Canada

Aboriginal peoples in Canada are First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. They have been living a traditional way of life long before the arrival of European colonists. Colonialists massacred indigenous peoples and strangled their culture, trying to assimilate them into European culture or even exterminate them.

Canadian Government's Past Atrocities:

Indigenous people in Canada face unfair treatment and exploitation by the government, which leads to the continuation of the "single story." From the late 19th century until 1996, Canada operated a residential school system where Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and communities to assimilate into Euro-Canadian culture. These schools subject students to cultural oppression and abuse, resulting in the loss of indigenous languages and cultures. (Alia, 2010). It resulted in the loss and destruction of their own culture and lowered the level of knowledge of descendants of Aboriginal peoples

Moreover, Canada unfairly treats Aboriginal funding, and previous Canadian governments have consistently underfunded Aboriginal communities for essential services such as health care, education and social services. It has resulted in unequal access to quality healthcare and social benefits. Peter Henderson Blythe, one of the twentieth century's most eminent public health physicians, found that Aboriginal children in boarding schools had a 24 percent annual mortality rate, rising to a staggering 42 percent within three years. 76% of the children had died in a school with full records (Blackstock, 2016). These disparities lead to inequalities in health and education, perpetuating cycles of disadvantage.

Social Media controlled by Canada Government

However, Blackstock (2016) said the media, which is controlled by the power of the Canadian government, did not able to report stories about the unfair treatment of Aboriginal people in Canada. It creates a misinterpretation of Aboriginal stories. The Canadian government also controls the stories and newspapers reporting Aboriginal mistreatment.

In 1907 Bryce published a report in the Evening Citizen (now the Ottawa Citizen) on the educational and health injustices of Aboriginal children, and other newspapers across Canada picked up the story. But the government stepped in to take control, removing Bryce's revelations from the front pages of newspapers, and related stories from other papers disappeared. Yet Bryce continued his Save the Children campaign within the government, only to face harsh retaliation. His research funding was cut, he was denied a promotion, and he was eventually thrown out of public office.

After leaving the federal civil service, Bryce continued to cover stories trying to save Indigenous children. Bryce wrote the manuscript for "The Story of a National Crime," detailing the Canadian government's resistance to saving the lives of boarding school children. He handed the printed report to all members of parliament, clergy and other influential people, praying that they would push the government to save children's lives. But they all chose to ignore and further suppress Bryce (Morrisseau, 2022).

Trauma to Indigenous People

The above-mentioned incident is a typical example of the Canadian government using its power to control the situation. The Canadian government concealed its unfair treatment of Aboriginal people. It reduces the full story of Aboriginal people, leading to the creation and perpetuation of a single story, which creates prejudice against Aboriginal people. Lewis (2023) is an online reporter for Global News, and Statistics Canada data shows that discrimination against Aboriginal people is increasing across Canada. Most people think that aboriginal culture is backward, should be eliminated, pay no taxes, live on handouts, or disease and barbarism. These stories of government power control make up a one-sided overall story that fuels stereotypes about Indigenous peoples. Additionally, Blackstock (2016) refers to the landmark January 2016 decision of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, which found that the Canadian government had racially discriminated against 163,000 Aboriginal children. So the single story caused by power creates prejudice and discrimination against Aboriginal people.

In conclusion, power controls the content of the story, the media, or the individuals who want to tell it. It leads to an incomplete understanding or misinterpretation of real events, reinforcing negative stereotypes about things.

China

As the supreme power in China, the Chinese government has long taken strict measures to manage traditional and new media, maintain social stability, and ensure that authority is not affected by potential subversion. An article in China Daily highlighted the importance of state media to political stability. The Chinese government hopes to disseminate positive news and news to the public as much as possible through the media, and strongly discourages the reporting of news and information that may cause social unrest, such as official corruption. The government censors certain material considered a threat to political stability before it is released in the media (Xu & Albert, 2017).

Wu Jason, an expert on Chinese media censorship, said the government also used various methods to induce journalists to self-censor, including demotions, fines and forced televised confessions. In addition to the government’s control over the media, the government will also control the public’s speech on self-media (Xu & Albert, 2017). Suppose someone publishes a sensitive topic or remarks that affect the social atmosphere on WeChat and other self-media. In such cases, government regulators will take steps to delete the remarks and enforce the ban of the account.

Moreover, Wu said that certain websites that the Chinese government deems potentially dangerous, like Wikipedia or Google, have been completely blocked or temporarily “blocked” during periods of controversy, such as the June 4 Tiananmen Square massacre or events in Hong Kong (Xu and Albert, 2017).

The Chinese government controls the content of most of the stories in all aspects, making some stories one-sided. Even the Chinese government directly deletes stories about sensitive topics, making some people unaware of the existence of some stories.

In conclusion, the Chinese government has used its power to control the content and variety of stories. For some negative news and stories, the government will cut the content of the stories and delete some information that will affect social unrest. For some politically sensitive stories, the government will delete them directly and prohibit people from publishing them in public places (such as the Internet). So, most of China's stories are stories that the government wants us to know and may not be comprehensive. This should also prove that "power controls the story," said Adichie's speech.