China, Communist internet for everyone

http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/07/05/25-shocking-facts-about-chinese-censorship/

1) This first article outlines some very interesting overview facts about the censorship in China. Most are aware that China, being a communist nation, censors people's use of the internet. However, the details of that censorship are often not really thought about. We often take the freedom of information in the US for granted as we freely surf the web and search anything possible. We use social networking sites daily, perform searches and never really worry about the government watching what we do. In China, it's completely different. This article highlights some interesting facts about the measures taken in order to censor the internet. For example, China has over 30,000 people dedicated to their internet police force. Heavy fines are given for posting offensive government content.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2012/apr/16/china-censorship-internet-freedom

This particular article talks about a fundamental underlying principle behind China's communist state. An interesting quote from Mao Zedong: "As communists we gain control with the power of the gun and maintain control with the power of the pen."It was interesting to hear this quote because before the internet and freedom of information, I'm sure this was a lot easier to enforce. Before the internet all print publications could easily be censored by the government. The article also notes how Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China. In a way, that is a crucial way to "maintaing control with the power of the pen". Twitter and Facebook provide a way for people to freely speak out so obviously they are some of the first blocked internet sites.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-18/chinese-titanic-fans-ask-where-s-our-3-d-nude-scene-.html

Recently, Titanic 3-D was released in China. However, the nude scene was cut out of the movie. How did the people know? The original Titanic that played in Chinese theaters contained the scene. Chinese fans were outraged out this heightened level of censorship. While not directly an internet censorship issue, I felt this article was important because it shows the increased degree of censorship happening in China. Some may argue that the film is a work of art and should not be censored. However, it's not like the people can even vent on Twitter or Facebook.