More Internet users in China than in the USA?

[Torsten]

According to CNN there are more Internet users in China than in the United States. What do you think is the impact of this? Does the Internet help the Chinese people to get information on democracy and change their lives for the better? Or does the Internet help the Chinese government to increase their control and power?
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Jamie (K)]

I don't know, because I'm not there, but Google and Yahoo assist the Chinese government in filtering the Internet, and they cooperate in helping the government capture dissidents who are posting online.

The German magazine Der Spiegel has been publishing very interesting articles in (very good) English about this. Here is one on censorship:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,551110,00.html

And here is one on how Yahoo cooperated in the capture of a human rights activist:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,517283,00.html