China and the Internet: The change goes both ways

1
China and the Internet The change goes both
ways

• Rebecca MacKinnon
• www.RConversation.com
• www.GlobalVoicesOnline.org
• Pop!Tech October 21, 2005

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The village of Pu Sa Lu
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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UFOs Around The World http//tech.sina.com.cn/d
/focus/world_UFO
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Website for Pu Sa Lu Village, Changping
County http//www.Pusalu.com
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???? ???? Pu Sa Lu Village Digital
Homestead (estab. March 2005)
Source Beijing Assoc. for Science Technology
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Sex-blogger Mu zi meiChinas 1st internet star
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
7
Muzimeis blog http//www.wenxue.com/T3/?qblog/35
3 Oct 17, 2005 With or without a boyfriend, a
woman should make love at least once a week.
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Yang ChengangSchoolteacher turned Internet
Hearthrob
MP3 mega-hit Mice Love Rice Over 100million
downloads
Source weifang.sohu.com
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
9
Super Girl Li Yichun elected by fans
Chinese blogger quotes friend I don't think
that I will ever get to vote a president in this
lifetime, so I'll choose a girl that I like." 
Super Girls is obviously not the same as
democracy, but it is the fantasy for the 1.3
billion Chinese people who do not have
democracy.  Michael Anti http//spaces.msn.com/
members/mranti/
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Chinese internet users

• 103 million Worlds 2nd largest internet user
  base (U.S. about 135 million)
• Only 7.9 Chinese are online
• (compared to 67 of Americans)
• 10 global PC demand, 15 global handset demand
  are in China.
• 385 million mobile phone users (Worlds 1 in
  mobile subscribers.)
• (See official Chinese internet stats at
  http//www.cnnic.net.cn/en/index/
• Also see Morgan Stanleys latest China Internet
  report at http//www.morganstanley.com/institutio
  nal/techresearch/China_Internet_091205.html)

Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Chinese user-created content

• over one fifth Chinese internet users use BBS
  (internet bulletin boards)
• more than 50 blog-hosting services
• 5 million blogs
• over 200 billion SMS mobile phone short text
  messages sent in 2005

Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
12
World blog growth
Some of the significant increases we've seen
over the past 3 months have been due to a
proliferation of Chinese-speaking
weblogs. ---David Sifry, Tecnhorati
60-70 MSN Spaces Blogs are in Chinese
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Taishi Village democracy movement
For details on the Taishi village democracy
movement see the Hong Kong blog
EastSouthWestNorth at http//www.zonaeuropa.com/2
0050919_1.htm
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Failed access Human Rights Watch at
www.hrw.org
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Google News search from outside China
Tiananmen Massacre
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Google News search from inside China
Tiananmen Massacre Pages containing the
phrase Tiananmen massacre cannot be found.
Suggestion Please check for errors in entering
the text. Please try another phrase. Please
change to more commonly used words.
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Isaac Mao General Manager, Blogbus.com
Blogbus.com must censor member blogs to stay in
business. His own blogs are not on
Blogbus www.Isaacmao.com http//www.isaacmao.com/
meta
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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SAFE BLOGGING ON BLOGBUS The Spaceship of Me
and E http//parasite.blogbus.com
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24 Hours online http//24hour.blogbus.com
10/13/05 Blogs a carnival of free speech
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msn Spaces blog title I love freedom and
democracy
MSN Spaces blog title entered I love freedom
of speech, human rights Democracy
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Error message "You must enter a title for your
space. The title must not contain prohibited
language, such as profanity. Please type a
different title."
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Yahoo! Aids arrest of journalist Shi Tao
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Anti-Japan internet forum
Anti-Japan Forum http//www.frhlm.com/bbs.index.
asp
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Anti-Japan war video game
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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Spring 2005 Anti-Japan protests
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com
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(No Transcript)
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Mobile blogging community http//www.pdx.cn/pdx
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Mobile blog Personal Photobank http//caiallan.
pdx.cn/blog (can upload and read on phone or PC)
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CODE IS LAW.
- Larry Lessig, Creative Commons
Rebecca MacKinnon 10/21/05
www.RConversation.com