China is one of the fastest growing powerhouses today on the world stage. But it’s also notorious for censorship. But that’s changing…somewhat.
The Chinese government is lifting the ban on social media sites Twitter and? Facebook…that is, if you’re in the Shanghai free trade zone. Hong Kong is already a free trade zone, so they already enjoy these freedoms. The three big state owned communication companies gave little or no complaint as the ruling came down. The social media ban started in 2009. But lots has changed, like revolutionary protests caught on camera in the Middle East. Heaven forbid if that kind of instability happens in China. Think it can’t happen? Well, I read it has one of the biggest economic gaps in the world. And who remembers Tienanmen Square back in 1989?
This is a huge step for China economically. It’s mighty difficult to grow globally when foreign traders can’t even get a hold of you due to censorship. One anonymous Chinese official said this. “If they can’t get onto Facebook or read the New York Times, they may naturally wonder how the free-trade zone is compared with the rest of China.” And note that Hong Kong and Shanghai are the top tourist friendly areas in China.
But these free trade zones only represent a small percentage of the Chinese land and Chinese people. The Shanghai free trade zone is less than 29 square kilometers. Think about how big the Chinese populous is. There is talk that social media bans will be lifted throughout the country in the next several years. These are great steps in the right direction, but I think more needs to be done. If they’re going to continue to shine economically, they need to open up social media and cut down censorship for all. But it’s more than that. Think of the message they would send socially and globally if every Chinese citizen have the exact same freedoms we in the USA take for granted? Isn’t that even more important?