Kaiser Kuo: As cool as he looks
The discussions of Google's decision to stop kowtowing to Beijing after its gmail accounts were hacked from accounts based in China continue. In a fascinating Lowy Institute interview with Kaiser Kuo, Beijing-based American Ogilvy executive who has years of experience working in China’s online world, Kuo points out that Chinese censorship has evolved into a 2.0 version.
Five years ago, Kuo points out, China's censors blocked foreign sites like Time magazine or the New York Times to keep foreign news and analysis of Chinese affairs out. Instead, censors now focus on internal social media websites because of their potential to spread rumors and help people organize. These days, the government is much more concerned about Chinese bloggers and chatter.
What does it mean? Yes, Chinese citizens are becoming more nationalistic and proud, but economic and social freedoms have also made them much harder to control. The Internet—with or without Google—may actually outrun even the best of China's censors.
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