“Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite,”
Despite this comment from China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, China does appear to have to blocked access to YouTube to its near 300 Million internet users.
According to the BBC, the motivation for the blockage appears to stem from a video hosted on the site. The video, sshows hundreds of Chinese troops flooding through a Tibetan monastery where they are caught on camera beating, choking and kicking monks and other men.
Another possible reason for the blockage include the 20th anniversary of the government’s bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 – YouTube hosts a number of videos about the massacre.
Our previous Editor in Chief, Ernst-Jan was part of a China 2.0 team invited to visit China to gain a a deeper understanding of China’s approach to the internet and technology.
Whilst all members of the trip appeared to have returned with feeling some reports in recent times had been unjust – possibly unfair – it is difficult for outsiders to cast an open mind when the government censors a website that has given a voice to anyone on the planet willing to share it. It seems China are just not ready for it yet.
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