China vs. Google

Google's exit is not surprising but I was again outraged by the sheer amount of censorship on the internet in China. As political as this issue appears, I'm not here to comment on the fight between Google and the Chinese government. Instead, I'm intrigued by the responses from the Netizens in China (reported here by BBC). In fact I was disheartened to see the following:

"The vast majority of the comments and blogs on Chinese mainland websites appear to express hate and anger towards Google.

But tweets and comments that appear to come from users in mainland China on websites based outside the country express sympathy and support towards Google, and anger towards the Chinese government."

Apparently many Netizens in China are not happy, not because of the loss of Google but because Google's action angered their nationalist sentiment and patriotism. This anger is precisely something that I don't understand. What did Google do wrong? Nothing. Google left because it lifted its filter on censored websites. Why did it stop filtering? Because it was a defensive reaction against the hack into Gmail accounts in order to monitor the emails of human rights activists. So if there's anyone to blame, it should be the hackers or people behind the hack. Google has done nothing offensive to the Chinese government. It has obeyed the laws and regulations until the hack occurred. So why are the Netizens angry at Google? This seems nothing but irrational to me. Further, their anger suggests something disturbing to me. This implies that those Netizens have agreed or implicitly believed that internet censorship is permissible or even should be endorsed. How ludicrous!

Frankly, I bet Google does not give a damn about leaving or staying. Why? Google only has 33% market share in China and its revenue only accounts for a trivial 0.8% of global revenue in 2009. In fact I believe that Google has already unwillingly made a lot of compromises when it entered China four years ago. This time the highly organized hack into Gmail accounts has tipped Google over the edge.

So who is it hurting? The Chinese Netizens. No correction, the elite group of Netizens who actually use Google, which comprises of students, white-collars, and a large proportion of middle and upper class Internet users. I bet it is those Netizens that express sympathy and support for Google. This is good news. At least there are some intelligent minds out there. The sad news is that they can't be too resilient. There is nothing they can do to keep Google. I feel tremendously sorry for them for their loss of freedom and of access to information. Besides the elite Netizens, the absence of Google can severely hurt the development of the internet in China. Google has helped and prompted the development of several prominent Chinese web companies (e.g. Baidu.com, tom.com). As the chief executive of Chinalabs.com said, the vast majority of Chinese internet companies couldn't care more about research and innovation, and all they do is copying technology. Without Google, internet in China is likely to become sterile and stifling, and eventually a dead end.

The loss is China's. The funny thing is that many people in China do not realize it and they are even angry at Google. As bewildering as it seems, I suddenly realized that I cannot blame them, for, I might very likely have been angry at Google if I were in China. Why? The power of the situation. Every time I was in China for longer than a month, I began to think in a Chinese mindset after the initial period of frustration and resilience. I was astounded by how malleable my beliefs and values are. I began to feel patriotic and feel annoyed when someone criticized China. How? Because I was immersed in the surrounding environment, via the influence of the media, the censored internet, friends, relatives, and all the propaganda around me. It's a process that I never fully understand but it works. I think that the power of the situation is the ultimate tool that the government is using. So, probably I shouldn't be so upset at these helpless, innocent Netizens. I believe that every human being yearns for freedom and information, but this desire is just concealed. What can they do...

Unlimted vs. limited

We are a creature in love with the notion of unlimitedness. I've always wondered what 'unlimited' or 'infinite' really means and what implications it has for our behavior. Recently, I learned that we can only enjoy 40 hours of Pandora for free per month and after that we'll be paying for it. Suddenly I felt restricted and limited and I stopped listening to Pandora in an effort to save my hours. Later when I collected my rationality, I realize that I never reach 40 hours' quota in a month, so what am I worried about?

Even though we can never consume so much we just don't like the idea of being limited. Another example is the wireless plan I have with my iphone which says I can make unlimited phone calls to anyone during the 9PM to 6AM period. Awesome! But when I checked my balance I found that the so-called unlimited is limited, with 5000 minutes per month. Um.... Even though I know I'll never be able to use up the 5000 minutes in a month but still I feel not so happy.

This applies to other things that may not be quantifiable, such as options. We just love the idea of having infinite options and we get upset if we lose an option. If something is unlimited we love it and yet we probably don't consume that much. But if something is limited then we get nervous, we become more aware of our consumption, or perhaps we will want it more. That's probably why some products marked with limited edition sell better than the same ones that don't. Why are we obsessed with unlimitedness? When something irrelevant becomes limited, why does it affect our behavior? Are we greedy by nature or is it an innate sense of insecurity?

GFW

So blocking Google prevents the poisoning of children's minds? I never understand the logic behind the Great Firewall of China which is just like a decepticon which is becoming increasingly powerful by the minute. Apparently the government is ordering all new computers to install the ridiculous "Green Dam Youth Escort" software to cleanse the internet and to harmonize the society. WTF? What's more, not to mention the constant blockage of several important media such as Youtube, the government shuts down virtually all the foreign websites around sensitive dates such as 6.4.

This makes me sad for at least two reasons. First, it shows that the government is willing to spend millions on such nuisance rather than doing something useful like building infrastructure or offering healthcare benefits to the poor. Secondly, it means that the government is actually afraid, afraid of losing power, afraid of its people saying something different. It means that the government is not confident of its people, thus exerting such great control over people's freedom, like a bad, autocratic parent controlling everything the child does. Suppression is very stupid because once you forbid something, people actually start wanting it and searching for it, reverse psychology.

What's the harm of knowing more information and allowing speech freedom? What's the government afraid of? Will people start to protest and challenge the government when they know more? Actually, this won't happen in China. Why? Because of the education. Throughout the course of history people have been taught to follow, to obey, and to do whatever teachers and parents say. They simply do not challenge authority, probably have not learned to do so, or do not know they can do so. Another potential reason is that with the soaring economy people have become more satisfied with their lives. What else can they complain? So it looks like the government is being very irrational.

By the way, I found these two great websites about China that are somewhat more objective, truthful, and genuine:

http://sun-zoo.com/chinageeks/
http://jennyzhu.com/

Hope they don't get blocked.

The ____ flu

First of all, I don't understand why it's called the swine flu or if it has anything to do with pigs. I guess people just want a label, like the chicken pox. Moreover, it just boggles my mind that some countries are killing pigs, I mean what kind of ludicrous morons would do that?! Nonetheless, people are eating less pork now and washing hands more, which is a good thing.

Second of all, I think that people really needn't overreact or worry about the flu to such a great extent. Not that it's not a problem, I'm just thinking that the media and government officials are being paranoid and (very) irrational. It seems that the flu came at the right time to distract the world from stressing over the crippling economy. I was going to give more reasons but Dan Ariely actually spit it out perfectly earlier than I did. In his blog, Dan listed three reasons why this is irrational:

1. Because of our limited capacity, we pay attention to current events even if it's not really important.

2. We overweigh new risks relative to comparable risks we are accustomed to.

3. We are suckers when it comes to statistics and we are instead attracted to stories and anecdotes which bias our judgment. We only focus on the few ones who have died from the flu but what about those who were exposed but didn't get sick, or those who got sick and didn't die?

At any rate, I'm just a bit annoyed as I will be traveling in a month. Hope this will be handled in a rational manner soon.