.. meta::
   :description: Wikipedia has been blocked in mainland China for more than six months. Unlike former blocks, this one seems to be permanent. Like the blocking of Google in 2002

Baidu Baike, the Chinese repalcement of Wikipedia
=================================================
.. post:: 13, May, 2006
   :category: Internet
   :author: me
   :nocomments:

   Wikipedia has been `blocked in mainland
   China <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blocking_of_Wikipedia_in_mainland_China>`__
   for more than six months. Unlike former blocks, this one seems to be
   permanent. Like the blocking of
   `Google <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google>`__ in 2002, it produced
   a vacuum that local businesses are eager to fill, especially
   `Baidu <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu>`__.

   Immediate after the blocking of Wikipedia, Wiki China launched with
   government support and claimed itself as the biggest Chinese
   `wiki <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki>`__
   `encyclopedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia>`__. The
   `coincidence <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2005-10-31/China_block>`__,
   together with the `GFDL
   violation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Standard_GFDL_violation_letter>`__
   of Wiki China by copying content systematically without credit
   Wikipedia, provoked many Chinese Wikipedians to blankout the pages
   they created. Ten days after the birth of Wiki China, hackers forced
   its shutting down by deleting its database.

   Six months later, `Baidu <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu>`__, the
   `Chinese <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language>`__ `search
   engine <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine>`__ benefited from
   the 2002 blocking of Google, launched `Baidu
   Baike <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu_Baike>`__ (sometimes
   translated `Baidupedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidupedia>`__),
   a collaborative online
   `encyclopedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia>`__. Again,
   it is praised by Chinese media for education references, but is
   accused of the GFDL violation. Under the lure of Baidu Credit, a
   large amount of online articles, including many Wikipedia articles
   and even nonsense articles from
   `Uncyclopedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncyclopedia>`__ are
   copied into Baidu Baike without crediting their sources. Worse, Baidu
   claimed the copyright in one help page, and credited the posters in
   another.

   Although the growth of entries is impressive (10,000 a day), due to
   its `self censorship <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship>`__,
   politically reactionary topics such as the `Tiananmen Square protests
   of
   1989 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989>`__,
   `human rights <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights>`__,
   `democracy <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy>`__ and `Falun
   Gong <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falungong>`__ are missing.
   Confronting the `Great Firewall of
   China <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall_of_China>`__,
   efforts to creating these entries or even search for them resulted
   denial of services, like searches in other web sites.