China - Flows of Information

Question 1

Number of internet users?

Answer 1

650 million in 2015, nearly 25% of the worlds total.

Question 2

Why does China use the internet to control flows of information?

Answer 2

The internet is a large part of globalisation so China controls the information that its consumers can see, in turn changing and restricting their view of the outside world and influencing geopolitical events/ its citizens.

Question 3

What methods does China use to control the internet?

Answer 3

The ‘Great Firewall’ is online censorship implemented in the late 90s, blocking access to foreign websites and filtering key words.

The ‘Golden Shield’ is a system of domestic surveillance implemented in 1998 using fines and arrests to control censorship.