Remember when text messaging wasn't that big of a deal? Way back before touch screens and T9, when your elders had barely gotten used to having a cellular phone on them? Well, the halcyon days of instant communication technology are long gone - if you're one of the "after 90" generation, you've grown up in constant contact with friends, family and the rest of the world. more ›

We already knew that Chinese blogs were some of the main free speech forums in the country, but another form of electronic communication is getting recognized as an opportunity for uncensored commentary: text messaging. A recent NPR piece says texting is popular in China not only because it is relatively inexpensive, but also because it is out of the range of government censorship, at least for now. In a culture that is traditionally emotionally reserved, texting can also be an easier way to express intimate feelings without all the awkwardness of live personal interaction. Whereas courtship-via-text might be frowned upon in Europe or the U.S., it's all part of the dating ritual here in China, from the earliest flirtations to the eventual heartbreak. Alvin Graylin, the CEO of mInfo (which owns Guanxi), a Shanghai-based phone accessory company, explains:

"Chinese are a little more indirect. They don't like to always say what they really mean," says Graylin. "It's easier to sometimes communicate through a short message, a small communication of what you're looking for, than to call somebody and have to explain everything."

When Wong Lei's boyfriend broke up with her, he did it via text message. more ›