I believe it was because of the argument Jimmy Wales and fellow Chinese Wikipedians have consistently put forth — Wikipedia has a neutral point of view at its core, with no activist or subversive agenda to the site. In the end, I believe consensus among the authorities determined the benefits of Wikipedia far outweigh the risks...
...More importantly though, this provides insight on how to effect change in the PRC, something I’ve been emphasizing for years - encourage China to approach the table, to join the benefits on their own motivation, and allowing them to “tap in.” Unfortunately, this has often not been the approach of Western governments or NGOs.
What doesn’t work? Pushing China solely on issues of freedom of speech, civil liberties for the sake of human rights. It’s just too easy to dismiss these as meddling, imperialistic Western viewpoints used as wedge issues. Do not forget, China was the victim of imperialistic designs which still have a deep effect on the psyche of Chinese leaders and issues of trust.
On China unblocking Wikipedia
-
Really huge Windows error messages
There was some discussion on an internal mailing list about a malfunctioning billboard sighted recently (which was followed by a posting of a blue…
-
Speed dating fail; raw stuff; wrong drive
The speed dating thing didn't work out. Their waitlist was apparently too long, and they didn't give their decision until yesterday. Oh well, I don't…
-
Pleasure, Altruism, and Geekhood
I was reviewing my quote buffer today (the text file I keep quotes in until I can get them into the database) and found one that seemed to directly…
- Post a new comment
- 6 comments
- Post a new comment
- 6 comments