Sinica Podcast: Beijing’s Ambivalent Relationship with the Internet and Zhang Wuben’s Mung Beans
Last week I participated in a Sinica Podcast on the Internet in China and Zhang Wuben and his magic mung beans. I somehow ended up as the sole defender if the efficacy of properly practiced traditional Chinese medicine; the other guests seem to believe it is some kind of Chinese voodoo. From the Sinica site:
Mere mention of Chinese Internet censorship is no longer taboo. Or that’s our take-away from a recent white paper by the State Council Informatization Office that outlines exactly how and why the Chinese government plans to tighten controls over online communications in China. Is Beijing trying to stuff the Internet genie back in its proverbial bottle, or is Rebecca MacKinnon right with her metaphor of an expanded aviary: the birdcage may be tighter knit, but it is still bigger than ever before?
This week we take a closer look at what the Chinese government has said publicly about its plans for future Internet controls. Joining Kaiser in the studio are Sinica regulars Jeremy Goldkorn of Danwei fame, blogger and entrepreneur Bill Bishop, and Gady Epstein, the Beijing bureau chief for Forbes magazine.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Please tell me what you think in the comments.
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Related posts:
- Sinica Podcast Series on Google and China
- If Google.cn Will Soon Disappear, Should Google “Burn Its Boats” On The Way Out?
- Can China Successfully Build Soft Power Without A Global Internet Strategy?
- Questions Arising From New Details On The Google Cyberattacks
- “Publish and be Deleted”-The Global Times on Censorship in China
