Is the purpose of censorship in China only to curtail collective action?

Abstract

King et al suggest censorship in China is now focused on preventing possible
collective action and that Chinese citizens are therefore allowed ‘the full range
of expression of negative and positive comments about the state, its policies,
and its leaders’ (2013, 14). This dissertation is based on an analysis of
instructions which the Chinese propaganda authorities send to media
organisations, including Internet companies. It finds that the Chinese
Communist Party does not allow the ‘the full range of expression’ about the
Party/state and its leaders either in news media or in user generated content.
Although the propaganda authorities are much more selective about censoring
information related to Party/state criticism than under Mao, they use a range of
tactics to manipulate sensitive information about the state, its policies and its
leaders, in an attempt to create an information environment that is favourable
to the Party/state.