Observers noted that the political infighting in the upper ranks of the Chinese Communist Party seems to have extended to cyberspace. Politically sensitive terms related to the June 4 Tiananmen Square massacre and the Falun Gong spiritual practice were recently searchable—and some still remained available as of March 22. The term “June 4” in Chinese was briefly unblocked on Baidu, China’s main search engine, and the first item was about Wen Jiabao wanting to give the event a political rehabilitation. Terms related to Falun Gong were unblocked for a period of time as well. No message appeared saying results were censored.
The violent crackdowns and political sensitivities associated with those terms go to the heart of the Chinese regime’s ruling legacy. They are also both connected to former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, whose allies form one of the factions within the Party.
Sources: The Epoch Times, March 23, 2012
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/chinas-internet-censors-take-break-during-party-infighting-209412.html