When a new client came to us with an idea for a Chinese medical tourism consulting business, we knew it would be a challenge to build the website. Having the site written in Chinese was the least of our worries. The hardest part was going to be launching the site in China despite the strict Internet regulations from the government.
China’s Internet, in recent years, has advanced to the concept of cyber sovereignty. Chinese authorities are looking to rewrite the rules of the Internet so the regulations and surveillance are a norm everywhere. One of the laws they want to see in place is expanding the authorities’ abilities to completely cut off Internet access in the name of “national security.”
Even with Internet censorship, China’s Internet user population still continues to grow. The country has about 700 million Internet users, 1.2 billion mobile phone users, and 600 million WeChat and Weibo users. WeChat and Weibo are two of the largest social media platforms in China since Facebook, Twitter and other global social media channels are restricted to the entire population. With 30 billion messages posted each day, it is tough to regulate that many messages.
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, would like more international support for the censorship policies to build an Internet governance system to promote equity and justice. Chinese officials want tech companies in the U.S. to not harm Chinese national security or consumer rights. Since China is such a huge market, it makes it more difficult for others to understand and comply with their rules and regulations.
In order to launch our clients website in China, we had to make sure we complied with their censorship policies so the site would not be blocked by authorities. Luckily our client had connections to people in China we could use a resource for launching the new site on a Chinese server. Offering our web services to people from all over the world is a critical way to stay competitive in today’s market. Contact our web design and development specialists to learn more about how we can help grow your global business. Call 503-452-1082 or visit offthewallmedia.com.