China's online gender wars won't stop without space for healthy debate on social issues
censored . On the other hand, it has the world's largest number of users, and many are willing to get feisty about the topics they are allowed to debate online.
Making this ecology even more complex are the huge commercial benefits involved.
According to Chinese government statistics, there were about 1.1 billion internet users last year, and experts believe most use social media. That also means there is an enormous market for online sales, advertising, online entertainment as well as cash rewards for influencers.
Boosting traffic is the primary goal for many platforms and bloggers. Many of them hire online marketing operators to devise strategies to attract traffic to influencers' accounts and social media platforms. The traffic brings big business opportunities, such as live-streaming marketing and advertisements.
Because of different forces at play, there are two extremes among Chinese social media posts. For topics that are politically sensitive, posts typically reflect the government line as dissident views are either not allowed or punished.
But for areas that the government may deem too trivial for intervention, Chinese internet users may find a window to be expressive, and some also use these windows to vent their emotions and grievances.
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