Monday, February 4, 2013

Chinese ‘Jump the Wall’ to Land on Falun Gong Wiki


By Xing Tianhang
Epoch Times Staff
People in mainland China are very interested in finding out more about the spiritual practice of Falun Gong, more so than about any other news story. That is the conclusion suggested by a list of the 25 most visited Chinese-language wiki sites in 2012, compiled by wiki’s technical support team.
The top 10 most visited Chinese wiki sites are: 1. Baidu, a Chinese search engine; 2. Favicon (a website that provides shortcut icons for websites); 3. Wiki; 4. Falun Gong; 5. Adult Video (AV) Idol list; 6. Wang Lijun; 7. Bo Xilai; 8. AV Idol; 9. Tiananmen Square massacre; 10. “Running Man” (a popular Korean TV show).
Among the 10 sites, 4 are related to Chinese politics. They are 4, 6, 7 and 9. The attempted defection by former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun at number 6 and the subsequent fall from power by Wang’s boss, Bo Xilai, at number 7, both happened in 2012. So, it is not surprising that they are on the top 10 list.
Falun Gong was first spread in China in 1992, and the Chinese regime began persecuting it in 1999. The Tiananmen Square massacre happened in 1989. Even though Falun Gong at number 4 and the Tiananmen Square massacre at number 9 are not recent stories, they are still in the top ten.
The information provided on Chinese wiki is like an encyclopedia with references. The information is mostly factual and neutral. Many people like to look up things in wiki, but because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fears the general public knowing the truth about many things, it blocks people from accessing wiki.
Those who wish to access wiki from inside China must use Internet circumventing software, which has been dubbed “jumping the wall.” In recent years, as this software became popular, more and more people have gained access to the Chinese wiki.
Visitors from mainland China made up the majority of wiki visitors. Therefore, the most visited wiki site statistics reflect the public opinion and interests of people from mainland China.
Those who have jumped the wall are most interested in knowing the facts blocked by the CCP. The persecution of Falun Gong and the Tiananmen Square massacre are two biggest incidents involving the killing of Chinese by the CCP since the Mao era. They also have the biggest implications for politics in today’s China.
That Falun Gong is ranked ahead of Bo Xilai is surprising, but it makes sense. On the one hand, most people do not practice Falun Gong, and Falun Gong does not matter much to economics or entertainment. On the other hand, the Bo Xilai scandal pointed to the importance of resolving the persecution of Falun Gong, particularly for those who read the analyses published by The Epoch Times.
The drama surrounding Bo Xilai has involved a last-ditch effort by the Jiang Zemin faction to hold onto power, which that faction needed to do in order to avoid being held accountable for its crimes against Falun Gong practitioners. As readers came to understand this connection, they naturally wanted to learn more about Falun Gong.
In addition, the Falun Gong practitioners in and out of China have been continuously debunking the regime’s propaganda about Falun Gong, telling the people of China what Falun Gong is and how it has been persecuted. As a result, many Chinese people want to learn more.
It is not surprising, then, that Falun Gong was the news story wiki readers were most interested in finding out about.
Ranked number 22 is Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, who was of greater interest to Wiki readers than Xi Jinping. The CCP’s new paramount leader was ranked number 25. 
Read the original Chinese article
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