If You're Gonna Give Your Citizens Net Access . . .

. . . don't expect to be able to control how they use it. That's the take-home lesson from today's WaPo report about the various methods Chinese citizens have been using recently to thwart government censorship. These include discussing current events via historical allusion, posting to bulletin-board sites that are small enough to elude official crackdowns, and using proxy-browsing software to access overseas sites that have been blocked by the authorities. I can't imagine that the Chinese government believes its outdated attempts to limit the flow of information will succeed in the long run. Their efforts contradict the Internet's fundamental nature, not to mention the people's wishes. In turning the screws of repression ever tighter, the Party may lay the groundwork for its own demise as the Chinese people become more and more aware of their own desire to say what they please.