China abandons blog identity plan

BBC News reports:

The Chinese government is backing down from plans to force millions of Chinese bloggers to register their real names.

There are an estimated 20 million bloggers in the country and the plans announced last year provoked huge protest from Chinese internet users.

At the time, the government said it thought the system would make bloggers more responsible for their behaviour.

But Chinese bloggers condemned the proposal as an attempt by the government to control information.

The situation in China with regards to freedom of expression is more nuanced and complex than the mainstream media would have you believe. This development seems to be a sign that the increasingly economically-focused Chinese government is beginning to recognise that information wants to flow freely in a prosperous modern society.