The statistics are pretty amazing. China has passed the US this year with the most "netizens" on earth - over 220 million, and increasing by more than 4 million a month. Chinese users spend an average of 16 hours a week on line. And 50% of them are under 24 - more than seven years younger than the average internet user in the US. Users seem to have different interests, too - the most popular service is online music, used by 86%. Search is only the fifth most popular. Online gaming comes ahead of e-mail. Commerce is a more popular search than sex or celebrity, which leads elsewhere. There are 44 million bloggers.
The internet is censored here. Undesirable foreign websites are blocked, although the BBC English language service was unblocked earlier this year (its Chinese language site is still only accessible outside China). Blogs are regularly policed, and closed. Earlier this year, a new Government regulation required all websites carrying video content to be state owned or controlled - but this was watered down to allow some existing sites to continue. Internet users do get round blocks by using proxy websites - and as soon as they close down, others open. The proliferation of blogs has also meant that it is impossible to keep an eye on everything all of the time - some campaigns have taken off before being closed down, and have sometimes led to a response, rather than just a clampdown. The Government itself finds the internet a useful tool to guage public opinion, in a system where its more formal expression is not encouraged. And it is also useful in pursuing Government objectives of holding officials to account, and exposing corruption.
It was nice that the first comment on my blog was Chinese. It appeared on my screen, from Tian, as two squares, because my machine needs me to turn on a separate programme to read Chinese characters. I turned on Chinese Star, not sure what I would find. It resolved the squares - into a colon and a bracket. A smile. Thank you! You've encouraged me to keep going!
Posted at 09:45 17 July 2008 by Peter Wilson | Comments[2]
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