Internet censorship in China

I am so puzzled by the fuss about China's attempt to censor the Internet, and the criticism of the US internet companies kowtowing to the pressure from Chinese government. Hello, China has been censoring the traditional media for how many years now? Are you really expecting the Chinese government to stop doing that now to the new medium Internet?

But look at the bright side: over 90% of the Internet sites in China is NOT censored. I could access yahoo news and google news from China the last time I visited there (Nov 2004). It was just a few Internet sites that the government deems hostile towards itself that was blocked. (By the way, can we access Al Qaeda sites in the US? Even we can, I suspect no one would want to do that, because we know NSA is looking over our shoulders). Pornagraphic sites are frequently blocked, too, to the dislike of many people I believe. But majority of the internet content is not blocked, more due to practical reasons (it is technically impossible to completely control the Internet).

Imagine 90% of the free Internet ("free" as in "freedom") is now available to Chinese citizens within its boarder. Many ordinary people in China would never have a chance to access a magazine, or newspaper from the US or Europe. Now with the Internet, just a few clicks away, they can read news from the Washington Post, or BBC. Internet is unstoppable. And for most part, the Internet is NOT stopped in China.

We should applaud Google and Yahoo for their efforts in China. The alternatives for these companies are foolish, shutting themselves out from China.

In a bigger picture, neither google nor yahoo is of any real significance in what is happening in China. It is the Internet technology that is revolutionizing information media in China. The government's efforts to control the new meduim, are feeble and absurd, and doomed to fail. True freedom in information is gradually taking place in China, regardless of our fuss about what Google or Yahoo may do or may not do.

But politicians neverthless will seize this opportunity to punch China once more. China is just such a great punching bag for them. It only scores them political points, and there is no backlash whatsoever, unlike criticizing any other country.