2 on trial as China enforces online control amid pandemic
HUIZHONG WU, Associated Press
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1of11Wei Xiuwen, left, mother of Chen Mei, and Cai Jianli, center, father of Cai Wei stand outside a courthouse as they wait for their children s court cases in Beijing, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Two amateur computer coders taken by police from their Beijing homes last year were standing trial Tuesday in a case that illustrates the Chinese government s growing online censorship and heightened sensitivity to any deviation from the official narrative on its COVID-19 response.Andy Wong/APShow MoreShow Less
2of11Wei Xiuwen, left, mother of Chen Mei, and Cai Jianli, center, father of Cai Wei arrive outside a courthouse to attend their children s court cases in Beijing, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Two amateur computer coders taken by police from their Beijing homes last year were standing trial Tuesday in a case that illustrates the Chinese government s growing online c
Two Beijing amateur computer coders on trial amid concern over China s growing online censorship
The case illustrates the government s heightened sensitivity to any deviation from the official narrative on its Covid-19 response
11 May 2021 • 3:08am
Wei Xiuwen, mother of Chen Mei, centre, heads to the courthouse to attend her child s case in Beijing
Credit: Andy Wong/AP
Two amateur computer coders taken by police from their Beijing homes last year were standing trial on Tuesday in a case that illustrates the Chinese government s growing online censorship and heightened sensitivity to any deviation from the official narrative on its Covid-19 response.
Authorities have not said specifically why Chen Mei, 28, and Cai Wei, 27, were arrested, so friends and relatives can only guess. They believe it was because the two men had set up an online archive to store articles deleted by censors and a related forum where users could skirt real-name registration requirements to chat anonym
Two amateur computer coders in China have pleaded guilty to “stirring up trouble and picking quarrels” in a case that highlighted Beijing’s growing crackdown on online activity.
Chen Mei, 28, and Cai Wei, 27, created an online archive that stored articles that had been censored from the Chinese internet and an accompanying forum that allowed people to discuss them anonymously.
In court on Tuesday, prosecutors zeroed in on 2049bbs, the forum accompanying the archive, Chen’s mother, Wei Xiuwen, told reporters outside the court.
She said prosecutors told the court that Cai was responsible for building a website that had insulted the government and that Chen had paid for it.
BEIJING (AP) Two amateur computer coders pleaded guilty Tuesday to “stirring up trouble and picking quarrels” in a case that highlighted a growing Chinese government crackdown on online activity.
Chen Mei, 28, and Cai Wei, 27, created an online archive that stored articles that had been censored from the Chinese internet, and an accompanying forum that allowed people to discuss them anonymously.
In court, prosecutors zeroed in on 2049bbs, the forum accompanying the archive. They said Cai was responsible for building a website that had insulted the government, and Chen had paid for it, Chen’s mother, Wei Xiuwen, told reporters outside the court.
Case highlights China’s grip on Web
PERSECUTION: Two coders had created an online archive that stored articles that had been scrubbed from the Chinese Internet, especially those on the COVID-19 pandemic
AP, BEIJING
Two amateur computer coders yesterday pleaded guilty to “stirring up trouble and picking quarrels” in a case that highlighted a growing Chinese government crackdown on online activity.
Chen Mei (陳玫), 28, and Cai Wei (蔡偉), 27, created an online archive that stored articles that had been censored from the Chinese Internet, and an accompanying forum that allowed people to discuss them anonymously.
In court, prosecutors zeroed in on 2049bbs, the forum accompanying the archive.