Opinions are very much divided on this question: Is China's government more or less effective in controlling the Internet?
Some methods can certainly been written off as not effective. A few years ago, various Chinese government departments started hiring so-called "Internet commentators." All day long, these people would surf the Internet and try to explain government policies, often on a local level, in a positive way.
But just like the US bloggers did not buy the effort by Edelman and Wal-Mart to set up a fake weblog, Chinese internet users do not buy this particular governmental participation in their conversations.
"On the internet we call them 'Mr. Fifty Cents,'" an avid Chinese net user told me today over dinner. "The urban myth says that they get a bonus of one-half yuan (USD $0.04) for every comment they write."
Finding those "fifty cents" has become a game on the Chinese internet -- but not a very difficult one, says my friend. "These people are not being hired because they are smart."
Hmmm...I currently am an online journalist, and I write a...
