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China cries “foul” over computerized threat
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posted Monday, 13 December 2004
The Chinese culture Ministry has cried “Foul” over a computer games that it describes as being harmful “to the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity”, banning the game and ordering swift action to curtail its spread.
The game, Premier Manager 2005, published by Sports Interactive was banned because a team selection screen depicted Hong-Kong, Tibet, and Chinese Taiwan as having their own teams alongside China, and the culture ministry has instructed authorities to take firm action against websites found distributing the game and internet cafes that allow patrons to play it.
Premier Manager 2005 is also known as Football Manager 2005 and Soccer Manager 2005. Translation has not been consistent though out the media.
The Culture ministry says that it acted to ban the game and prevent its distribution after being notified by gamers angered by the games provision for separate Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Tibetan and Mainland teams.
China’s tough stance over its borders and issues of territorial integrity are often seen as being out of proportion, as has been the banning of other games depicting Hong Kong, Tibet, or Chinese Taiwan having individual identities, both inside and outside of Chinese borders.
Chin is one of the few countries to label fiction accounts of its territory as being actual threats to its territory and has acted to ban a number of computer who’s depictions of China’s borders do not match government assigned histories and borders, which themselves do not always match internationally recognized events and borders.
Recently, an online World War II strategy game was banned for depicting Tibet and Manchuria as being Japanese territory.
Historically, Manchuria was partially ceded as a concession prior to the Sino-Japanese war and came under Japanese full Japanese occupation during the 1930, as did Hong Kong and much of China. Chinese Taiwan was ceded several decades earlier
Issues of Sovereignty
The Chinese government does not acknowledge regions within China as possessing any kind of separate identities or existences, instead defining people as ethnic groups within the Chinese race and cultures as sub sections of the Chinese culture. It also rarely acknowledges that territories now controlled by China have previously existed as sovereign entities or as components of neighboring countries for extended periods of time. The Chinese government often reacts strongly to representations of China’s present and historical borders and composition that do not match government issued representations
The Chinese cultural ministry has repeatedly cracked down on factual, fictional, and semi fictional representations of China that differ from the official government line and has acted to remove elements from historic records that show that elements of modern China were once sovereign entities or were once considered foreign countries, notably including Tibet, and the Kingdom of Koguryo, now Korea and North East China
Koguryo was described in an official Chinese publication, available online and through a journal distributed in several languages and throughout 180 countries, as being an integral and historical part of China, controlled from the Chinese capital and inhabited by an ethnic regional people, despite internationally recognized history showing that it was a sovereign entity beyond China’s borders.
The publication drew outrage from authorities in Korea, the modern successors to Koguryo and Koguryo’s history
China’s tough stance is unusual. Currently the British government posses no known restrictions on the depiction of Scotland, Wales, England and North/South Ireland, Gibraltar or other dependant territories being independent entities. A similar understanding exists for the depiction of the US and American Hawaii.
Many China watchers regard this tough stance as being part of the Chinese government’s policy of forging a single China out of many disparate ethnic groups, many with a history of conflict with the majority Han population. Starting during the early years of the founding of ‘modern China’, the national government has long acted to surprise the individual cultural identities of various ethnic people and to create a single mono-culture through which it can promote nationalism to support its own ideals, and prevent the spread of dissident ideas based on traditions, customs or cultural heritage. This is particularly evident in Tibet.
Also, if China were to allow representations of China that differed from the historic government line, it could potentially lead to the questioning of other long standing government edicts over other issues.
While China promotes the country as having a single continuous history, reaching back to the founding of ‘Ancient China’, over the course of China’s history, the country has absorbed neighboring countries, been invaded by northern tribes, and has its self fragmented into feudal kingdoms, fiefdom allied to the capital but under independent rule in all but name, and has conceded territory, in the form of concessions, to Japan and the European powers.
The Game
Though no copy of the game, or its manual, were available at the time of publication, a screen capture of the games graphical user interface that was made available online showed the Chinese characters 地区, meaning region, and not 国 meaning country, or 邦 meaning nation or state.
The image also lists Taipei as 中国台北市 which can be translated to China – Taipei City and not Taiwanese Taipei City.
In contradiction to Chinese assertions made over the barring of the game, Hong Kong has its own soccer team and was listed as a separate entity to mainland China during the Asian cup without objection from Beijing.
Irony
Ironically, Soccer Manager 2005 has never been officially released in China, and the majority of packages in circulation are counterfeits that were distributed illegally on imported CDs or over the internet. It is likely that an official “China release” would not have contained separate teams.
China has so far made no public effort to control the distribution of Soccer Manager 2005 under legislation covering the sale of counterfeit software.
Disputes
China is currently involved in a number of disputes over territory claimed by both China and neighboring countries or indigenous people, and does not permit the publication or distribution of material referring to these areas as being anything other than “integral to China”. International views and recognition vary.
Seeking Independence
Xingjian
Tibet
Chinese Taiwan
Seeking Enhanced Autonomy
Hong Kong
Macau
Territorial Dispute
Japanese Senkaku Islands
Cultural Note
Football and soccer are terms commonly used in British and American English and are often considered to be interchangeable.
Soccer is commonly used in American English to refer to British rules football so as to distinguish it from American rules football. Soccer is little used outside of America but its use is growing due to the distribution of US dubbed anime and conventional cinema.
In British English, football exclusively refers to British rules football, American rules football is known as American football.
In American English, football always refers to American rules football, and soccer always refers to British rules football. Use outside America is fluid depending on the greater cultural and sporting influence. Football is the more common term, because of its literal meaning for translation.
サッカー Soccer/British rules football
蹴球 しゅうきゅう Football/Soccer (Literal/interchangeable)
アメリカンフットボール American football/American rules football
Conversely there is also Australian Rules football. This is commonly known as Australian Rules football even in Australia. Australian Rules is often considered a distinct name and capitalized. British and American football and soccer are not usually capitalized.
The game, Premier Manager 2005, published by Sports Interactive was banned because a team selection screen depicted Hong-Kong, Tibet, and Chinese Taiwan as having their own teams alongside China, and the culture ministry has instructed authorities to take firm action against websites found distributing the game and internet cafes that allow patrons to play it.
|
|
"[relevant
ministries are to] investigate, confiscate and punish websites, computer
software markets and Internet cafes, who disseminate or sell 'Football
Manager 2005.'" Ministry of |
|
Premier Manager 2005 is also known as Football Manager 2005 and Soccer Manager 2005. Translation has not been consistent though out the media.
The Culture ministry says that it acted to ban the game and prevent its distribution after being notified by gamers angered by the games provision for separate Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Tibetan and Mainland teams.
|
|
"[The
Culture ministry] received strong protests from Chinese game players" XinHua |
|
China’s tough stance over its borders and issues of territorial integrity are often seen as being out of proportion, as has been the banning of other games depicting Hong Kong, Tibet, or Chinese Taiwan having individual identities, both inside and outside of Chinese borders.
|
|
“Such a
distortion, even in a computer game, violates the relevant Chinese laws and
is anathema to the Chinese government.” |
|
Chin is one of the few countries to label fiction accounts of its territory as being actual threats to its territory and has acted to ban a number of computer who’s depictions of China’s borders do not match government assigned histories and borders, which themselves do not always match internationally recognized events and borders.
Recently, an online World War II strategy game was banned for depicting Tibet and Manchuria as being Japanese territory.
Historically, Manchuria was partially ceded as a concession prior to the Sino-Japanese war and came under Japanese full Japanese occupation during the 1930, as did Hong Kong and much of China. Chinese Taiwan was ceded several decades earlier
Issues of Sovereignty
The Chinese government does not acknowledge regions within China as possessing any kind of separate identities or existences, instead defining people as ethnic groups within the Chinese race and cultures as sub sections of the Chinese culture. It also rarely acknowledges that territories now controlled by China have previously existed as sovereign entities or as components of neighboring countries for extended periods of time. The Chinese government often reacts strongly to representations of China’s present and historical borders and composition that do not match government issued representations
The Chinese cultural ministry has repeatedly cracked down on factual, fictional, and semi fictional representations of China that differ from the official government line and has acted to remove elements from historic records that show that elements of modern China were once sovereign entities or were once considered foreign countries, notably including Tibet, and the Kingdom of Koguryo, now Korea and North East China
Koguryo was described in an official Chinese publication, available online and through a journal distributed in several languages and throughout 180 countries, as being an integral and historical part of China, controlled from the Chinese capital and inhabited by an ethnic regional people, despite internationally recognized history showing that it was a sovereign entity beyond China’s borders.
The publication drew outrage from authorities in Korea, the modern successors to Koguryo and Koguryo’s history
China’s tough stance is unusual. Currently the British government posses no known restrictions on the depiction of Scotland, Wales, England and North/South Ireland, Gibraltar or other dependant territories being independent entities. A similar understanding exists for the depiction of the US and American Hawaii.
Many China watchers regard this tough stance as being part of the Chinese government’s policy of forging a single China out of many disparate ethnic groups, many with a history of conflict with the majority Han population. Starting during the early years of the founding of ‘modern China’, the national government has long acted to surprise the individual cultural identities of various ethnic people and to create a single mono-culture through which it can promote nationalism to support its own ideals, and prevent the spread of dissident ideas based on traditions, customs or cultural heritage. This is particularly evident in Tibet.
Also, if China were to allow representations of China that differed from the historic government line, it could potentially lead to the questioning of other long standing government edicts over other issues.
While China promotes the country as having a single continuous history, reaching back to the founding of ‘Ancient China’, over the course of China’s history, the country has absorbed neighboring countries, been invaded by northern tribes, and has its self fragmented into feudal kingdoms, fiefdom allied to the capital but under independent rule in all but name, and has conceded territory, in the form of concessions, to Japan and the European powers.
The Game
|
|
"[Football
Manager 2005] poses harm to the country's sovereignty and territorial
integrity." Ministry of |
|
Though no copy of the game, or its manual, were available at the time of publication, a screen capture of the games graphical user interface that was made available online showed the Chinese characters 地区, meaning region, and not 国 meaning country, or 邦 meaning nation or state.
The image also lists Taipei as 中国台北市 which can be translated to China – Taipei City and not Taiwanese Taipei City.
In contradiction to Chinese assertions made over the barring of the game, Hong Kong has its own soccer team and was listed as a separate entity to mainland China during the Asian cup without objection from Beijing.
Irony
Ironically, Soccer Manager 2005 has never been officially released in China, and the majority of packages in circulation are counterfeits that were distributed illegally on imported CDs or over the internet. It is likely that an official “China release” would not have contained separate teams.
China has so far made no public effort to control the distribution of Soccer Manager 2005 under legislation covering the sale of counterfeit software.
Disputes
China is currently involved in a number of disputes over territory claimed by both China and neighboring countries or indigenous people, and does not permit the publication or distribution of material referring to these areas as being anything other than “integral to China”. International views and recognition vary.
Seeking Independence
Xingjian
Tibet
Chinese Taiwan
Seeking Enhanced Autonomy
Hong Kong
Macau
Territorial Dispute
Japanese Senkaku Islands
Cultural Note
Football and soccer are terms commonly used in British and American English and are often considered to be interchangeable.
Soccer is commonly used in American English to refer to British rules football so as to distinguish it from American rules football. Soccer is little used outside of America but its use is growing due to the distribution of US dubbed anime and conventional cinema.
In British English, football exclusively refers to British rules football, American rules football is known as American football.
In American English, football always refers to American rules football, and soccer always refers to British rules football. Use outside America is fluid depending on the greater cultural and sporting influence. Football is the more common term, because of its literal meaning for translation.
サッカー Soccer/British rules football
蹴球 しゅうきゅう Football/Soccer (Literal/interchangeable)
アメリカンフットボール American football/American rules football
Conversely there is also Australian Rules football. This is commonly known as Australian Rules football even in Australia. Australian Rules is often considered a distinct name and capitalized. British and American football and soccer are not usually capitalized.
View Comments/Add a Comment (3)
2. a reader left...
Thursday, 30 December 2004 11:48 am
Actually I love China and have a very deep respect for its people and
culture, I wouldn't have gone gone to a country that has critisized mine so
much if I didn't love it. I just don't like its habit of having apeplexy
over these kind of events. It makes China look weak and foolish if it need
to constantly stamp down on these issues.