YouTube in China

Dan Nystedt in “Update: Google News, YouTube blocked in China amid Tibet riots” discusses the fact that YouTube has been blocked by China because China wants to stop spread of the video that shows the riots in Tibet. China follows Myanmar, which has the same situation to control access to the sites. YouTube provides the world to all people, so China should not reject the approach of the video. Some videos show the violence, but peaceful demonstrations appear in other videos. These videos were taken by media or contributed by tourists. China has banned foreign media from Tibet since the Chinese government controls the press.

The censorial issues are always discussed by people from different countries. There is no right or wrong with respect to blocking the sites. Censorship tools will be executed in different ways that depend on the countries. For example, in order to defend their country, China will block the sites that will influence their country.

Blocking some videos that may influence people is a correct way for China. China is a communist country with a billion citizens. In order to manage a big country, the Chinese government restricts some things that may cause the demonstrations or riots. People from other countries may think that is not the best decision to block the human rights. Nevertheless, many citizens in China support their government. They think the government’s decision is the best choice for citizens. They even do not care whether the sites are blocked or not, because those videos may not change their life. Furthermore, they are afraid that their country may get the same situation if the rioting videos are showed. In other words, parents may control their children to access some sites because those may be harmful for their children.

On the other hand, blocking videos may also block human rights. People have the rights to know everything that they want to know and choose whatever they want to watch. If governments control the sites, it would probably block the human rights to know. In a democratic country, people have freedom to present their opinion and upload the videos that they want to share. When we search for information from the sites, we usually do not like that information we found but it doesn’t work due to blocking. YouTube is such a good website that everybody can share their videos. Also, people can figure out different cultures or opinions around the world from YouTube.

When the Internet exists, censorship issues may also appear. How can people balance these problems? Some countries may think that blocking videos is the way to prevent riots from happening but other countries think that may cut off the human rights. The better way to solve this problem is education. The Chinese government can show these videos but the government can also transmit other information to their citizens that would keep them from being nervous. The government can tell the truth, but people do not be worry about it. So, people can know the fact and the government will always accompany them.

In conclusion, if doesn’t matter whether the sites are blocked or not. The government may have their own reason. The better way is to educate their citizens so they have the rights to know what is happening around the world and they also will not be afraid of riots.

Reference:

Nystedt, D. (2008, March 17). Google News, YouTube blocked in China amid Tibet riots. InfoWorld.com. Retrieved March 27, 2008, from http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/17/Google-News-YouTube-blocked-in-China-amid-Tibet-riots_1.html