China Compiles Its Own Wikipedia, but Public Can’t Edit It

Contact is taking a holiday!

Contact is taking a break after 25 years of bringing you news of Tibet and Tibetan issues. We are celebrating our 25 years by bringing you the story of Contact and the people who have made it happen, and our archive is still there for you to access at any time, and below you can read the story of Contact, how it came into being and the wonderful reflections of the people who have made it happen over the years.

When and how Contact will re-emerge and evolve will be determined by those who become involved.

May 4, 2017;

By Associated press,

Wikipedia’s Mandarin article on censorship in China is seen in this screenshot captured May 4, 2017.

China is compiling a free online encyclopedia to rival Wikipedia, but it will likely only give Beijing’s official version of sensitive historical events, and the public won’t be able to write or edit it.

Instead, scholars and experts hand-picked by Beijing say only they will be able to make entries — the latest example of the Chinese government’s efforts to control information available on the internet.

The effort to compile 300,000 entries is being led by the ruling Communist Party’s central propaganda department.

Senior editor Jiang Lijun says the online Chinese Encyclopedia will focus primarily on entries that are less likely to change rather than recent events, and subjects that have academic value.

Currently, the Chinese Wikipedia is inaccessible in the mainland.