China Tops Internet Community

By far, the number of people online from China is the highest of any nation in the world. It exceeds the number of online citizens from the United States and the growth of the internet in China will continue at a unprecedented rate:

“…More than 253 million people in the country are now online, according to statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

The figure is higher than the 223 million that the US mustered in June, according to Nielsen Online.”

link: China becomes biggest net nation

As the internet grows in China, it will reshape the culture. It will to impossible for the Chinese government to exercise the strict media control that it once had. The government may try to restrict web sites and access. However, information will trickle into the country. It will be beyond the government’s control, for example, to censor and restrict email content. A Chinese citizen with an internet connection has access to people and ideologies beyond the government’s control. That same Chinese citizen also has rapid communication with fellow countrymen. The internet provides the underpinnings of a cultural revolution.

The internet issues for China in the technological age will be similar to western cultures. Governments and net citizens will clash on issues such as privacy, security and surveillance. The contrast is that these issues will have far more lethal implications in China.

Catherine Forsythe