Subtitles section Play video
-
On this episode of China Uncensored,
-
the real winner in the US presidential debate!
-
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
-
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
-
On Monday,
-
we witnessed the first of three US presidential debates
-
between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
-
Now that I’ve mentioned Clinton and Trump,
-
I’m sure a portion of you have stopped watching
-
and are busy attacking me in the comment section below.
-
I'm kidding.
-
You've already started doing that before even watching this video.
-
To those of you who’ve stayed:
-
After watching the debates,
-
there was one clear winner…
-
Democracy!
-
That’s right.
-
This has been a crazy election cycle
-
that has seen the United States
-
more deeply divided than ever before.
-
And it’s still better than what many people in the world have.
-
In America,
-
we have a system where anyone can be president.
-
Of course,
-
that means anyone can be president.
-
Still,
-
people with radically different ideas
-
can debate them freely on national television,
-
without censorship…
-
…or even moderation.
-
You know where you can’t do that?
-
China!
-
You know how the “president” of China gets “elected?”
-
First, they have an internal power struggle
-
at the top levels of the Communist Party.
-
Whoever survives the purges rises to the top.
-
And then that group selects among themselves
-
who the leader of the Communist Party should be.
-
Then the Communist Party tells China’s rubber-stamp congress
-
who to vote for,
-
and surprise surprise,
-
that person gets “elected” president.
-
Then it gets announced to the public.
-
So what an embarrassing contrast for the Chinese Communist Party
-
to have US presidential candidates debating so freely!
-
But fear not!
-
They have a solution:
-
Don’t let Chinese people watch it.
-
Yes,
-
the America’s presidential debate was censored in China.
-
China Digital Times uncovered this leaked censorship directive
-
that pulled the plug on the debate,
-
saying no news service is allowed to livestream it.
-
Even state-run CCTV’s livestream
-
“went black shortly after the debate began.”
-
Same goes the two biggest Chinese news websites.
-
And with Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter already banned in China,
-
you weren’t going to see it there, either.
-
So as more than 80 million Americans tuned in to watch the Battle Royale,
-
in China,
-
people had state-run media to tell them their opinions for them!
-
And if you missed the debate,
-
because your totalitarian government censored it,
-
don’t worry.
-
My favorite state-run media Global Times assures us it was trite.
-
And this is just the latest in a long line of presidential censorship.
-
For more on that, here’s Shelley Zhang...
-
from 8 years ago!
-
US President Barack Obama’s inauguration address on Tuesday
-
was broadcast live around the world.
-
But for Chinese state media,
-
some of his comments apparently hit too close to home.
-
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism,
-
not just with missiles and tanks,
-
but with the sturdy alliances
-
and enduring convictions.
-
As soon as the translator said the word “communism,”
-
the live broadcast from China's main propaganda station,
-
CCTV, faded out the audio.
-
And embarrassingly,
-
the anchor was caught totally off guard.
-
Which didn’t happen with Monday’s debate—
-
because, again,
-
the Chinese Communist Party just censored the entire thing.
-
And they’re still a bit worried about these debates.
-
Because despite their efforts,
-
people in China still figured out how to watch.
-
China’s version of Twitter,
-
Weibo,
-
somehow was able to livestream the debate to nearly a quarter million people.
-
And that’s because more and more,
-
people in China are showing an interest in US elections.
-
For decades,
-
Chinese state-run media has been telling people that the
-
Western-style democracy is dangerous and chaotic.
-
But China’s middle class is increasingly making their own observations—
-
as Chinese tourists travel to every corner of the globe,
-
and more and more people figure out how
-
to get around China’s Internet firewall.
-
So if you’re still watching,
-
and not busy angrily accusing me of bashing your favorite—
-
or least un-favorite candidate—
-
I’d like to end with this:
-
At least we can all watch the debate on TV,
-
and type our uncensored comments below.
-
Once again I’m Chris Chappell,
-
see you next time.
