The ‘legalization’ of China’s Internet crackdown

Stanley Lubman writes for The Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2013

Beijing has launched a multi-pronged offensive against online criticism of current policies and institutions that includes a propaganda campaign, arrests, and a duplicative new legal rule that attempts to justify the response and deter future online critiques. This call to battle is not new, but its codification in legal dress is disturbing and represents a magnified threat to online discussion and dissent in China.