media - Will the censorship survive (and still make sense)?

When foreign media start to write in very broad terms about 'censorship' or 'China' (like here the Financial Times, quoted by Economists' View) I feel uncomfortable by the massive simplification even a paper like the FT has to use for its more educated readers. It is all a big more complicated.
Each medium has its own style and department in charge of censorship, the internet even has more than 15 government departments overseeing its operation, making it into the most liberated medium within China. Our weblogger wonders:

Does technology make open debate simply a matter of time, or can the ruling party effectively censor and control the flow of information?

It is partly technology, but also the way the Chinese bureaucracy deals with it. Lets look into a possibly scenario when - as it seems now at least likely - 3G will move much of the content-delivery to the telecom regime. None of the existing restrictions and the related departments will be in charge. Will the telecom industry censor themselves? Most likely, but they have a profound interest in doing a better job than the current media. More choice, more freedom and 3G could be rather closely connected.
It might also allow foreign media a chance to enter China in a way other media do not allow. When this scenario applies, that is.