Slashdot Mirror
China's Internet Boom
morn writes "BBC News is reporting that China's 'online population' is booming, with 20 million people expected to be 'connected' by the end of the year, each spending an average of 17 hours [per week] online. This is despite surveys showing that Beijing residents account for more than 20% of users, with just 14% of mainland Chinese knowing what the Internet is. Read the full story here. "
I'm pretty sure the name would have to go, though. National pride and all.
This is a major problem for e-commerce in China.... Credit cards are available, but nobody has them. Around Beijing, though, you're completely correct. Everybody's got a cellphone, etc.
You know, I rather suspect that the "great firewall of China" posting was a joke...
That was a parody brought to you by a jealous white midget.
Well, if those military internet users from other countries target microsoft.com and win, heh, bring it on!
Well I hope that others will see this as a good sign. On my two visits to China, I was plesantly suprised by the general interest in the West and Western Ideas. Many of the Chinese I meet were intellegent and had interesting views about life in China and around the world. I'm sure that the open source community will benefit enormously from the added user base.... Simon Wood.
>Especially in a country where the government can simply arrest some civilian and claim "He did it!". I`m sorry, is this America you`re talking about?
But seriously, I would think the internet would scare the heck out of the Chinese ruling class, if the really understood it. How to you filter out Stegonograpic messages hidden in the "noise" in JPEG images? I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Chinese hackers figure out how to pass anything they want through the filters, obscured by the shear volume of bits flowing in and out and protected by the limitations of automatically detecting and censoring information. To say nothing of just going over a wireless hop around the firewall, then back into a site within the wall...
Hey Slashdot! What about the Mali angle? I need my Mali updates! What about Net usage in Ecuador?
Yep, 20 million Chinese doin' anything I do is 20 million too many. Urf.
"Slashdot - Half-Baked Political Commentary from Teenagers for Nerds" or "Slashdot - Xenophobia for Xenophobes"
If I want the constant pressure to fear China from my information outlets, I'll read _Time_.
Wo xue zhongwen xue de bu cuo. Wo you san ge dianao. Zai Zhongguo, yi xie de ren you dianao. Hen duo zhongguo ren bu hui xie zhongwen zi. Tamen ye bu hui kandedong zhongwen. Zhongguo ren doe hen dai1 keshi wo hen xihuan zhongguo cai.
http://mrtisleet.tripod.com/
go visit it now all you chineese readers.
The previous poster was talking about the espionage case at Los Alamos. The FBI chose the ex-Taiwanese guy and basically just said "He did it" becuase of his ethnic background.
The blocking they do is only symbolical, and it doesn't really stop people from getting the information they want. I just look at Yahoo and I have all my news.
As for them banning or crippeling the Internet; It's going the other way because the economical benefits are just too great. You have web startups popping up everywhere, and last year was Government Online Year, which means most government institutions have websites as well.
E-commerce has been difficult, but that's slowly being remedied as well.
What's more interesting is that China has a more developed mobile phone infrastructure than the US, by the fact that new technologies (like GSM and CDMA) don't have the compete with legacy mobile phone systems. It costs around USD 0.05 per minute for mobile phone calls, and it's all digital. We'll probably see WAP here before you do in the US.
People love China for much the same reason people love Internet startups; for their potential future revenue. China is the Wild East, the last frontier. Give her 20 years, and it's going to be interesting to compare her with the US (which feels stagnant compared to the changes we see here every day).
racist fool...
>* be using (ahem) Red Flag Linux?
Hmmm. How many people in the western world will be using any form of Linux?
>* have broadband access?
Hmmm. How many people in the western world will have broadband connections?
>* have 100% access, with uncensored speech?
Hmmm. Slightly different, but very similar effect. How many people in the western world will know there's a big wide interesting internet out there, and not just the sanitised mass-marketed world of their ISP/"Portal"?
>* understand a lick of the largely non-Chinese Internet?
Hmmm. How many people in America really understand the largely (geographically) non-American internet?
All answers in percentage figures, of course ;-)
I use the web for business!
Per Ardua Ad Astra.. "Through Adversity to the stars."
Communism and socialism are totally incompatable with the internet because they strive to centralize control of the whole into the hands of a select few. It does not matter what rhetoric this statement gets from communists and socialists about how these aren't "real" socialist/communist nations, the fact is that socialism and communism are utter failures. Why do we support the continued oppression of the chinese people by the barbarians in beijinng? If anything we should be encouraging a democratic/capitalist counter-revolution to restore the chinese nationalist government based in taiwan to power. When will people learn that as long as a socialist/commmunist/fascist nation exists, the internet can never be 100% free?
There are many logical reasons way the population of China are becoming more aware of the internet. The internet is a great source of information (both legitimate and non-legitimate) which would interest any population where information is so tightly controlled as in China. Another reason is just simply that other nations are becoming more aware of the Internet so China is only following a trend. And my last reason is that they see a lot of money can be made in Asian porn.
Real men dump cores! Read my journal, I am neat.
I realise that the PRC has a way to go in liberalising itself, but they seem to be moving forward while we're moving... sideways at best.
"Reactionaries must be deprived of the right to voice their opinions; only the people have that right." - Mao
Win2K is banned there for government use, Red Flag Linux is in development, and I'm one year from completing my Chinese degree. What a confluence of events! What a great time to be alive! I shall be a Chinese Linux Warrior Prince!
"Reactionaries must be deprived of the right to voice their opinions; only the people have that right." - Mao
That seems it would be a win-win. AOL gets another 20 million users, Chinese get more pipelines without losing control of the information flowing through those pipes...
I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.
17 hours in what time? A week? A month? A year?
I mean, that's my consumption for an average day.
(Yes I have no life, yes I work in the industry.)
I already receive spam in Chinese on a regular basis, mostly from Hong Kong.
Actually, "so hu" == "search fox" in Chinese.
Exactly, quality is more important than quantity. Unfortunately, the only thing I see from the chinese part of the internet as of now is spam. I get around a dozen spams per day which I can't even read.
It seems some education regarding the netiquette is definitely required over there.
I wonder what percentage of that 20 million is going to be military and/or industrial espionage users. After that worm that was running out of Russia, I'd expect more and more international attacks of that nature. Especially in a country where the government can simply arrest some civilian and claim "He did it!".
minority, and then the focus of e-commerce would quickly shift, of course, assuming they had the same buying power.
Thank you Captian Obvious. Of course, the Chinese don't have the same buying power, so I don't think this is going to be an issue real soon.
does not the government of china have a firewall blocking sites from mainland china? i also believe that each internet user has to register with the government. doesn't that make using the internet rather hazardous unless you conform to the regime's wishes?
Wow I think they should have counted all of the Chinese people abroad too. I have so many of those Chinese people in my school (they are all CSci majors or doctors) it's like they're a majority.
I'm not Racist
What in the world are you whining about?
--
Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
In the section of Beijing near Peking University and Tsinghua University (the two most respected universities in China) there are tons of internet cafes and shops selling computer parts.
There's even a lot of people who call the area (haidian) Beijing Silicon Valley -- and Beijing is even known across the nation for it's technology...
I'd post more, but I've got class...
there is no thing
what else could you want?
Things like 163 actually do have meaning -- they are plays off of the pronunciation of numbers...
163 == yao liu san == I want to wander(bad translation)
another one is 51go, which if read in the right sense is =wu yao GO == I want to GO (half English/half Chinese).
there is no thing
what else could you want?
How long is it before there are jokes about Chinese Quake servers that have slow Deng Xiaoping times?
--
--
E2 IN2 IE?
Cisco has a deal with the Chinese government to provide one of the highest capacity firewalls ever built.
Internally, we call it the great firewall of China.
I thought you guys might get a kick out of that.
That which does not kill me only makes me whinier
The internet is rapidly expanding (as always) so isn`t it expected that more and more people will connect to it?
Technology is getting cheaper - and more accessible, if you cant afford your own computer then net cafe's are so popular now a days - in the UK theyve started putting them in service stations on the motorway
Also more and more people are becoming net savvy! theres so many government initiatives to "teach" you more about computers and theres so many resources out there , be it books to buy or websites that tell you all you need to know and more
Think off all the movies from the 80s that predicted the year 2000 being very "technologically advanced" okies we havent got flying cars or holographic maids etc but we are becoming more advanced by the day !!
And I think the part about communists leaking out information is possibly a little too much just now but with the advances of technology and the ease to which information can be passed (or snooped) via email.. its an unfortunate possibility!!
Sometimes the only way to stay sane is to go a little crazy!
Thank you Captian Obvious. Of course, the Chinese don't have the same buying power, so I don't think this is going to be an issue real soon.
Okay, I can see what it looks like, but I meant along the lines of what the government in Beijing would let them buy via the web, as I had the blocking of web sites in mind. There will still be a percentage of chinese that do have the same amount of buying power as you meant it otherwise they wouldn't be able to afford the computer in the first place. The great majority of Chinese don't even know what the internet is, let alone can afford a computer, but I wasn't talking about these.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
assuming they had the same buying power.
Yeah, that's the problem isn't it?
When the overwealming majority of your population is living in abject poverty it's like a ball and chain around the leg of your economy.
The picture they show in the article halfway down the page is the same picture they had for the article about IBM's new head-mounted computer a couple months ago! What does that have to do with the Chinese getting online? Yes new technology will make the Internet more accessible but I don't think they will be getting those head-mounted displays out to the Chinese populace any time soon.
Worldwide that is. And that includes public phones.
.oO0Oo.
Ok,I can't back up those figures, it was something I read in Wired I think.
There's a long way to go before t'net is universal.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
nt - Not much Text
.oO0Oo.
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
The Chinese government letting people have a certain degree of freedom of information? What is the world coming to. Next people will be saying that they trust the western governments to always act in the best interest of the people rather than polititions and big businesses!
I wonder if China fears the internet community as much as they do the Falun Gong. Perhaps soon they'll be policing it in the same way. Or do they already?
Sure, reading the article before posting is a good idea...
OTOH, once the figure is mentioned in the post, you shouldn't need to do it just to have this bit of information.
-------------------------
-------------------------
"People ask FAQs all the time". - David Allen
As we all know though, its quantity, not quality!
That's per week, of course (doh!) [So proof-reading does have a purpose after all...]
...or am I missing something?
Albright says, basically, that the Internet is a tool for democracy.
Is that when it's not corrupting minors, introducing them to pedophiles, and teaching them how to blow up their schools?
Just asking.
BTW, How successful can the Chinese Government be in blocking content they find offensive?
-Noiz,
Still working on the coffee.
---------
---------
I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Now, I understand that the numbers may seem deceiving, but you also must remember that this is a communist nation which has a very low income per capita. 20 million people is an extreme change from 0(I know, some people were connected, but I am trying to stress the changes).
---
What exactly are the commercial possiblilities of Ovine Aviation?
the need for adopting IPv6/ng
The Scarlet Pimpernel
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
20 million people expected to be 'connected' by the end of the year, each spending an average of 17 hours online.
:)
17 hours...per what? Year? Month? Day? (God save 'em!)
Well, I guess I'll go read the article now, and find out.
So pretty soon I'll be seeing email like this:
SHARE THE WEALTH FAST
I was a decadent capitalist and then I got this email. It changed my life. Now I work with my comrades in the rice fields....
---
This comment powered by Mozilla!
Linux MAPI Server!
http://www.openone.com/software/MailOne/
(Exchange Migration HOWTO coming soon)
It's going to hurt AOL badly
AOL's not allowed into China, nor is any other ISP. China tightly controls Internet access in there and there are only two main competing ISPs, both run by government ministries. All the other sub-ISPs have to link to the two main boys.
It'll be a few years before a giant ISP rises in China to challenge AOL. That's assuming AOL doesn't eventually find a way to get into the country before then.
Of course, after the WTO, there's the chance that AOL could get into China as an ICP instead, providing content instead of access. That'd be a a smart way to go.
Addresses really aren't too much of a problem for the average Chinese surfer at the moment. Most surfers know some smattering of English to remember the URLs. Who said that a URL has to mean something for people to remember it? Two of the more popular search engines/destinations are sohu.com and 163.net. No meaning in either English or Chinese.
However, if you really, really, wanted to put Chinese into the URL, you can either:
In short, I doubt it matters. URLs aren't a problem. Displaying Chinese script is very well established. The issues are no longer technical. They have everything to do with infrastructure now.
How much is this going to help AOL?
I know they have been trying to increase their Asian representation, but what are the other ISP's being used?
On my two visits to China, I was plesantly suprised by the general interest in the West and Western Ideas. Many of the Chinese I meet were intellegent and had interesting views about life in China and around the world.
My God, Man! You really are generous, aren't you. To think that there were actually intellignet and free thinking people in China... What a revelation!
Seriously, though, the Chinese will have a hard time getting connected for a while. Telephone wires are still few and far between in many parts of the country, so they may all go wireless. In the cities on the coast right now it's still hard to get your own connection, and many people spend a good deal of money to sit in an internet cafe for a bit.
Yeah, but stop thinking in terms of percentages: that is twice the population of Belgium, four times the poulation of Ireland, Norway, and about a third of the population of the UK.
Think about it, if the same percentage of Chinese got on line as Americans, all of a sudden the Americans would be in the minority, and then the focus of e-commerce would quickly shift, of course, assuming they had the same buying power.
And if it continued at the same rate, that wouldn't take too long too happen... Although I suppose this unlikely to happen unless the system for the non-English speaking is workable. Does anyone know how this would translate website address's cause IIRC chinese script is by word rather than letter?
I wonder if that "Hi, I kiss you web site" would translate in to Chinese....?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The article fails to mention if the statistics include Hong Kong and Macau. The comment "Beijing residents accounted for more than 20% of users" seems to indicate that the SARs don't factor in.
I was interested to note that the CIA World Factbook has no stats on Internet usage at all.
I do not understand why should "20 M chinese on net" be a "big news", unless it is meant as: Look, there are still ONLY 20 M chinese with internet access!
This is less than 2 percent of the chinese population, and my first thought was "this estimate is much too low". However, after taking a look at the CIA-factbook, I am ready to believe it. Their 1998 estimate for China is: 105 milions of telephones (compare this with US, with 180M telephones and 1/4-th of the chinese population)! Adding the Hong-Kong does not change the situation much: 1998 estimate for HK is 4.5M telephones.
Lets see...20 million of 1.3 billion is...
About 1.5 percent of the population.
Thats a boom alright.