Foreign news websites blocked again

At least we can wait and see what Obama can do. Perhaps he will be an inspiration.

On a superficial level, the circumstances surrounding the Internet in China was much worse before than it is now. Even Google was difficult to access several years ago, much less major foreign news sites such as The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The situation began to change gradually after 9/11, since a lot of Internet users demanded lifting of the ban from the Chinese authories. In short, Chinese inteligencia wanted to read first-hand news about serious incidents in foreign countries like 9/11.

There are some sententious Chinese sayings that are appropriate for this discussion.

旁观者清，当局者迷。
An outsider has the best perspective.

丈八灯台照远不照近。
It's dark at the foot of a candle.

pearltowerpete

顶！！

Hi bhfont,

I was on leave when this discussion got rolling, but I'd like to share a few ideas now.

I disagree with your assessment that the US "didn't have a knowledgeable big brother telling them what to do." Even more, I disagree with the notion that other countries should not make good-faith criticisms of each other. There are commenters on this site who have as much understanding of and compassion for China as any Chinese. Their opinions deserve to be taken seriously.

On the shameful issue that has dogged America since its founding, slavery and the long hard struggle for racial harmony, America has always faced strong criticism from abroad, especially from Europe. The British and French were in the vanguard when it came to racial liberalization (in theory, if not in their own colonies) and missed few chances to criticize American hypocrisy. Hardened racists never cared, and still don't. But among those able to be persuaded, the good-faith criticism of other humans, not necessarily your countrymen, can often be a powerful incentive to re-examine your own assumptions. Could Nelson Mandela have become leader of a post-apartheid South Africa without the international community's censure and boycott?

Of course we have a long way to go, and no other country will be able to legislate progress for us. But I have no doubt that both scorn and encouragement from other countries can be a powerful force for social progress.

kesirui,

and the same blockheads have been saying the same thing since 29

最近中国政府封锁网站的事不仅针对外报中文网页。我习惯每天看些外国英文报纸。纽约时报因为报道对于中国中央政府来说太敏感为封锁两次，每次封锁期一周左右。到能打开网页时我马上搜索网页为追根原因，到底发现没什么可说是敏感的，大惊小怪。

上面报道十分准确。我大多数的学生都从事职业员工，因为经济危机已经侵入了国内经济，侵害了不少公司，他们都害怕快要失业。

两个礼拜前中央部宣布免得社会不稳定状况推行了新政策。大公司开除员工不许超过100分之10，不过可以把员工收入跌少！！！

I did not say 'only chinese can criticize china' or 'don't criticize china'

Hi bfhont, thanks for your explanation.  I guess I got your time references mixed up.  

There are many who would agree with your assessment ala Chinese are not ready for freedom of information, including many Asian leaders as Lee Kuan Yew.  Also, many of the old "Asia Hands" of the British Empire believed the same thing of Asians in general.  There is a very interesting book called Embracing Defeat which discusses this topic with regards to the post-WWII Japanese occupation and how the U.S. occupation authorities handled it.

In regard to the last point, of course I have heard that "only Chinese can criticize China."  Interpretation:  "Don't criticize China." Obviously I disagree.

Tvan, the US turned from a 'developing' country into a 'developed' one and was among the first countries to do so, so was France. There was no meaning in my comment other than this. I don't see what the Soviet Union has to do with my point, when it was at its most powerful it had a competitor, not the worlds only superpower. 

My point was complete freedom of information is great in theory, but maybe it wouldn't work in China in 2008 due to numerous social and historical reasons. The people who understand these reasons better than anyone are the Chinese so why do other countries insist they know better?

Changye,

"but you must be very careful about what you are allowed to see."

You hit the nail on the head.

The letters page of China Daily always make me laugh. I am never sure whether some of them are real or fake though. 

Actually, the real problem does not lie in the fact that some foreign news websites are blocked here in China, but lies in the news websites that are authorized by the government. What you can't see neither hurt nor benefit for you, but you must be very careful about what you are allowed to see.

bfhont, do you think the U.S. ever went through anything similar to 20th century China?  It seems to me that China's experiences more closely paralleled those of revolutionary France and/or the Soviet Union.  

Though one could argue that both the U.S. and China kicked out European masters (well, I guess the Japanese actually kicked out China's Europeans), yet relied heavily upon European philosphies in establishing their respective governments.

hi pearltowerpete, this is an interesting discussion, I just wanted to say that to me your comments sound a little western. China is experiencing upheavals that, when America had to go through something similar, didn't have a knowledgable big brother telling them what they should be doing at every turn. Your point is a nice one in reference to the western world in 2008.

pearltowerpete,

Well, hopefully things will start to turn for the better! Its been 8 years too many

Hi tvan,

People's Liberation Army is under the direct control of 中国共产党中央军事委员会 (the CCP central military committee), and therefore, theoretically speaking, the PLA is the army of the CCP, although the logic is a bit tricky, haha. 

For the record, the poster I saw at a police station here in China several years ago said that firstly, the police protect the party's interests, and secondly the police protect the interests of the people!

P/S. The army was named "人民解放军" by the CCP in 1947, two years before the establishment of People's Republic of China.

Changye, is that true about the PLA?  Of course, coming from you, I'm sure it is.  It certainly makes sense given the party over country concept,

Hi goulniky,

I don't think that there are a lot of French websites blocked by the Chinese authorities. Is that because the French language is out of missile range of People's Liberation Army?

Incidentally, in fact, the PLA doesn't belong to People's Republic of China, but belongs to the Chinese Communist Party. In short, the PLA is a private army owned by the CCP.

Hi bendilaowai,

That's an attractive idea. The problem is that there are so many illegal download sites here in China. It's just like a whack-a-mole game!

I vote for pearltowerpete, but my company seems to be taking a similar approach to the Chinese authorities, the only option there being to vote with my feet :-(

Hi kesirui

We're not as bad as the PRC yet. But we could easily go down that road. When will people learn that passivity in the face of any government, no matter how generous its attempts to buy your silence, is the road to ruin?

Information is the gift we all give each other, and that our ancestors give us. We should fight for it as fiercely as we fight for oxygen and water.

which some say has also happened to the U.S.A, pete

Changye 大哥 is right. As long as the people have bread and circuses (rice and karaoke?) , very few care that their freedom of thought is being restricted.

Like a frog in a pot of slowly boiling water, they don't notice before it's too late.

Hmm..so hacking that website might collapse the state...interesting idea...;)

Blocking BBC sites, or any other foreign news websites, would cause no problem in China. It's not a big deal for most Chinese people. On the other hand, blocking illegal download sites such as 土豆网 would definitely trigger nationwide riots and topple the government. 

60th anniversary paranoia?  越来越多疑！

sorry, 马多夫 will have to wait until next post...