Fuck you, Chinese Communist Party

[MaxTheVool]

[obscure reference]
I won’t stand idly by while the largest country in the world is overrun by communists!!!
[/obscure reference]

[Windwalker]

@smiling bandit

Actually, blogs are a huge threat. Think about the impact someone like Glenn Reynolds (www.instapundit.com) could have if there were no other useful information source. He’d be a one-man media show! Blogs are a grotesquely huge threat to China’s Communists. They can spread news the party doesn’t want anyoen to hear. Supposedly, those riots in Shanghai were organized and advertised through blogs, essentially. It’s an autocrat’s worst nightmare: uncontrollable information flow. Worse; it’s self-organizing.

You may be right about that since the Chinese public as a whole have probably not learned to be critical news viewers. But once one starts reading blogs, he’s sure to run into contradictory or just plain idiotic ones, enought to start distrusting them, no?

Maybe I give people too much credit.

[smiling_bandit]

You may be right about that since the Chinese public as a whole have probably not learned to be critical news viewers. But once one starts reading blogs, he’s sure to run into contradictory or just plain idiotic ones, enought to start distrusting them, no?

Yes and no: you’ve got it backwards. They will become critical readers. They’ll see hundreds if not thousands of viewpoints, openly expressed.

The Chinese cadres are terrified of the thought of people becoming critical readers.

Think about it. Have you ever read news dispatches from “official” sources in authortarian or Communist countries? Ever noticed how pathetic they are? They completely fail to make an argument. People talk about hating “spin” in America, but these guys are so used to being the only news source that they don’t know how to convince people.

Now, if people read blogs, they will wake up and start learning new ideas. People can spread their own news and reporting. The government loses control of information. Did you ever wonder why the CHinese never rebelled against the Communist’s incompetence in the 60’s? OR against the Cultural Revolution? It wasn’t actually because the government had all the guns - it was because it controlled communcation. Until recently, you couldn’t have a phone, or put up posters, or any such thing.

If the Chinese become critical readers, if they learn openly of new viewpoints, they will become break free of the government.

[XT]

The funny thing is that this is like the Little Dutch Boy scenerio…the ChiComs are busy trying to stick their fingers into the dike, while the internet is in a constant state of flux around them. Anyone familiar with attempting to filter porn sites using a firewall will appreciate this…you simply can’t filter 100% of such content. The folks who want to get their message through and have a clue how such things work WILL find a way to get inside. All you are doing is making it more interesting for them…and also making it more interesting for the folks who you are trying to keep that information from. Again, ever tell a teen ager (or a 20 something) that they CAN’T look at this or read that? Whats the usual effect? Now…put that on a national scale. They (the ChiComs) just don’t get it. If you open Pandora’s box a little its open and you are eventually fucked. Your best course is to just get out of the way at that point…or shut it down completely. Half way measures are just going to buy you some time…and make the fall all that much harder in the end.

-XT

[aamco]

@smiling bandit

if they learn openly of new viewpoints, they will become break free of the government.

I think you would have to look pretty hard among even rank-and-file Communists to find someone who actually believes in the government. Most registered party members do so because it gives them economic benefits, not because they think the system actually works. With globalization (e.g. foreigners swarming all over China and access to Hong Kong SAR), the fight against information is quickly becoming futile.

[Bryan_Ekers]

@MaxTheVool

[obscure reference]
I won’t stand idly by while the largest country in the world is overrun by communists!!!
[/obscure reference]

Yeah, see what those Cubans did to Miami! Uh, and Angola!

[Scissorjack]

@Windwalker

I’m sick and tired of your goddamn national firewall. You block anything that says things you don’t want to hear, like a fucking child covering his ears yelling “LALALALALALLALALA”.

They’re actually yelling “RARARARARARARA”.

[Evil_Captor]

I think the Chicom should learn an obvious lesson from Dubya: it’s possible to maintain power based on secrecy and lies even with the free flow of information.

[smiling_bandit]

I think you would have to look pretty hard among even rank-and-file Communists to find someone who actually believes in the government. Most registered party members do so because it gives them economic benefits, not because they think the system actually works. With globalization (e.g. foreigners swarming all over China and access to Hong Kong SAR), the fight against information is quickly becoming futile.

Perhaps true, but that won’t neccesarily stop them from trying. The mere fact that no one believe in the government also won’t bring it down by default; there are a great many col-hearted individuals in it for themselves, and they may be willing to do awful things to retain power.