I spoke with an executive working for a major Chinese blog service provider today, and learned that the reason authorities ordered the closure of four major blog Web sites was discussions about Dr. Jiang Yanyong’s letter in some personal blogs they hosted.
Two blog service probiders Blogcn and Blogbus, remain offline with a message apologizing to their users. Two others, Blogdriver and ChinaNewsman have reopened after deleting all blog entries on the topic.
From a purely business point of view, said the executive, the recent shakeup may not be a bad thing. It at least attracts more attention, including that of international venture capitalists, to the emerging blog scene in China and adds to the service providers’ bargain leverage when negotiating with potential investors.
