As the political tensions between China and the United States intensify, powerful economic sanctions, military capabilities, and strategic global alliances are often discussed. However, there is an unexpected factor that is now emerging as a possible weakness in the otherwise rigid system of China: online pornography.
Though unconventional, the theory isn’t entirely without precedent. Recent reports show that North Korean soldiers, currently serving with Russian forces in Ukraine, have reportedly become obsessed with adult content now available over previously restricted internet. These soldiers, to whom such information was highly censored, are accused of spending much time interacting with online adult material, an experience previously considered unthinkable within their tightly controlled society.
Though there is some skepticism regarding the stories, the concept has sparked questions about how people contained in a particular environment might act if suddenly presented with an open gate to the full internet.
The Great Firewall Of China: A Digital Barrier
The “Great Firewall” is at the heart of China’s censorship: a very elaborate digital limit that prevents a person from accessing foreign media, social networking, and even access to political news and, most outrageously, explicit content. The system is further supported by strict control exercised by the government in the elimination of any material perceived as inappropriate or destabilizing. Agencies such as the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications work extremely hard to purge any element of banned content from the internet.
China is stern and unyielding when it comes to internet censorship, and Beijing considers online activity regulation as a crucial factor of social order maintenance. There are many who dared challenge the ban and suffered thus with heavy penalties. In 2018, for instance, a Chinese writer was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for disseminating a novel with explicit scenes.
The government is even paying huge amounts to its citizens who are able to report violations and thus has a system that incentivizes tip-offs, whose rewards go as high as 600,000 yuan or $86,500 USD.
“Of course there’s something like a ‘curiosity gap’ when one is surrounded by this much censorship”: Chinese citizens could develop curiosity for the kind of material they are prevented from reading. For the military, who are both denied access to some content on the internet and expected to conform to very strict behavioral norms, free access could easily become a major distraction if the Great Firewall failed.
According to Michael Deacon of The Telegraph, this is an argument that China’s tight controls could paradoxically create a thirst for knowledge, especially in the minds of young, computer-literate soldiers and citizens.
International media would penetrate less deep into Chinese nationals and servicemen. If they could bypass the firewall, experience would likely be gained through that very restricted material. Experience, in this case, could prove counterintuitive, particularly at the ranks in the military where people treasure discipline and abhor distractions.
Cultural Sources Of China’s Censorship Policies
The rationale behind China’s severe legislation in regards to explicit material has its basis in some of the very old cultural and social norms in the country. The government of China has used the information and media as a tool to maintain social harmony. Denying entry to adult content, among other possibly disruptive media, is one of the fundamental elements of the ideological foundations in China.
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