In China, Internet censorship is in full bloom. The reason for this material was the news that the search engine Bing is now banned in China.
Echo was released last week, highlighting the opinion of CEO Microsoft Satya Nadella that the world has moved from the era of globalization to the era of economic nationalism. In support of this thesis, I would like to quote the words spoken by the leader of China Xi Jinping in April 2018. First, he promised to turn the country into a super cyberpower. And this is not only about independence from Western technology, but also about the desire for all foreign companies entering the Chinese market to upgrade their products to comply with local standards and laws. And all data must be stored on servers within the country.
This is not in the text, but at that meeting Nadella spoke about China as well. In particular, that Microsoft tries to work there, but fails. And as an example he cited Apple as the only western company that was successful in China. It's hard to argue here. Especially against the background of the fact that many Chinese have not even heard of Western services. New York Times Chinese correspondent Li Yuan talks about a local teenager from Liuzhou City. He is 18. He plans to go to Canada to study chemistry, loves Marvel films and hip-hop. The guy doesn't know what Google and Twitter are. I heard about Facebook, so in response I clarified: 'Is this something like Baidu?' (Baidu is the main Chinese search engine). And this is a typical situation. Most Chinese people live in a bubble with little knowledge of the outside world.
Over the years, China has blocked thousands of sites. The list includes everyone who cannot be controlled by the state. Some locks may seem strange. For example, Instagram. But the ban of Wikipedia or the same newspaper The New York Times raises no questions. These are direct sources of information about what is happening in the world. And a lot may differ from the official version of the authorities.
China is not just blocking foreign resources. He creates local analogues. Of course, they are heavily censored. However, a recent study showed that the Chinese are satisfied with everything and they do not even show interest in Western services. For 18 months, researchers gave Chinese students the tools to get around the Firewall. The results are interesting. Half did not use it at all. And among those who used, almost no one went to sites devoted to politics or news. In this case, the government only plays into the hands. No opposition, no internet exposure, and no claims.
In their findings, the researchers wrote: “Censorship in China is effective not only because of the efforts of the ruling regime, but also because the country has created an atmosphere in which citizens are not particularly interested in news and the world agenda.”
This approach also yields surprising results. In March 2018, Chinese internet giant Tencent (owner of WeChat) surveyed over 10,000 people born in 2000 and later. 8 out of 10 said they think China is in better shape today than ever, and the country is getting better every day. And everyone was extremely optimistic about a bright tomorrow. To be honest, even a little envious. Although here, of course, is also a question, could the study have had other results?
The Western world is, of course, depressed by this situation. Everyone is sad: both the US government and Western companies that cannot get into the largest Internet market. To some extent Microsoft after Apple was the most successful and tenacious Western company in the Chinese market. Microsoft patiently endured all the jabs and jaws. Unlike the rest of the world, Microsoft China pursued a rather mild anti-piracy policy. By the way, in 2014 there was a funny episode. Microsoft said they are ending support for older versions Windows. The idea was to encourage users to upgrade to more modern versions, and, as analysts note, the new Windows is much more resistant to pirated hacks. Yes, I think you yourself have noticed how sometimes, even after turning off all updates, Windows still manages to download something. Almost immediately after the statement, 4 offices were searched with seizure of servers and documents. Coincidence? I don’t think so. In China, until now, most officials and state-owned companies prefer to use Windows XP.
But Microsoft was not offended by the searches. The company tried to enter from the other side. In 2017, together with the Chinese Electronics Technology Corporation, tried to create a government-approved version Windows 10. Chinese Electronics Technology Corporation is a military electronics company that installs CCTV cameras throughout the country.
Collaborated Microsoft on Bing as well. The search engine tries to return only officially approved results. For example, if you ask about Tibet or the Dalai Lama, then Bing will repeat the state propaganda that the Dalai Lama is a separatist and is engaged in inciting hatred. However, Bing is said to have allowed at least a little glimpse behind the Great Firewall of China.
Banning Bing is just the tip of the iceberg. They say Beijing has decided to carry out another major Internet sweep. After all, it is believed that the Firewall can be easily bypassed using a VPN. Apparently, therefore, the state began to catch the 'criminals' not inside, but outside. In early January, a series of user arrests swept across the country Twitter. One man was detained for 15 days, the other was interrogated for 8 hours. Of course, these were not ordinary residents, but various activists using Twitter to freely express their own opinions. And, as I understand it, in both cases, the arrest ended after the perpetrators deleted the tweets.
The situation is, to some extent, a stalemate. Western business cannot penetrate China, but local companies have many problems accessing the international arena. In addition to bureaucratic obstacles associated with internal regulations and obstacles in the form of external trade wars, there is another problem: the Chinese do not understand well that there is a mentality that is different from the Chinese. A good example of this statement is WeChat, which has so far failed to achieve anything outside the country. Although Tencent has invested millions of dollars and even hired football player Lionel Messi to promote its products in India and other countries.
Another example is Alibaba. Great, powerful company, even listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but still the main sources of profit in the home market. However, it should be noted that the company is actively investing in purchases of foreign businesses.
In conclusion, I will say. First came the news that Bing was blocked and Microsoft confirmed it. However, 12 hours later, Bing resumed its work and was no longer blocked. We probably won't know the true reasons why this happened, as well as what they promised to do in Microsoft to return access to the service. Although this is very curious, because Microsoft today, on all Chinese versions of its products, it closely cooperates with pro-government companies.
What is happening in China is in some ways very similar to the events in Russia. Especially about the servers on the territory of the country and so that Western companies have an answer to the local government. And, of course, we hear statements that the Internet is about freedom and we will not share any data. Note, however, how the rhetoric changes when it comes to China's huge and potentially incredibly profitable market. Everyone is ready to cooperate at once, if only they are allowed to work. And the same Google, despite criticism, continues to develop a “Chinese” version of its search engine and cherish the hope that it will be released to the market.
China, on the other hand, amazes me with how well it keeps its defenses, pushes its position and controls such a huge population. Maybe happiness is really ignorant?