and politics have much ado with the .Top extension because it's owned by China and sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party which currently rules China.
I know what Internet censorship is like in China, unfortunately most Chinese people in China do not, because they never experienced the Internet without censorship and blocked sites. It's a crappy version of the Internet where 40% or more of the web is blocked.. access to Facebook, Wikipedia, and other vital sites are blocked. Freedom of speech is not allowed. Only the government view is allowed on any topics of real importance.
Ok, now we are talking Chinese censorship, good. First, I admit Chinese internet environment sucks. The speed is super slow and we can't visit some foreign websites without using VPN. A few years ago, when I was young :D, I still hated it. But now, I feel different, below are what I truly feel about Chinese internet censorship right now, and hope foreigners like you can understand more about it:
Because of 7 years’ two Opium Wars, 1 year first China-Japan War, 8 years’ Japan Invading China (during Second World War), 3 years’ Korean War, and 10 years’ Cultural Revolution. China’s development lags behind the western world for at least 30 years. So when you started to enjoy freedom of speech on the internet, a lot of Chinese didn’t know what is internet yet. Plus the rate of illiteracy and high academic degree, no government could not worry about how its citizens lacking knowledge and mature judgement would be influenced from a non-censored/protected environment when there are still forces trying to split China. Do you know how many spies (Chinese bought off by foreign government through means like internet) were captured a year there around Chinese military facilities? Well things between countries are usually like this I know, because it’s all about interests.
But in many developed countries, a majority of population are well educated, like you are, and you can protect yourselves from this unlimited internet. But I know I couldn’t have years back. If you keep reading Chinese news, you will see how often and how many people fell for lame tricks and lost money or lives sometimes.
Additionally, Chinese search engine doesn’t have filter search, movies don’t have ratings, and laws are far from sound let alone perfect. So not seeing the information that Chinese netizens can’t protect themselves from is good for them to some extent. Chinese govn’t leaders are not stupid, so they know prohibiting freedom of speech or website visiting is not right, but they do have to protect their people, therefore the stability of the country. And I also believe, when the rate of higher education increases to a certain level, and when people can protect themselves from the harsh (can’t say pleasant) internet environment, the situation will change. And it’s getting better already. I live here so I know.
In the end, I feel sorry for those of you that ever had bad experience in or with China. If you have any questions you would like to know about things here, please feel free to let me know, and I will try my best to give you facts and neutral opinions.
