"The net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it"

The Great Firewall of China
Becky Hogge

http://www.opendemocracy.net/media-edemocracy/china_internet_2524.jsp

20 - 5 - 2005


"Google is doing business with a communist China notorious for internet censorship. Not only techno-libertarians should worry, says Becky Hogge.

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In December 1993, talking to Time magazine, technologist and civil libertarian John Gilmore created one of the first verses in internet lore: “The net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it”. But according to a report published by George Soros’s Open Net Initiative (ONI), the Chinese government are doing a great job of disproving this theory. On 11 May, Google announced it would set up shop in the People’s Republic by the end of 2005. What can this mean for the citizens of China, and the citizens of the internet?

The Chinese effort to censor the internet is a feat of technology, legislation and manpower. According to the BBC, which is almost completely blocked within the “great firewall of China” (as it is known among techies), 50,000 different Chinese authorities “do nothing but monitor traffic on the internet”. No single law exists to permit this mass invasion of privacy and proscription of free speech. Rather, hundreds of articles in dozens of pieces of legislation work to obfuscate the mandate of the government to maintain political order through censorship. "

--SNIP--

"As the authors of the ONI report point out, China has the opportunity to export its censorship technology and methodology to states such as Vietnam, North Korea, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, to whom it already acts as a regional internet access provider."

Wouldn't surprise me to find this technology implemented in the USA.

when civil strife threatens the all hallowed economy. Before now - they didn't care. Now they will care. They get a pass from the rest of the world on things like Tibet because they are such an impressively sized economy with potential.

But there will come a time when they leaders are less scared of the future (openness) and the people get more power & freedom.

Same will happen in the USA I believe. The powers that be will not be so afraid of the world changing that they insist on monopoly power of industry.

For now they are all just scarred little boys holding onto mommy elitism/power. Soon they will come out and play in the world like the rest of us do. And take their chances.

I think I've heard this "name" used as a joke (say it out loud if you don't think you've heard this before). Don't read Chinese, but I'd guess that "Hung Wei Lo" may not be a real Chinese person.

in a daycare - and this little person came up to me - about 5 - and said 'my name has changed to one for this country'. Broke my heart!

changing them to things that are often used as a joke!

The Chinese are testing the theory, not disproving it.

:popcorn: