They have become a symbol of China’s recent wave of protests: Blank, white sheets of paper held aloft by demonstrators to signify their opposition to anti-virus lockdowns, censorship and freedom of speech. As videos of crowds holding up paper sheets and chanting slogans flooded the internet last weekend, Chinese-language social media posts have come to Read more
The power of major internet companies like Facebook, Amazon, YouTube, and Twitter over public life is a particular threat to religious groups that focus on controversial issues like abortion, marriage, and sexuality, several commentators said at a roundtable last week. These groups should prepare for the possibility of censorship and organize effective countermeasures, they said. Read more
The claim a New Zealand academic’s latest book has been banned may be a little over-egged, but a publisher’s interpretation of international hate speech laws is an interesting example of the current global tensions between free speech and hate speech. Read more
NCR’s Tom Roberts and David Gibson of Fordham University discuss an unsettling pattern of Catholic writers and scholars being disinvited from speaking engagements and adjunct positions due to intimidation from far-right Catholic groups. We say: The Catholic Church needs civil conversation, not censorship. Fr. Jim Martin was uninvited from a speaking engagement at the CUA seminary. Pressure Read more
The head of the Christian lobby group Family First said he never demanded the award-winning book Into the River be banned. Bob McCoskrie told Radio NZ this morning that Family First had wanted censors to reinstate the book’s R14 rating, which had been removed last month, and require that the book carry a warning sticker. Read more
“The Abbott Government is erecting an iron curtain of secrecy over what is happening and what has happened in Australia’s immigration detention system,” says barrister and spokesperson for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Greg Barns. “The Australian Border Force Act, supported by the ALP and opposed only by the Greens, effectively turns the Department of Immigration Read more
A Papua New Guinea lawyer says the influence of fundamentalist Christians from oversees is partly to blame for a proposed crackdown on sexting in PNG. Constitutional lawyer Tiffany Twivey-Nongorr has called the proposed PNG ban an outrageous breach of human rights. As part of a review of the Censorship Act, PNG’s Censorhip Board is considering Read more
Although the majority of New Zealand newspapers, including New Zealand’s largest circulation paper, declined to republish any of the Danish cartoons, two local newspapers and two television channels did so, despite expressions of concern from the Federation of Islamic Associations and the Government. The publication was followed by strong interfaith and government condemnation, a public Read more
The media have more or less ignored the Catholic Bishops’ recent press release titled “Euthanasia dangerous threat to society”. Right to Life has applauded the Catholic Bishops for their timely warning and has expressed disappointment that it has not received more publicity. “The Bishops are the spiritual leaders of more than 500,000 baptised Catholics in New Zealand Read more
T shirts and hoodies that advertise an album for British extreme metal group “Cradle of Filth” and describe Jesus as a profanity were seized from an Invercargill store on Wednesday. Police took away the offending apparel after being asked to do so by Internal Affairs. They visited the store mid-afternoon and seized between 10 and 15 Read more