a free political discourse. Unless you own a freedom stick, there is no escaping Jing Jing and Cha Cha. But Hey! At least they’re cute!
