Wie schon berichtet hat die Regierung in China die Sperrung der chinesischen Wikipedia erstmals seit einem Jahr aufgehoben und die Website ist wieder erreichbar. Wir haben dazu Wikipedia-Gründer Jimmy Wales befragt:
politik-digital.de: China has unblocked Wikipedia last night. Why does the Chinese government see Wikipedia as a threat?
Jimmy Wales: I have no idea. We think that the block was originally made in error. We do understand that some of the articles may be displeasing to them, but then they should filter some articles, rather than blocking all of Wikipedia. 99.999% of what is in Wikipedia is of no interest to the Chinese government. Other than in two ways:
1. Wikipedia can help China achieve better economic growth, because in other countries many IT professionals report how useful Wikipedia is to them in their work.
2. China would like to be better understood around the world; for example they are spending a lot of money to subsidize Chinese language classes around the world. The worst thing about the Wikipedia block is that it silences the voice of the Chinese people. By my estimate, Chinese should be the 2nd largest language in Wikipedia today, rather than 12th.
politik-digital.de: Do you think Wikipedia is back for good in China then?
Jimmy Wales: It is important not to overestimate the change that has happened here. Although English Wikipedia and many other languages are accessible from China, the most important language is not.
People in mainland China can not currently access http://zh.wikipedia.org/, their own language.
politik-digital.de: Are you talking to the Chinese authorities about the issue?
Jimmy Wales: I am working to set up meetings with the Chinese authorities. I anticipate meeting the Chinese Minister of Culture in New York next month to get to know each other and begin a dialogue.