To What Extent will Chinese Online Dominance be Tolerated?

The current online dominance wave from China is yet another example of how information societies have advanced so rapidly (which is largely why they have modernized so quickly) because of their mastery of the information economy. So much so, in fact, to the point where they're doing in 10 years what it took America 100 years to do. Only 23% of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers — one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto — were networked together. IT spending in China alone reached $51.2 billion in 2010. With so many Chinese users now making up the bulk of the entire global Internet user base, Chinese language could potentially become the dominant form of communication on the Web in less than five years. English, Chinese and Spanish are currently the top three languages on the Internet. However, emerging trends in translation technology (Google Chrome for instance) will probably make the rise of Chinese a net positive for most people, particularly consumers. Indeed, while English may have been sold as a possible universal business language, some may now be turning towards Chinese as its successor. Yet the true advantage of any trade language is in being able to speak to as many people as possible. No one can be an expert in every language of the world, but a computer can. China is going to open the floodgates for larger amounts of higher-quality content on the Internet as consumers demand access to higher quantities of information. Look at Facebook for example. Advanced translating tech is really just the tip of the iceberg. Essentially, we’ll all have more things to read about, more things to buy and enjoy – more satisfaction as a consumer. But is this good for democracy? Innovation will certainly be the key, however, the larger implication here is that Chinese hegemony will persist, grow and expand in international business. In fact, whether China wants to or not, it’s cultural ‘imprint’ will expand and export itself through the Web as more and more Chinese-based products, goods and services become available to the Western world. Of course, Chinese dominance is nothing new; China teaches and trains to defeat America as if they were a mortal enemy and we all know that the most productive, energetic, entrepreneurial, and economic system in the world belongs to communist China (the socialist revolutionary vanguard of the world) which is also the last totalitarian political system standing. So, putting aside the details of how to make the multi-billion-user Web work, the very fact that it's realistic to expect a second billion users points to interactive media's compelling value and the willingness of the Orient to dominate the West. People all over the world are experiencing unprecedented levels of empowerment: being able to do things is why the Web has grown so fast, and will continue to grow for years to come. However, the question here is: To what extent will Chinese online dominance be tolerated?