China’s Cyber Vigilantes: Do They Go Too Far?

Are Chinese human-flesh search engines seeking justice or revenge? This controversial aspect of China’s internet culture, in which individuals accused of specific crimes (which they may or may not have committed) are stalked and harassed, has raised more than a few eyebrows.

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The internet vigilantes are after adulterers, citizens who are perceived as unpatriotic, journalists who urge a moderate stance on Tibet, rich people, amateur pornography makers and corrupt politicians. Truth be told, the choice of victims is relative and contingent on anyone who angers the omnipotent and anonymous bulletin board mob. Victims are targeted and treated cruelly. (In one instance, a kitten was killed on video to prove some hideous point.)

Human-flesh search engines, also known as renrou sousuo yinqing, are known for their online stalking and offline results. People are hunted down like animals and punished for acts, which are as clear as mud and are subjectively exacted by an anonymous board of angry users.

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The issue of censorship, which usually dominates the news about Chinese internet culture barely (if ever) touches upon this horrible phenomenon which in its own cyber way is the modern equivalent of the Salem witch trials of the 1600s. The goals are always malicious, whether it be to get someone fired from his or her job, shamed in front of their neighbors or run out of town.

It is the anonymous quality of the online forums, such as Mop, that attract the darker elements of Chinese cyber culture. This is where the searches for human flesh begin. Many Chinese participate in these forums known as BBS (bulletin board system) where they can exchange information on just about anything.

“One factor driving BBS traffic is the dearth of good information in the mainstream media. Print publications and television networks are under state control and cannot cover many controversial issues. BBS is where the juicy stories break, spreading through the mainstream media if they get big enough,” says technology analyst, Jin Liwen.

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Human flesh-searching is conducted by users who call themselves wang min, which translates into “netizens.” Ironically, for all the problems associated with this public space, for many Chinese these forums remain one of the few places where people can actually participate as citizens.

Other countries have conducted human-flesh searches including South Korea and the US where an online search singled out a woman who found a cell phone in a New York City taxi and started to use it as her own, refusing requests from the phone’s rightful owner to return it.

Legal redress in Chinese courts has reaped little if any damages from incurring lawsuits and thus far it seems unlikely that such action will have any significant impact on the future of the human-flesh search.