Xu Lai

Because newspaper are highly censored in China, blogging has become very popular and some bloggers have created a name for themselves in Chinese society. One of those famous bloggers named Xu Lai was stabbed saturday while speaking outside of a bookstore. Two men took him into the bathroom and stabbed him saying “You brought this on yourself. You know why we’re doing this, don’t you?” This could be interpreted many ways, but Lai is known for his sarcastic and witty writing style towards the government. His blog name is pro-state in flames.

The jailing of journalists is a major problem in China and it seems that bloggers are the next victims in the country's censorship efforts. Blogs are the most important type of publication left for the Chinese people and this attack will most likely slow bloggers down and certainly become less public. Was this mans democratic views worth his life??

source: Times Online

Welcome

I will be reporting on the censorship of the internet in China. Since Mao Zedong's death in 1976, China is slowly becoming less of a totally communist country. Although business practices have become less controlled by the government, the media has not enjoyed the same slack. The Chinese Media is still censored andd many internet sites are blocked from use in China.

The internet is an amazing tool used to connect people from around the world. The ease of networking using the internet is exactly what scares China. Rallies, interest groups, and protests are made all to easy with the use of the internet. In an effort to prevent controversy and keep control, China blocks certain content on the web. According to CBS NewsThe top 10 Google results using the key words "Tibet," "Taiwan China" and "equality" were all blocked, as were eight of the top 10 results using "democracy China" and "dissident China." Today in China there are over 30,000 people policing the internet. The internet is a global breakthrough and it is important that the Chinese government reforms their stance on internet censorship.