I think one of the most widely dismissed global issues today is the Chinese government’s control of media. That control becomes even more apparent when you introduce electronic media and content, which can be freely produced by nearly anyone with an internet connection — unless you live in China:

[Edwyn] Chan, who was raised in Hong Kong but today calls Chengdu, Sichuan, home, realized that doing anything that involves politics could mean trouble, but he also believed this was an opportunity to see whether blogs, which have not yet caught on in China, could translate. Within four days of launching kangri.blogku.com, he reached more than 10,000 people. He also drew the attention of the Gong An, the Chinese police in charge of monitoring the net.

Instead of shutting him down, however, the Gong An told him if he wanted to continue he would have to remove the more heated posts, which he did. Not in keeping with the freewheeling, stand-up-to-authority ethos of the blogosphere in the West, but it sure beats prison.