Amazon reportedly succumbed to pressure from Beijing to scrub its Chinese website of criticism for a book written by the country’s leader.
The U.S.-based online retailer disabled ratings, comments, and reviews of President Xi Jinping’s The Governance of China, a book of his speeches and writings, according to a report from Reuters.
One source told the news outlet that a negative review of Xi’s book prompted the edict, while the other person said he or she thought “the issue was anything under five stars.”
DC-AREA RADIO STATION HAS AIRED CHINESE PROPAGANDA FOR YEARS: REPORT
A 2018 internal briefing document cited in the report said an “increasing number of requests from (Chinese) watchdogs to take down certain content, mostly politically sensitive ones.”
An Amazon spokesman told the news outlet the company “complies with all applicable laws and regulations, wherever we operate, and China is no exception.”
A search of Amazon.cn shows other books written by or about Xi have had their comments and ratings functions disabled, according to The Times, which reported books by Xi’s party propaganda department about his thoughts and his speeches were found to mostly have a single five-star rating.
One exception was a 2016 reader of his speeches, which had 20 comments, 19 five-star ratings, and one four-star rating, the report said. “Those working in the government can study it, but there is no need for Amazon workers,” the four-star comment read.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Amazon has not responded to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
