Bloggasm

The Horse’s Mouth: I’m a 30 year old former major of International Relations who gave up politics after living in China and switched to International Business upon repatriation. I currently live in Indiana and I’m married to a beautiful Chinese girl from Sichuan. I also have minors in Asian Studies and Chinese language and I intend to return to China where I hope to help further US-Sino relations through business and cultural exchange.

Simon Owens: I’ve noticed a recent surge in Asian-oriented blogs that are quickly becoming popular in America. Do you think that as America and China become more and more dependent on each other, our citizens become more interested in each other’s domestic affairs?

The Horse’s Mouth: Definitely. I think it’s also worth noting that with China’s rise as an economic power on the world stage an increasing number of American students at the university level are beginning to take more of an active interest in China and Asia in general, which has led to more Americans traveling to and spending time in the region.

Simon Owens: What do you think is the best way to fight American-run companies like Yahoo and MSN who aid the Chinese government in censoring Chinese bloggers?

The Horse’s Mouth: Leave it alone.

Ironically enough, the only people who seem to be concerned with censorship in China right now are foreigners. There are far more pressing issues to deal with in China than censorship - just ask any peasant farmer from the countryside who doesn’t own a computer. If and when the Chinese get tired of censorship, they will deal with it on their own.

Simon Owens: How can a Chinese citizen go about breaking through the firewalls that the Chinese government puts up to keep people from reading certain blogs?

The Horse’s Mouth: There are an endless number of proxies available on the internet these days, but after my blog host was banned last year I found TOR to be the most effective at bypassing the “Great Firewall”.

Simon Owens: What are the five blogs everyone should be reading (besides your own)?

The Horse’s Mouth: Only five? Wow! That’s the toughest question yet because there are so many good blogs out there and I read each one for a different reason.
However, since I am limited to five I would have to choose blogs that focus strictly on Asia/China and they are as follows (in no particular order):

1. Talk Talk China
2. Wanbro
3. Simon World
4. Imagethief — He really needs to shorten that!
5. ESWN

You can find The Horse’s Mouth over here