From The Asia Week, translated by EastSouthWestNorth:
CCTV Economic Channel producer Hu Yong (ËÉ°Ê≥≥) has been called an “Internet pioneer” on mainland China. Hu Yong said: “Concerning the Internet in China, there are usually two popular views in the west. One of them consists of unreasonable optimism, for the belief is that western thoughts and ideas, commercial forces or technological advances will cause rapid changes in China. The other consists of blind pessimism, for the belief is that China has not changed under a totalitarian regime which prevents the people from having any freedom of speech. Both these views are wrong, and they merely expose the na√Øvet√© of westerners.” Hu Yong is the author of the “Ruling the Internet”, the first book about the Internet on the mainland China.
Hu Yong thinks that the development of the Internet in China is complicated. Hu Yong said: “This is not say that people outside of China have no right to talk about China. But outsiders do not usually have the keen insight as those who are inside. But the insiders and outsiders need to interact frequently and argue with each other. The matter of Chinese bloggers should be examined through such interactions.”
Hu Yong believes that the Chinese bloggers can be classified into three types: angry youth, petty bourgeois and commercial bloggers. He admits that this classification is not rigorous, but it is convenient for clarifying the problem.
