One of the Chinese people in the article noted that he was fearful of leaving comments on the BBC's website. Self censorship is rife, the Chinese Government's system of control has worked. People do, understandably, fear a knock on the door after posting to a foreign news website, especially if their comments were supportive of that news service.
There are many Government loyal Chinese who believe it is good to have sites like this available as it will show that the West really has got it wrong, that their views on China lack cultural knowledge, are biased and that the tone of Western media is imperialistic. This opinion has been shared by some of those leaving comments as mentioned in the BBC article.
Whatever the opinions and comments being left, the fact is they are being left and this is a positive step forward. Provided there are no ramifications for those leaving comments that the State disagrees with, what we are seeing is the internet used as it was intended - as a conduit of information and with the advent of Web 2.0, as a tool for discussion, communication and a space where a range of opinions are valued and invited. It is exciting that Chinese internet users can talk to people around the globe about the validity of media that is not state owned, about topical issues of the day and that they can share ideas more freely. This is by no means an end to internet repression in China and I would welcome the availability of the BBC's Chinese language pages to Chinese internet users.
It should be remembered that whilst the BBC's English pages and Amnesty International's website are available to some users in China, there are a myriad of sites still blocked and monitored. What we saw in recent weeks in China was that international pressure does work. Now this pressure must be exerted to assist in the uncensoring of public health websites, democracy blogs, pages commemorating those killed in 1989 in Tiananmen Square, environmental and democracy sites and so many more... The pressure must be applied by bloggers and journalists around the world (along with world leaders) for the release of those people imprisoned for peacefully expressing themselves online. We have created an opening, the door is slightly wedged open as a result of these Olympic Games - we cannot lose momentum and interest. Let's keep communicating in a positive way with those Chinese bloggers who are able to access at least a little more information than before.
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