Blogging Freedom

I currently find myself in one of the most exciting places to live in, a place known the world over. I'll be spending my Christmas here with my family, not to mention the other 1 billion people residing in this behemoth of a country. :) 

Sadly though, as much as I want to share my experiences and photos with my friends who are currently somewhere else, I will not be able to do it until I leave this place. Why? Some of the blogging sites I use are banned here in China.

China doesn't have complete freedom of speech, just like Singapore. Unlike Singapore though, China's restrictions extend to the online networks. Online Networking and Blogging sites such as Multiply and Livejournal are banned in China. As far as I know there is no official statement from the government why they have blocked these sites. Most agree however, that it might be due to unsavory political opinions about the government from the users of these sites.

I wonder how they do it actually. Does the government have a body that basically surfs the sites 24/7 and reads every single entry? Or do they result in finding key words from all the sites and methodically study each site and entry and decide which ones to block or not? What if the entries about China are in another foreign language? Do they have translators for it? No one knows.

All I know is that I share some of the government's sentiments for blocking these sites. Online media is a very powerful medium nowadays. Giving everyone power to voice out their concerns / issues would be detrimental to an emerging and maturing society if left uncontrolled. Blogs have influenced a lot of our decisions nowadays, whether they're for gadget opinions, political views, layman opinions, etc. So for a maturing society like China, the internet lifestyle boom may be dangerous because they may get influenced by sites that actually lead to the destruction of peace and harmony in the country through change of heart about their government. 

So yeah, it sucks, but they have their reasons. Thank goodness I can still log on to this blog. Otherwise, my holiday would really turn sour.

layman