China Ch. 1

The first chapter of China Inside Out gave me an idea about what China actually is like currently.  Honestly, I had no idea what living conditions were like there.  I’d been told since a young age that they were very strict; the only example I was ever told was that everyone was only aloud to have one child due to their swelling population.  So I just had the assumption that China currently was like how it was described before 1980, only a little less strict; I never would have thought the government would control were people shopped and whom they married, I thought a person’s family was the one in charge of that in their culture.   But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my idea of China was outdated about three decades. 

            I think the way the Chinese people are using the Internet is great; to make injustice events, like Deng Yujiao, publicly known so that the correct people are seen punished is one of the best uses of the Internet.  The Human Flesh Search Engines seem like a really good way for the people of China to be able to make a political statement.  It shows that they are taking matters into their own hands because of the corrupt government.  I could see this leading to positive changes in China in the future because the people are rebelling and voicing their opinions.   

            One thing that surprised me was that the Chinese government wants to increase the number of people who have access to the Internet.  It just seems like something that they wouldn’t want because of how it’s being used against them.  It would also mean working harder to keep sites blocked and monitoring what is being put out there. But I guess it shows the rest of the world that they are progressing.         

            It’s not surprising that the government would censor pornography when you look at the other things that they censor, like information on the Dalai Lama.  Personally I think that they are too harsh in what they choose to censor, which would include pornography.  I’m sure that there are ways for the Chinese to have access to pornography through means other than the internet, though probably also illegal.  If a person wants to get their hands on something, they will find a way, no matter what the government says, so it seems pointless for the government to block people’s access to it on the Internet.