The not so GREAT internet under the GREAT firewall of China

With the Chinese economy rapidly expanding, one must note that a rich country doesn’t always make a respectable country. A considerable portion of China’s fast-paced growth and development stems from the exploitation of the poor and the under-developed, 36% of Chinese population live on less than 2 dollars a day. As such, China is struggling to compete with the accomplishments achieved by other developed nations. The Chinese IT field is a prime example of this.

There has been a noticeable trend: well established IT products are shortly followed by their Chinese clones, catered to her netizens. While the mainstream Internet is dominated by Google, Facebook and WhatsApp, the Chinese have their own “shadow Internet,” shrouded behind the Great Firewall of China, consisting of BaiDu, RenRen and WeChat. Some netizens pride themselves by deeming this as a part of the realization of the Chinese Dream. However, this could be a cause of concern as the founding stones of this majestic dream may be tainted with disdainful business ethics that not only infringe intellectual property, but also harm the creativity of minorities that are struggling in China.

There is no doubt that the shadow Internet of China is very successful in terms of its large users base and economic standing. However, one must realize that this success is a result of the vast differences between the competitive nature of the Chinese’s Internet and the global Internet. Firstly, the Internet is a market which is considerably more competitive compared to most industries as the cost of entering the market is significantly lower. Although anyone with decent programming experience can join this bustling market, the chances of being successful are very low. The bare-bones of Facebook was developed by a mere handful of college students. Flappy Bird went viral, even though it was developed within a day. The Internet is a battlefield of creativity, not manpower.

But if all you have is manpower and money, how do you survive on this battlefield?

The simple solution is to preclude foreign competitors and allow the market to grow in a greenhouse. Even though Google and Facebook are not accessible in China, there is a demand for a search engine and a social network. This is where the Chinese counterparts stand out and shine, even though they may not necessarily be superior. One may question the efficacy of the Chinese IT products compared with those that reign the Internet outside the Great Firewall. Global Internet users, who have a choice between the two, usually lean towards the latter.

If you’re Chinese, you will most likely have your panties in a twist at this point. However, I present you with a chance to exact revenge and make China great again. If you are reading this on an iPhone, Macbook or any other non-Chinese tech product, why not you use a hammer, that’s made in China, to smash the screen? This way, you can support the realization of the Chinese dream by switching to a Chinese product. If during the process, the face of your hammer falls off the handle, simply get a German hammer to accomplish your task :) But if you prefer the civil way, I hereby provide you an argument to counter me.

It could be aruged that the Chinese government hasn’t blocked all foreign software in the country. Whatsapp and Uber are still available, but these software are rarely used in China. However, this cannot be served as an evidence that Chinese software are superior. The Internet is so powerful because it integrates information from different platforms. Whatsapp makes use of Google Accounts to store users’ information and backup conversations, while Uber uses Google Maps to provide map services. Since rich internet giants, such as Google, are unavailable, very few applications can be used to their full potential. Recently, some Chinese netizens were in rage because they couldn’t play Pokemon Go, while those in Taiwan and Hong Kong were having fun with the game. Niantic didn’t do this intentionally. The reason why Pokemon Go cannot function is due to the lack of Google Maps within The Great Firewall. Save the last two for uncut: Well you may be an advanced internet user who uses VPN. But who dares to put pokemons in China!? You know… poor developers from Niantic dare not to go aginist PRC’s policy by encouraging trainers to use VPN.

One should also note that a number of talented Chinese developers have been a victim of the country’s corrupt atmosphere. For example, the XiaoMi has grown from a group of amateur developers to a national industry with their impressive products. However, this group’s reputation has been severely tarnished due to the constant news reports on exploding products. These faulty products that circulate the market are a fruit of those countless clones trying to reap of XiaoMi’s success. Another reason behind the group’s sullied reputation is the eavesdropping conspiracy. Many IT authorities, including F-Secure, have found out that the messaging app in XiaoMi’s phones have a constant connection with a server located in China, even if the users have opted out of the messaging service. According to their interception report, XiaoMi users will yield their contact list to a mysterious server in China. However, XiaoMi cannot be blamed for the spying; who would dare to defy the government’s order? Due to these factors, XiaoMi struggles to gain trust from its customers across the globe. Competing in the market is becoming increasingly challenging for the new generation of startup founders in China. Not only do they have to appease the government’s shady policies, they would also have to invest in tin-foil hats to avoid their ideas from being stolen, cloned and mass produced.

The internet is a symbol of freedom and global connectivity. Incarcerating itself in a wall to block foreign competitors will only grant temporary success. Perhaps Chinese citizens inability to be fully empowered by the internet may be a desirable picture for the Chinese government, given that they know how powerful the free internet is.