I used to work for an ICP in Beijing as a technical consultant (from Sept 1999-Sept 2000).
All i can say is YES to access foreign sites it is really slow. But you have to visualize all those packets flying in those submarine cables across the pacific ocean. Try accessing sina.com or sohu.com or chinaren.com from North America. Its pretty freken slow too!
YES some sites are banned. CNN.com is, but MSNBC isn't. Yahoo isn't, but is slowed down sometimes. Anti-China propaganda is ie Free Tibet, Falun Gong, Tiananmen Square. Really is that supriseing for any non-democratic country? Hell even countries like Singapore Malaysia and Korea routinely filter out websites.
The good stuff. Access internet in China is EASY, if you have a phone line (now cheap to get, but a couple years ago required 6mths) and a modem (5 bucks down in Zhonguanchun technology market, bargin hard). Dial 169, username 169, password 169 or Dial 263, user name 263, password 263 and you are connected, on the internet its billed to your monthly account. Easy.
China is NOT a totalitarian state. If it was companies like Motorola, Intel, Microsoft wouldn't be flocking to China to establish ties with Chinese internet/technology companies like Legend, Founder, Sina, Sohu, etc. Its a RESTRICTED country. Not totalitarian or communist. There wouldn't be markets like Zhongguanchun where you could pick up Chinese made hardware (ASUS, Gigabyte, ALL THE major manufature have plants in China) for CHEAP!
Reality. China is a poor country. But has a bigger internet/tech savy population that India. (about 10x) WAP will become the most common internet access method in China in 5 yrs. Everyone in china has a cell phone, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola are making a KILLING in China. The fastest internet connection you can get personally is dual channel ISDN, wired to your house/apartment (thats only 5 yrs behind in technology of the US). The avg Chinese makes 1/5th of the avg Westerner. The internet population is growing, with all the young people wanting to "players" in the tech market of china. Oversea Chinese are flocking back to China to establish companies because they know its the new place for a great opporunty.
Conclusion - China is doing the best that it can, and its doing a pretty damn good job considering the population is 1.3 BILLION people, most of them poor rural folk.
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All i can say is YES to access foreign sites it is really slow. But you have to visualize all those packets flying in those submarine cables across the pacific ocean. Try accessing sina.com or sohu.com or chinaren.com from North America. Its pretty freken slow too!
YES some sites are banned. CNN.com is, but MSNBC isn't. Yahoo isn't, but is slowed down sometimes. Anti-China propaganda is ie Free Tibet, Falun Gong, Tiananmen Square. Really is that supriseing for any non-democratic country? Hell even countries like Singapore Malaysia and Korea routinely filter out websites.
The good stuff. Access internet in China is EASY, if you have a phone line (now cheap to get, but a couple years ago required 6mths) and a modem (5 bucks down in Zhonguanchun technology market, bargin hard). Dial 169, username 169, password 169 or Dial 263, user name 263, password 263 and you are connected, on the internet its billed to your monthly account. Easy.
China is NOT a totalitarian state. If it was companies like Motorola, Intel, Microsoft wouldn't be flocking to China to establish ties with Chinese internet/technology companies like Legend, Founder, Sina, Sohu, etc. Its a RESTRICTED country. Not totalitarian or communist. There wouldn't be markets like Zhongguanchun where you could pick up Chinese made hardware (ASUS, Gigabyte, ALL THE major manufature have plants in China) for CHEAP!
Reality. China is a poor country. But has a bigger internet/tech savy population that India. (about 10x) WAP will become the most common internet access method in China in 5 yrs. Everyone in china has a cell phone, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola are making a KILLING in China. The fastest internet connection you can get personally is dual channel ISDN, wired to your house/apartment (thats only 5 yrs behind in technology of the US). The avg Chinese makes 1/5th of the avg Westerner. The internet population is growing, with all the young people wanting to "players" in the tech market of china. Oversea Chinese are flocking back to China to establish companies because they know its the new place for a great opporunty.
Conclusion - China is doing the best that it can, and its doing a pretty damn good job considering the population is 1.3 BILLION people, most of them poor rural folk.
Any question email me at phchau@yahoo.com