A Week Behind The Great Firewall of China

The Chinese are thinking.

Everyone is at the mercy of the West, except the Chinese because they refuse to democratise information. The idea of unfettered information going out to everyone and somehow seen as being good for humanity can be argued for what we have playing out in the so called Arab spring and other madness happening around the world.


Until recently, I'd have chosen the West's version of freedom of the net but it doesn't work for other growing democracies and I believe it's in the interest of China to have some control over how they manage information.

This does not imply that what China is doing by suppressing its own people through these draconian measures is good, but it's a very important tool to protect their national interest and that’s what every responsible government should put ahead of any other interest.

Cyber terrorism is the warfare of the future. Since the emergence of people like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, information security has become a really important aspect of national security. Cyber attacks today are so serious; you can bring down planes, power grids, steal people’s identity and live savings. All these happen over the so called open Internet. How do you defend yourself as a growing superpower like China? ‎You control the source.

Chinas firewall has been able to help them hold everyone by the balls. An example is Didi Chuxing, Chinas biggest ride hailing service. Uber tried to get into China but couldn’t compete and had to sell its shares to Didi Chuxing gaining a worth value of $35 billion.

The Chinese don’t go around the world fighting or dictating to governments on how to behave. They wield their power indirectly. So, their firewall has protected their economy, security and enhanced their stature around the world.