China’s biggest internet search engine has launched an online encyclopedia modelled on the US-based website Wikipedia, which is blocked by Beijing.
Entries on Baidupedia, the new service from Nasdaq-listed Baidu.com launched last month, are however censored by the Chinese government.
Searches conducted on Thursday for the banned spiritual movement “Falungong” or for “Dalai Lama” — in both Chinese and English — yielded no results, but generated the message: “The page cannot be displayed.”
Baidu’s chairperson and chief executive Robin Li told Britain’s Financial Times newspaper his online encyclopedia was modelled on Wikipedia, but said he was unaware Beijing had banned the Florida-based reference website.
“I certainly hope our encyclopedia will be the most authoritative one for any Chinese users,” Li was quoted as saying.
“The initial reaction has been very positive, so we are quite confident that we will quickly become the number one in this area.”
The Chinese-language version of Wikipedia, which relies on voluntary users and contributors to ensure its neutrality and objectivity, was enjoying soaring popularity until Beijing blocked access to the site late last year.
Beijing bans many portals to eliminate “harmful” content, including pornography and violence from their websites.
But it also categorises politically sensitive material and some religious content, such as those from Falungong, as “harmful” and regularly shuts down websites containing such information.
Baidupedia bars users from including any “malicious evaluation of the current national system”, any “attack on government institutions” or even “promotion of a dispirited or negative view of life”, the FT said.
Company officials at Baidu could not be immediately reached for comment.
China has roughly 111-million internet users, with the majority being youngsters.
Baidu.com holds a leading share of China’s search market at 37,4%.
Its stock sale in August on Nasdaq was one of the year’s hottest initial public offerings — with its shares surging 354% in one day, prompting some analysts to nickname it the “Chinese Google”. – AFP