Quick background:

− I recently finished a course focusing entirely on Single Party States, specifically the controlling
and repressive regimes of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler.
− The still-existent Communist government of China has been recognised recently for lightening
their well-known censorship measures and opening up to topics that were previously considered
taboo.
− I found myself wondering just how “open” China had really come in its reforms, and spuriously
decided to log on to Omegle (honestly the only way I knew to find a random Chinese person) to
ask someone personally, and after around twenty tries, I found a forty year-old man from
Beijing.
− I had not really prepared anything in advance, so my questions were fairly disorganised as well
as the information I sent him (which I was searching for on the fly) but what I found out about
his “country of Freedom” was downright terrifying.

The following is the unaltered conversation (with nothing removed) with explanations where necessary,
marked between asterisks. I urge you to read it all, as it looks longer than it really is because of the
constant breaks, but you should at least flip through as almost every part is proof of China's active
mental subversion. You will be equally disturbed and interested.

Connecting to server...
Looking for someone you can chat with. Hang on.
You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
You: If you don't mind me asking, are you from China?
Stranger: yes
Stranger: ?
Stranger: 春哥是纯页们
Stranger: 爷们
Stranger: 有暗号吗
Stranger: are you chinese?
Stranger: i'm chinese
You: No I'm not, but can I ask you a few questions?
Stranger: yes
You: How old are you?
Stranger: 40
You: Okay so you were old enough during Tiananmen, what do you know about Tiananmen
square?
Stranger: beautiful
You: Do you know what happened there in 1989?
Stranger: a little
Stranger: i just know china has open the window to develope?
You: Can you open http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/六四事件 ***I wanted to see if he could even
open the page behind the Chinese supposedly “relaxed” Firewall***
Stranger: ?
Stranger: i know it, 6 4 event *** The Tiananmen Square protest is known as the April 6th
event in China***
Stranger: i know forigners thought it's a bad event, in fact you are wrong
Stranger: and this event isn't happened in 1989
You: What do you know about it? You may have been lied to.
Stranger: it's much earlyer than this
Stranger: no, never lie
You: Can you open that page?
You: right now?
Stranger: as a chinese ,i'm much clearer than you
Stranger: ok ,wait
You: But your government actively censors many, many things.
Stranger: no
Stranger: please listen to me
You: you can't open it?
Stranger: no i can't
Stranger: i really know it clearly because i lived in beijing at that time
Stranger: april 4th
Stranger: A few hundreds of students wanted to catch the goverment's power,then they killed
many people ,than,they got the Tiananmen square
Stranger: so it's not what you thought
You: No, not hundreds. 100,000.
You: Can I send you something to read?
Stranger: ok *** I began copying articles both in Chinese and English regarding Tiananmen
to send to him***
You: What do you know about Tibet and the people there?
Stranger: tibet is a part of chinese
Stranger: people lives in tibet ,they are living a happness life
Stranger: yes, welcome to tibet
Stranger: if you go to tibet ,you 'll know all of this
Stranger: just a few people ,they wanted to get tibet,so,they killed many people in 3,15 event
*** I am honestly not sure exactly what he is referring to here, but it may be the 1959
Tibetan uprisings that most of March, including the 15th ***
You: This is a tibetan monk injured by Police
http://thumb.visualizeus.com/thumbs/08/03/05/2008,blood,china,monk,olimpics,pain,politics,s
uffering,tibet-d976d8597bec0af3550703304d2a2b2c_m.jpg
Stranger: this photo has been PS!
Stranger: you believe it?
You: YOUR government is the one who photoshops or erases images altogether!
You: I have seen many many pictures and videos of police shooting and beating the monks of
tibet
Stranger: wait
Stranger: 'shooting ' this picture is a movie in china.it is not the true life ,you know?
Stranger: the man who put this picture to web has been catched
Stranger: we all know it
You: Have you been there?
Stranger: if you go to tibet,you 'llknow you are wrong and how fool you are
Stranger: yes
Stranger: 3times
You: ***This is after I finished copying the articles and uploading them***
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1YXG28S4
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YMTOLAY7
One is English, the other is Chinese. I don't know if they are different at all but I would try to
read the English one
Stranger: ok,let me see
Stranger: wait,the rate is slow
You: okay
You: What do you know about how much the government censors the internet?
Stranger: i know the policeman can delete the unhealhty web,such as sex
You: They can 'delete' much more than that.
Stranger: no
Stranger: if you came to china ,you 'll know, china is a freedom country,and people live in
tibet and taiwan are happness, and,they are 2parts of china
Stranger: but i know ,it must be a few people's conspiracy
You: Did you open those documents?
Stranger: the article is not true
Stranger: article?
Stranger: where is the documents?
You: Yeah its an article
Stranger: it's not true
You: It IS true
Stranger: why do you think it's true?
You: China is the only country who says otherwise
You: It's known the the Chinese government actively lies to the people and censors all kinds
of information, espcially anything that makes them look bad
You: Its a Totalitarian regime
Stranger: no , in china ,people's power is much bigger than the government
Stranger: do you know?
You: That's what they want you to think!
You: You've been told that for so long that you believe it and that's what they want.
Stranger: the government is chosen by people
You: Ever since 1949 China has been in trouble
You: And its only getting worse, not better
Stranger: no,listen to me please
Stranger: in 1949,china is a poor country
Stranger: now,china is a rich country
Stranger: we all have cars houses and full of food
You: Do you like Chairman Mao?
Stranger: yes,
Stranger: no him ,no our happness life
You: What about the number of people he killed and all his failed exploits like the cultural
revolution and Great Leap Forward?
You: He is responsible for the starvation of millions of farmers and peasants
Stranger: how do you know that? from book or tv
Stranger: it's not true, before Mao,our life is bad
You: The only people who think it isn't true are the Chinese today! There is evidence from
that time that the government has destroyed within China but that survives outside of it
Stranger: USA UK JAPAN has killed thousands of chinese
You: Yes I agree at various points these countries have caused Chinese deaths,
You: but the Chinese government has killed many more
Stranger: no ,we have law
Stranger: wait,let me improve why you are wrong
You: “Under the Great Leap Forward, Mao and other party leaders ordered the
implementation of a variety of unproven and unscientific new agricultural techniques by the
new communes. Combined with the diversion of labor to steel production and infrastructure
projects and the reduced personal incentives under a commune system, this led to an
approximately 15% drop in grain production in 1959 followed by further 10% reduction in 1960
and no recovery in 1961.... party cadres were ordered to requisition a disproportionately high
amount of the true harvest for state use primarily in the cities and urban areas but also for
export. The net result... was that the rural peasants were not left enough to eat and many
millions starved to death in what is thought to be the largest famine in human history. This
famine was a direct cause of the death of tens of millions of Chinese peasants between 1959
and 1962.”
You: Read that whole thing till the end
You: That's only a small part
Stranger: loan country just want to hit the communi country,so their government always said
commun is bad and it killed plenty of people ,
Stranger: so you just know this ,it's not true. the article is wrong
You: It's not my friend
You: And I am sorry that you believe it is
Stranger: the true can improve that our life is getting better and better,then,can you tell me
why?
You: I'm not saying your life has not gotten better
Stranger: this point can prove your opinion is wrong
You: But there are aspects of your life that you don't even know are bad
You: And there are many, many people whose lives are very bad but the government wont let
you know about them!
You: Okay
This pictures shows the difference between what a search in China and everywhere else in
the World looks like for Tiananmen Square
You: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/img/060131-china.gif
You: See the difference? Your government blocks things that are TRUE
Stranger: and,i think, you should wake up early,my friend,
Stranger: you have been cheated
Stranger: the tank you see? our charman will check the army each 10years in Tiananmen
square *** This was particularly disturbing***
Stranger: so,the picture is normal
You: Please understand that I don't think China is a bad or terrible place, but I think that your
government is oppressive, controlling, and the fact that you don't even realize it says so much
more than you can understand about it
You: That's just something they do so that no one will believe the truth about the photos!
You: Do you think that it is safe for you to say bad things about the government?
Stranger: we don't care it,if you go to china ,you'll know how fool you are.
Stranger: china is a freedom country
Stranger: it's 2 00 am,i must sleep
You: Just one more minute
Stranger: in a, word, welcome to china
You: Do you think you are being watched by the police right now?
Stranger: no
Stranger: police is our friend
You: Do you think you could safely say bad things about the government if you wanted to?
Stranger: when you have trouble,you must find him,he 'll help you
You: Anywhere on the internet or outside?
Stranger: if it's true,i be safe
You: what if it wasn't true?
Stranger: we have law
Stranger: if it wasn;t true ,i'll be punish
You: See, what does that say about your country that is supposed to be country of Freedom?
You: Where I live, we have Freedom of speech, and we can say whatever we want without
being punished
Stranger: you mush know,.,i'll be punished if i say not true!
You: If your country was free, then you should be able to say what you believe!
You: And, for the record, chances are all the bad things ARE true.
Stranger: no,you 're wrong
Stranger: can you see,chinese lives in peace ,and we're happness
Stranger: that's the most important
Stranger: i'll be punished if i say not true,because my hurt our country and people
Stranger: i sleep
You: Thank you for talking to me and answering all my questions
Stranger: welcome to china
You: you are welcome to come to Canada any time
Stranger: yeah
Stranger: it's a beautiful country
You: And maybe you will learn some more about your own country
Stranger: anyway, i learn some
Stranger: welcome to taiwan &tibet
Stranger: bye