The Impact Of The Internet In China

from the how-open-is-it-really? dept

China Daily has an interesting article talking about how pervasive the internet has become in China, which reads similar to articles six or seven years ago about internet usage in the US. Of course, I’m a little skeptical of parts of the article that paint internet usage in China as being very “open”, letting people experience other cultures. They don’t bother to mention that China constantly censors online speech they don’t like and have even blocked all access to Google at times. Of course, since this article is written by a Chinese publication, I’m guessing they don’t want to bring up things like that out of a fear of getting in trouble themselves. In fact, the article supports the government position by adding quotes saying that the internet is too open in China and that it needs to be more controlled by the government.


Rate this comment as insightful
Rate this comment as funny
You have rated this comment as insightful
You have rated this comment as funny
Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam
You have flagged this comment
The first word has already been claimed
The last word has already been claimed
Insightful Lightbulb icon Funny Laughing icon Abusive/trolling/spam Flag icon Insightful badge Lightbulb icon Funny badge Laughing icon Comments icon

Comments on “The Impact Of The Internet In China”

Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment
4 Comments
Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Intercultural Self Injury?

Intercultural self-repeating mistakes and ineffectivness…

No verticle wrist slashing?

Ok, now I understand, verticle wrist slashers actually managed to kill themselves; hence, the police get there and the “crime scene” photos are secured.

The leftovers are just failed attention whores… kind of like a badge of honor to get a few days off from school, rattle the parents cage a little and show off to your friends. This is what happens when illegal drugs (not couting diet pills) aren’t widely available in a culture; wake me up when you find something worthy of my time.

Personally, I find the internet sucide pacts much more interesting… of course those don’t have pretty pictures to splash all over the internet.

Anonymous Coward says:

The internet has taught China...

…how to implment state control of the internet.
(and funny thing is, the CCCP insistes on getting better at controlling the internet instead of just resigning themselves to the fact/myth that the internet is pretty much uncontrollable).

Of course, while TV are still cheaper than computers and internet connections, the internet will still be an intelligencia, inner circle thing… So, sorry for you China, no new cultural revolution. Enjoy your “managed” capitalism before it collapses.

I guess all those privledged folks who aren’t tending rice paddies or putting the plastic heads on barbie dolls (becuase they don’t like their current government) understand the value of controlling a massive pesant population, a lot of whom have served in the military and understand the fact that power does indeed originate from the barrel of a gun (political indoctrination if funny like that).

Cultural revolution == Deliverance on steroids, except this time the bad guys win and nobody gets out alive. The internet is just the river that the brings the two into contact.

Add Your Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here

Comment Options:

Make this the or (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this?

What's this?

Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop »

Follow Techdirt

Techdirt Daily Newsletter

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

A weekly news podcast from
Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Subscribe now to Ctrl-Alt-Speech »
Techdirt Deals
Techdirt Insider Discord
The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...
Loading...