Starting on December 15th, Chinese Internet users can be held liable for merely "liking" a social media post that the government considers harmful or illegal. The new rules are part of the recently imposed guidelines published by the Cyberspace Administration of China, mandating that all service providers carefully monitor comments and reactions – both digitally and through "speech review teams." Any so-called "bad information" is to be reported to the Internet Information Department.
Those who post information deemed illegal or harmful will be subjected to a variety of penalties – ranging from warnings, forceful deletion of content, suspension of accounts, or other measures. The scrutinized "content" not only includes written comments but also applies to emojis and other methods of reacting.
In response to the new rules, a spokesperson for ChinaAid commented, "The promulgation of the new regulations will narrow the already limited space for Chinese citizens to speak on the Internet, and the freedom of speech of Chinese citizens will be severely suppressed." For more information on the challenges facing believers in China, go to our country report.
In light of these heightened Internet restrictions, pray that our Christian brothers and sisters throughout China will use spiritual discernment, giving careful consideration when addressing the daily issues presented on various social media sites. May they have wisdom on how to best respond in any situation. Additionally, please uplift in prayer all the evangelists in China who are endeavouring to share the Gospel in their communities and beyond. May they not be discouraged by the increased government interference but rather further inspired to seek innovative ways to conduct ministry outreach and discipleship, wisely seizing every God-ordained opportunity to proclaim the "Good News"of Jesus.
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