internet - BBC World reports on the firewall

The BBC summerizes some viewpoints of more famous internet users on how they see the internet in China. A few quotes:

Filmmaker Hu Ge:

In the past, if you were a song writer, a novelist, a film maker or a painter, you must have a deal with a TV station, a film company or a publisher.
With the internet, nowadays people can by-pass these traditional organizations and upload their works directly and pass your work directly to your audience.

Dissident writer Liu Xiaobo:

The internet is the best gift god could send to China for the people of China to claim their rights.