"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:51:27 -0400, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:


Maybe the vast majority of *contributors* are American but how do you
know
that everyone in China isn't *reading* it? ;-)

Cuz the chinese government has strict controls on the internet. They
strictly limit access because the feel that any free exchange of ideas
will
lead eventually to their downfall. Can you imagine the effects of
unlimited
access to the Wreck would have on the politics and economics of the
People's
Republic of China?


Not to mention the horrendous flame wars that would ensue...

AFAIK, China won't allow citizens to access the BBC, much less the
wildlands of usenet. It's a shame, really.

Access depends on where you are. BBC, CNN, Sky TV, other satellite
programming is readily available in the major cities and all over SE China,
from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. Time, Newsweek, the Economist, are also
available, but are overshadowed in quality by the Far East Economic Review,
partially owned by Dow Jones, which is printed in Hong Kong. Usenet,
including talk.political.china is read at all of the major universities --
the reason you may not have seen it is that the threads are almost entirely
in Chinese.

Having visited every province in China, including Tibet and many of the
rural areas, I'll tell you I've rarely been in a place where there wasn't
some electrical power and TV transmissions (mostly Chinese-owned networks).
If you're actually interested in Chinese TV, you can subscribe to mainland
Chinese channels through DirectTV and Dish Network, whose offerings include
TVB, ATV, and CCTV (Hong Kong and Mainland channels) as well as Phoenix
(Taiwan) and other Asian channels. Among other avenues, the thousands of
Chinese students studying in western schools are getting immersed in Western
ways.

The Genie is out of the bottle, between Chinese access to media and their
tourism. With 40+ airlines and easy access to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan,
U.S., etc., many average Chinese families are getting a first hand look at
life in other countries. To my experience, the most usual reactions (e.g.,
Singapore, Hong Kong, U.S.) a

1. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here --
2. The food isn't very good

Regards --