First Click: nothing to see here

April 7th, 2016

The Panama Papers have sent shockwaves across the globe, spurring investigations in several countries and prompting Iceland’s prime minister to resign. But you might not know about it if you’re living in China, where officials have swiftly censored all mention of the biggest data leak in history — a move that could end up backfiring.

China’s government censors reacted quickly to the first reports on the Panama Papers, which disclosed details on the holders of more than 200,000 shell companies listed by the shadowy law firm Mossack Fonseca. A notice sent to media outlets this week ordered editors to delete any reports on the leaks, and any mention of the word “Panama” was blocked on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging service.

It’s of course not surprising that Beijing would react with such aggression. The country has long filtered its internet through the so-called Great Firewall, and proposed rules announced this month would only tighten its control. The Panama Papers also implicate the family members and business contacts of Chinese politicians, including the brother-in-law of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

There is so far no sign that those implicated sought to evade taxes or embezzle money, but the government’s reaction to this first batch of leaks may be telling. The only outlet to mention the story this week was the Communist Party-run Global Times, which published an English-language editorial on Tuesday. "In the internet era, disinformation poses no major risks to Western influential elites or the West," the editorial read. "In the long-run, it will become a new means for the ideology-allied Western nations to strike a blow to non-Western political elites and key organizations." The article made no mention of the connections to China.

Whether China’s blackout will be effective is still in doubt. The government has in recent months cracked down on virtual private networks (VPNs), which allowed users to circumvent filters, though there is clearly interest in the Panama Papers, which would suggest that the information is coming in from somewhere. According to the website FreeWeibo, "Panama" and "Panama file" were still among the most popular blocked queries on Weibo as of Thursday morning.

And as the The Wall Street Journal wrote in an editorial this week, there’s always the risk that China’s aggressive tactics could have unintended consequences. "Shell companies can serve legitimate functions, but censorship will draw more attention to the story," the editorial reads. "In China’s low-trust environment, the public treats the slightest hint of scandal as the tip of a new iceberg."


Five stories to start your day



  1. Six groundbreaking Ferraris were built for a prince. Only one escaped the jungle

    The order came from the Sultan of Brunei’s nephew. It was 1994, and Prince Abdul Hakeem, then 20 years old, had inherited two things: access to a $40 billion fortune, and his family’s penchant for...

  2. This hacked Game Boy hides a Raspberry Pi and hundreds of games

    If you want a handy illustration of how far consumer technology has come in the last 30 years, just take a look at this video from electronics wizard Wermy, who has gutted an original Game Boy and...

  3. What the teaser trailer for the teaser trailer for Rogue One tells us about the next Star Wars movie

    The first full trailer for Rogue One, the first Star Wars spin-off movie, is airing tomorrow, but thanks to a preview clip posted today, we've already got our first glimpse at the film. Now some...

  4. Toyota's Setsuna is an amazing wooden concept car designed to last generations

    Debuting at Milan Design Week next Monday, Toyota's Setsuna is probably the most unique concept car to debut from a major automaker this year. If it's not obvious from looking at it, this adorable...

  5. Apple's copycats are turning into true iPhone competitors

    From the very beginning of Android, Apple has been complaining that its Android competitors are ripping off its iPhone designs. Whether the culprit is the Samsung Galaxy S, the HTC One A9, or the...

Denial of the day