I'm writing this entry as I sit in a VERY noise Internet cafe in Taipei, Taiwan. A bunch of young kids are playing a networked computer video game - at 730AM! What a life.
I would have written a journal entry sooner but I have had Internet access problems in China due to the Chinese government restrictions on Internet access via firewalls and general crackdowns on cybercafes due to a fire. I suspect this fire and resulting deaths was a good excuse to shut down alot of cafes. These restrictions made me think even more about various freedoms that exist in some parts of the world but not others. I will write an article about it after I return to the US this Saturday, October 5th.
In some ways I wasn't that "shocked" about visiting China, which I think is because of my prior visits to Taiwan (4 or 5 total in my life, the last one being 6 years ago, all occurring before I had any other foreign travel experience - Europe, Central America, Australia / New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, but more importantly new eyesight) and because I carry some implicit understanding of Chinese culture due to my ethnicity. Yet, looking a little closer revealed numerous differences between Taiwan and China. Also, some of my preconceived notions about Chinese culture were broken, due to both this recent trip (Beijing, Huangshan / Yellow Mountains, and Shanghai) and my general state of awareness. My next entry will be next week when I am back in the US.
Intl Herald Tribune - China Information Blocking
I would have written a journal entry sooner but I have had Internet access problems in China due to the Chinese government restrictions on Internet access via firewalls and general crackdowns on cybercafes due to a fire. I suspect this fire and resulting deaths was a good excuse to shut down alot of cafes. These restrictions made me think even more about various freedoms that exist in some parts of the world but not others. I will write an article about it after I return to the US this Saturday, October 5th.
In some ways I wasn't that "shocked" about visiting China, which I think is because of my prior visits to Taiwan (4 or 5 total in my life, the last one being 6 years ago, all occurring before I had any other foreign travel experience - Europe, Central America, Australia / New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, but more importantly new eyesight) and because I carry some implicit understanding of Chinese culture due to my ethnicity. Yet, looking a little closer revealed numerous differences between Taiwan and China. Also, some of my preconceived notions about Chinese culture were broken, due to both this recent trip (Beijing, Huangshan / Yellow Mountains, and Shanghai) and my general state of awareness. My next entry will be next week when I am back in the US.
Intl Herald Tribune - China Information Blocking
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