As part of Evan Osnos’ blog from the road, he’s answering readers’ questions. Here’s one:
Matt asks: Do people have access to the Internet in the interior? If so, is it heavily restricted by the government?
Osnos: The Internet is available — to some degree — in tiny towns all over China. That doesn’t mean everyone uses it; usually, it is kids who want to play games. But the change is historic, in terms of the information and awareness it introduces into previously closed areas. China’s ranks of 130 million Web users have grown nearly 20 percent from a year ago. There are now about 16 million bloggers, up from zero five years ago, producing the same range of valuable or worthless material that bloggers generate in the U.S. … At the current rate, China could have 400 million Web users within 10 years, so government censors face a daunting challenge to keep pace. So far, Chinese authorities have enlisted an estimated 30,000 Web watchers who troll the Internet for sensitive Web sites and postings to take down. But really, that work has barely begun: nearly 92 percent of China’s population has yet to go online.
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IN THE WEB EDITION
Follow along and interact with Tribune correspondent Evan Osnos as he ventures across China’s vast heartland: chicagotribune.com/chinajourney