China to launch its own version of Wikipedia

China will launch an online encyclopaedia in 2018. According to officials, more than 20,000 people have been hired to produce entries. Unlike Wikipedia, where entries are submitted and edited by volunteers, the Chinese encyclopaedia will be created by scholars from state-run universities. According to the project’s editor-in-chief, Yang Muzhi, ‘The Chinese Encyclopaedia is not a book, but a Great Wall of culture‘. Critics claims that the encyclopaedia is a way for the Chinese government to promote state-approved content, as authorities consider Wikipedia’s appeal in China to be ‘bewitching‘.