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China Has Largest On-Line Population

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the that-didn't-take-long dept.

Smivs writes "China now has the world's largest net-using population, say official figures. More than 253 million people in the country are now online, according to statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). About 95% of those going online connect via high-speed links. Take up of broadband has been boosted by deals offered by China's fixed line phone firms as they fight to win customers away from mobile operators. Despite having a greater number of people online, China's net economy still has a long way to go to match or exceed that of the US or even that of South Korea. Figures from Analysis International said China's net firms reported total revenues of $5.9bn (£2.96bn) in 2007. By contrast, net advertising revenue alone for US firms in 2007 stood at $21.2bn (£10.6bn)."

26 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Inflation. by FatSean · · Score: 5, Informative

    Didn't we just have a story about how advertising on the web is way over-valued?

    I wouldn't trust the Chinese government to report on the color of the sky, but I suppose there are ways to validate their claims.

    --
    Blar.
    1. Re:Inflation. by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 5, Funny

      Only 1 in 5 are online. That is because the other 4 in 5 are monitoring them.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    2. Re:Inflation. by Sigismundo · · Score: 5, Informative

      NPR's On The Media ran a great story about the media in China a few months ago. Well worth a listen. One of the interesting things they noted was that while reporting on national issues is often self-censored due to fear of reprisal, on the provincial and local level it is possible to do hard-hitting investigative reporting on neighboring areas.

      Not much of this stuff ever hits the Western mainstream media, but it is there, and it's made an impact. Censorship on a national level is still a huge problem in China, but there are reporters out there doing good work, and getting that work published.

      Here is a link to a partial transcript of the show.

  2. Does it count if it's not unfettered access? by wild_quinine · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's one thing to say that China has the largest on-line population, and it's an interesting factoid. But I'm not sure it counts as net access, since it is somewhat (as in noticably) restricted as such. With all due respect that's like saying that the USA has the highest proportion of outdoor workers in the western world, because most of the offices have clean windows and sometimes you can see a few trees.

    1. Re:Does it count if it's not unfettered access? by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 2, Informative

      Within the borders of China, there is the world's largest number of connected computer users. The fact that their communications across the border is restricted doesn't change the fact that they are online, it just means that they are not online in a "global" sense. Really, within China, the policing of the Internet is done by citizens who are following the laws of that nation; it is a stricter version of laws that require hosting services to take down kiddie porn here in the US. I'm not saying that China is justified in its laws, I'm just saying that the existence of those laws does not mean anything in terms of counting the number of connected users.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    2. Re:Does it count if it's not unfettered access? by somersault · · Score: 2, Insightful

      On a historical point, it's not just 'communist' china that's the cause of this restrictive and population controlling behaviour, China's rulers have been at it for thousands of years, its a cultural thing.

      Indeed. They are moving towards capitalism and democracy, but you can't just suddenly shift to a totally new system overnight. The Chinese have a massive history and tradition compared to new countries like the US, which was built by a bunch of people who moved out there to be 'free'. I doubt any of those complaining about the way the Chinese government operate have much experience running even small projects, let alone a country with >1 billion population and different concepts of respect and authority (basically I don't really see any respect for authority in the western world, we're always complaining about the way things are done, and I don't see many people offering alternative solutions either).

      --
      which is totally what she said
    3. Re:Does it count if it's not unfettered access? by dnwq · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's massively important because these online Chinese can still visit many, many sites - they might not be able to go to pages with political content, but they can still support Chinese Ebays and Craigslists and whatnot.

      Frankly it's likely that Digg and Slashdot have vastly larger Chinese equivalents, and most /.ers would have no idea because they don't read Chinese.

      And political discussion still goes on, albeit through euphemisms and with some care. The restrictions exist, but they're not all that effective.

  3. USA! USA! USA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    At least the United States still holds both titles for "Largest Uncensored On-Line Population" and "Largest Monitored On-Line Population."

    Take that, People's Republic of What's Left of Chairman Mao!

  4. But... by NuKeLiTe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How about the restrictions they have?

    How can you count one "online person" when this person can't visit many of the most popular sites on the net and doesn't generates all the in/out traffic that the rest of us create?

    --
    Recave
    1. Re:But... by DDLKermit007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You mean the same sites that are in a language he majority of them can't understand at all? The fact the overwhelming majority know just Chinese is a bigger fiewall than the one the government setup will ever be.

  5. News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    China Has Largest * Population

    1. Re:News at 11 by RandoX · · Score: 4, Funny

      You mean the most /. subscribers?

  6. Just what we need.. by molo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Just what we need, more people for the "human flesh search engine", the name given to people who hunt down those who say unpopular or anti-party sentiments. See here.

    This has been used to find unpopular people. From selfish idiots commenting about the earthquake, to Chinese students abroad supporting Tibetan independence. They and their family are then subject to harassment until they repent.

    Sorry, I just heard about this, and I'm pissed. This is what totalitarian one-party states are about, you're either "one of us" or you're marginalized until you can no longer function in society.

    This may be a great leap backward.

    Fortunately, we have sites like EastSouthWestNorth to sift through the state party-line bullshit and bring us stories like this.

    -molo

    --
    Using your sig line to advertise for friends is lame.
  7. How many computer users now? by suso · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Strange. I was just trying to find out how many computer users there are worldwide. I can't get a good estimate.

  8. Re:And this is supposed to impress me why? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'd find a country with 90% of their population regularly using the internet to be a lot more impressive.

    Here ya go.

    --
    My blog
  9. They can't read this... by PetiePooo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Tiananmen Square Massacre!
    Tiananmen Square Massacre!
    Tiananmen Square Massacre!

    They're not online enough to read this comment... Does that really count as online?

    <retrospect>Was that cruel? I figured it as a way to invoke curiosity when they think they're going to an article about something good, and they end up being blocked by that stupid firewall...</retrospect>

  10. Re:Does it really count? by stewbacca · · Score: 2, Funny

    If they're stuck behind that big ass firewall of theirs?

    The Great Firewall of China...visible from space!

  11. 99% of them... by gmac63 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So they have the largest online population. Of course, it would be that 99% of them are members of the Chinese Communist Party [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_China].

    --

    INSERT INTO comment VALUE('Doh!') WHERE user='you';
    1. Re:99% of them... by Firehed · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Who cares if they're communists? If they don't subscribe to free market economics, that's their business. It's the completely unrelated fact that China's government are a bunch of overbearing, censorship-obsessed crazies that you want to watch out for.

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
  12. In the words of The Hon'ble Mr. Smith.. by l0cust · · Score: 3, Funny

    What good is a phone call if you are unable to speak?

    --
    Politicians and Pedophiles: Two groups of exploitive bastards who are most dangerous when they're thinking of children.
  13. Speed of internet access by FooBarWidget · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's impressive that 95% of the population has high-speed Internet, but "high-speed" is limited to within the country only. Links to foreign countries are slow - VERY slow. Especially to U.S. sites. It took a very long time to load Slashdot.

    That said, the links within the country are insanely fast - and cheap. People over there don't even use Bittorrent: they host all their movies on public HTTP servers. Bandwidth is so cheap that they don't even need Bittorrent. There is even some kind of urban myth over there which says that Bittorrent will wear off your hard drive because of excessive hard drive activity.

    1. Re:Speed of internet access by Shakrai · · Score: 2, Funny

      There is even some kind of urban myth over there which says that Bittorrent will wear off your hard drive because of excessive hard drive activity.

      At least they don't believe that electric fans will consume all of the oxygen in the room and kill you in your sleep ;) No, I didn't make that up either!

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  14. Re:But can they read slashdot? by gzipped_tar · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here I am, reading /.

    Many of my fellow Chinese don't read slashdot because:
    * they can't read English (Most of them);
    * they are not interested in the topics (News for nerds);
    * they prefer other sites such as ArsTechnica etc (Some of them don't feel good in the slashdot atmosphere).
    Or
    * They can read /. but can't express their opinions fluently in English. So they don't show up by sending in their comments.

    --
    Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
  15. Re:Waco, waco, waco. by Shakrai · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Waco is a dumb comparison. Kent State is better (protesters being shot by troops) but even still..... situation that gets out of hand resulting in four deaths compared to a situation where the Government sent in the troops with the specific mission of cracking down on the protesters and which ended in hundreds of deaths.

    --
    I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
    We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  16. Re:So? by gzipped_tar · · Score: 2, Funny

    Thanks for the brilliant link :)

    However there's a real shocker:
    http://initiative.yo2.cn/archives/629858

    --
    Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
  17. Remove the bots and voila 1/10 of real value by hesaigo999ca · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wonder how many of these lines are used for business oriented links with webfarms as long as the eye can see, botting on hundreds of diff. games to make an economy worth while for some chinese population trying to make a small living.

    The chinese gov. has admitted that gaming is a big economy for them right now.
    I wonder if used only legit traffic, and remove gaming traffic, if it would be as high