Anyone whoever steps into an Internet cafe in China knows within seconds that few if any of the patrons are sitting there spewing bile over the Great Firewall and anxiously seeking the latest solutions to circumvent it. In general, the hysteria over the censored Internet resides outside of China, though we all know friends in China who have expressed their frustration over the blocked site you want them to visit. Yes, they express it, but their tone is more one of resignation and “well, what can you do?” as opposed to indignation followed by a call to arms. It’s just accepted as fact of life that’s hardly worth dwelling on.
So after that “duh” introduction, I want to encourage you to read this post and its comments on how/why the Chinese are so apathetic toward media/Internet censorship. It’s funny and frustrating at the same time, and it keeps raising the same question, with which the article ends: “One wonders why the government bothers to censor the Internet at all.” It’s another must-read.
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By Sonagi
Those depressingly apathetic and ignorant comments sound very similar to stuff posted by Chinese commentators here and at other blogs.
December 2, 2006 @ 9:44 pm | Comment