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China Unblocks the BBC (In English)
An anonymous reader writes in with news that China has unblocked the BBC Web site — the English-language version at any rate. No announcement was made, because China has never acknowledged blocking the BBC for the last decade. The Chinese-language version of the site has been blocked since its inception in 1999. The article speculates that the easing of censorship may be tied to the upcoming Olympic Games.
On my first trip to China several years ago, the expats I met complained bitterly about the firewall. When I was there last summer, however, it seems that the use of Tor has widely spread in the expat community and now anyone wishing to read English-language media has no problem accessing it.
Only the relatively well off among the Chinese are educated enough to be literate in English. You know: heads of state-owned companies, those in high levels of government, espionage, and maybe some repatriotized persons. In any case, relatively few people. Of those, they are all in comfortable surroundings made possible by the state. If they start learning about "democracy" and "freedom" they realize that, all in all, they aren't doing too bad themselves. And if those learnings lead to funny ideas about bringing them to within China, the state could easily replace them and any one of their peers would jump at the new opportunity.
The majority of Chinese, the only ones with a smidgen of possibility of success to revolt and start a revolution due to their sheer numbers, are the ones the Chinese establishment wants to keep dumb and oblivious. The ones with perhaps most to gain from a new democratic China.
So much for the classless society communism promises.
More Twoson than Cupertino
As I lived in China for 3 years, you can surf most English foreign media websites like CNN, New York Times, etc., most of the times. They don't really care. Because if you are so fluent in English, you already know all about human rights and you are likely a member of the better-off class. In China, like everywhere else, the people that want to and will revolve against the government are the poor people -- never the middle class or rich people. Remember who in the U.S. joint the L.A. riots in the 1990's?
In China, they are most interested in blocking oversea/HK/Taiwan Chinese sites. Like sina.com is a Chinese company operating two sites -- one for domestic and others for oversea with contents not allowed in China.
Stop talking bollocks. The Thatcher government banned Mr Adams from all broadcast media in the UK, the BBC (along with ITN and all the other UK broadcasters) had no choice but to do it or they would be prosecuted - it has bugger all to do with the BBC themselves.
The current Tibet situation is probably also a factor in the dropping of the BBC block. "What?!?!," you're probably saying, "But China likes to hide that kind of stuff from their citizens, they don't like news getting out about unrest." Ahh, but this is a special situation.
When it comes to Tibet, the more Western media that gets in the better for the Chinese government. There is an intense vein of nationalism in China when it comes to Tibet. With outpourings of rage about "biased" western media, distorted facts, and CIA plots to break up China. The more Tibet-sympathetic reports that come from the West and leak in the China, the stronger this nationalism seems to get, and the more the people, even the poor, rally around their government.
My other half is a Chinese national, we've had some very intense conversations lately, and she's sent me links to views coming out of China about the Tibet situation. Ordinary Chinese see this as a direct attack on their sovereignty.
Many Chinese are learning English, especially the under 20 crowd. In the major eastern cities it's now required for all students in elementary school. If the government can channel their unrest against the Imperial West who's trying to break up their country, it takes the heat off the government. The Chinese government has long used nationalism, an us vs. them mentality, to deflect attention from itself domestically.
Of course they certainly wouldn't be the only country doing this, it's a long standing tradition for any unpopular regime. If you can draw this line between you and another group, and get your people to rally around you on some point, you can easily manipulate and pacify a population.
I don't know if either of you have read a lot of Pravda lately, but it's full of UFO and Hitler sighting reports, innocent girls forced into animal and cult rituals, and detailed discussions of which country makes better mind control rays. The American, Russian, and Chinese versions all get good and impartial reviews.
I don't want to use the word ignorant, but you really don't know China, and your media is not helping either. Simply imagine what the paramilitary troops in your country would do under this circumstance:
http://www.chinatibetnews.com/media/200803/25/NewsMedia_12925.bmp
As for the success rate of the Olympic, the more protests will there be in Beijing, the more support would the government gain from the ordinary Chinese. And that's what the government cares the most.
Every time the world blasts the Chinese government over sovereign issues like Tibet or Taiwan, it actually vastly boosts the popularity of the government. Right now I know there are quite a lot of Chinese planning protests against the Tibet riots in London, Frankfurt, Toronto, and elsewhere. Some have already happened, but your media has given absolutely no coverage at all. At the same time, believe it or not, the Chinese domestic popular opinion on Tibet is unanimously pro-government.
I've heard numerous times that we Chinese are brainwashed, our media is pure propaganda, blah blah. Do you know we actually think the same of you?
Just check the following few links. Fell free to brush them aside as propaganda, but put yourself in the shoe of a Chinese, then think again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSQnK5FcKas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z_prFMROC8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiVunJBIGoM
http://www.chinatibetnews.com/GB/channel524/579/581/200803/24/79280.html (Warning: very disturbing pictures. Also note one dead is ethnic Tibetan. She worked in a shop owned by Han people.)
http://www.chinatibetnews.com/GB/channel524/579/581/200803/22/79175.html