Behind the Great Firewall: Facts and Fallacies about China's Internet
VIEW EVENT DETAILSAn Evening Presentation by KAISER KUO, Director for International Communications, Baidu
Google's highly-publicized rift with Beijing offered a rare opportunity to gain an understanding of the Internet in China. Despite growing censorship in recent years, the Internet has emerged as a de facto public sphere in Chinese life giving China's netizens an unprecedented level of political potency. Yet the focus on censorship, while important, has unfortunately blinkered the understanding of the Chinese Internet, creating a simple narrative that ignores the fascinating subtleties of life behind the "Great Firewall."
How has the world's largest Internet market with close to 400 million users developed its own distinct culture? What are the widely-held myths and misconceptions about China's Internet? What is the interplay of technology and politics in China?
Kaiser Kuo is Director for International Communications for Baidu, Inc., China's leading search engine. He is best known as a writer, rock musician, and commentator on technology, society and politics. Kaiser was Beijing bureau chief at Red Herring magazine as well as a technology and business writer for Time, China Economic Review, and the South China Morning Post. He hosts the popular Sinica Podcast, a weekly discussion of current affairs in China featuring leading journalists, bloggers and academics. Kaiser received his BA degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and an MA degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Arizona.
In partnership with iq2 asia
Google's highly-publicized rift with Beijing offered a rare opportunity to gain an understanding of the Internet in China. Despite growing censorship in recent years, the Internet has emerged as a de facto public sphere in Chinese life giving China's netizens an unprecedented level of political potency. Yet the focus on censorship, while important, has unfortunately blinkered the understanding of the Chinese Internet, creating a simple narrative that ignores the fascinating subtleties of life behind the "Great Firewall."
How has the world's largest Internet market with close to 400 million users developed its own distinct culture? What are the widely-held myths and misconceptions about China's Internet? What is the interplay of technology and politics in China?
Kaiser Kuo is Director for International Communications for Baidu, Inc., China's leading search engine. He is best known as a writer, rock musician, and commentator on technology, society and politics. Kaiser was Beijing bureau chief at Red Herring magazine as well as a technology and business writer for Time, China Economic Review, and the South China Morning Post. He hosts the popular Sinica Podcast, a weekly discussion of current affairs in China featuring leading journalists, bloggers and academics. Kaiser received his BA degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and an MA degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Arizona.
In partnership with iq2 asia
Event Details
Wed 27 Oct 2010
Philia Lounge, Shop 1, 4-8 Arbuthnot Road, Central Hong Kong
HK$150 Asia Society members/Full-time students; HK$200 non-members (priority to members). To register, please contact [email protected]