Two of China's biggest microblogging sites went back to business as usual today after being suspended for three days.
Sina's Weibo.com and Tencent's t.qq. banned comments on their sites - which caused a mass outcry about censorship and free speech - following online rumours of a coup in Beijing.
During the suspension, their 700 million users were able to post on their own profiles but couldn't join in with any comments on anyone else's accounts.
The rumours were directed at a well known Communist Party figure, Bo Xilai.
Authorities moved quickly, closing around 12 websites and arresting six people in relation to the rumours, which had caused both sites - the Chinese equivalents to Twitter - to take the action, which they said was aimed at "cleaning up" illegal and harmful information posted on some microblogs .
However, they gave no further details, and it is unclear whether the pair were forced to carry out the suspension by regulators or off their own back after being reprimanded by the government.
People's Daily, the voice of the Chinese Communist Party, said in a comment on Saturday: "Internet rumours package lies as truths and change speculation into fact."
The Chinese government will have learned that, with the internet, it is difficult if not impossible to totally censor ideas or rumours.
Nick Pickles, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, drew a comparison between the censorship and new laws being proposed in the United Kingdom: "This kind of censorship relies on the same real-time monitoring the British government is talking about introducing in the UK. Privacy is an essential element of freedom of speech.
"Once the capability to monitor is introduced, the pressure will move to control. We have already heard web-blocking proposals to deal with copyright infringement for example, so the experience of Chinese citizens is something that those of us living in democracies should not disregard lightly."
Freedom is not the desperate cry of those who are blind-blinded by their religiosities like, say, "Democracy", because those sorts of freedom depend entirely on Fame, Fortune & Immortality, oka illusions-delusions spinning The Zero Sum Game, I-D being fully under the control and manipulation of The Bookie, the One who resides within all as thoughts of The Past and The Future. One reason why those who had managed to outlast their intial insanity/reality of being caged forever and a day will graduate from being physically shackled to being spiritually/truly free. Like Meditation, which has nothing to do with "meditation", Freedom is a quality, oka a principle, just like, say, Angels, oka The Antibodies, who have neither the freedom nor the desire to do as they please, principles being bound by their duty because they are Duty itself - unlike one particular Angel who decided to have a bite of The Apple. [If this not mumbo-jumbo but an absolute truth, is the Infinitiser named "Apple" a serendipitous coincidence? C'mon, you have acuity of thoughts, surely] And look at the mess He had caused and is still causing as He bids for His hour of Release. But out of all that He could wreaked havoc upon, why does He always employ The Stupid and The Dumb? Because they are do-able. You must have heard that one before, surely. No? Have another PhonyPoddyPaddy then.
On the other hand, "Easternised" societies with their system of Respect still intact, are based on The Father, oka The Judicial/Law, with the enforcement being based on The Mother, oka The Police. Where they come a-cropper is when Respect is actually repect, oka the opportunity to have eet all without any merit. Whether East or West, The Bookie will have His way because Humanity is Relativity and relative with all humans vacillating between their desire and their will depending on the moment/latency. As "The IRA" had shown, a system of seemingly stability, development and advancement could be brought to its essential wantoness and wilderness given the human/"mitigating" factor. The UK government was lucky that the "The Russians" and "The Chinese" did not interfered [they tried? Did they, really?] like The Brits and The Yanks did in the formers' affairs other than good ole Gaddafi being mildly generous or else "The UK" would have to perhaps invade Ireland in the end. Not when the technocrats are running "The EU", of course, them always doing eet via the back, as per the custom of the privileged and the entitled.
As it is, when The Stupid could see no further than them replacing Divinity, which is not to be confused with Religion & Religiosity, someone then has to be The Worshipper/Dumb - either by hook or by crook. The joke then is that those who have yet to realise Freedom are always the ones who demand others be free. It is like some great saviour of The Cake demanding others eat it first because it tasted so good in their minds. Freedom is like Truth in that its essence could not be gifted other than for the other to be freed/truthful. Those who are of Truth do not talk about it because being truthful is all they'll ever do or can be. Reality is therefore never those who are always talking about it just like those who are imprisoned are always talking about being free. This is why Reality cannot be gifted, one has to be real or otherwise remain unreal and yakking about reality. Being an example vs being some stupid-dumb leader.