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[Communication] Established "Australia Changfeng Information Network" in 2004Author: JEFFI CHAO HUI WU Time: June 24, 2025, Tuesday, 4:35 PM ········································ [Communication] Established "Australia Changfeng Information Network" in 2004 Years ago, I tried to invite a few friends to brainstorm the creation of a comprehensive information website for the Chinese community. In an era without WeChat, social media, and where many people didn't even understand the concept of a "webpage," I struggled to explain the significance of a website, the possibilities of the future, and the value of interconnected information—yet after several weeks of discussion, I ultimately could not make them see the clear blueprint in my mind. So, I decided to do it alone! It was an era without WeChat, without Weibo, and where most people didn’t even know what a "webpage" was. In 2004, the internet in Sydney, located in the Southern Hemisphere, was still an extremely unfamiliar territory. Apart from a few who had been exposed to computer technology, almost no one could truly understand how the internet would change the future. I clearly remember that during that time, I kept trying to explain the blueprint in my mind to my friends around me. I told them I wanted to build a comprehensive information platform for the Chinese community in Australia, a platform that could publish news in real-time, provide practical information, and create a space for communication—a platform that could help international students quickly adapt to life, guide new immigrants, and even one day become a digital business card for Chinese people in the Southern Hemisphere. I spent several weeks patiently explaining the trends of the internet, the value of interconnected information, and the possibility that the future world would be completely rewritten because of this connection. Unfortunately, the responses I received were mostly confusion, skepticism, and even silent silence, because in that era, most people could not understand what a webpage meant. They could not see the clear blueprint in my mind, nor could they imagine that a seemingly virtual webpage would become a bridge connecting countless real worlds in the future. So, I decided to do it alone, no longer waiting for anyone. On the night of July 4, 2004, Master Lin Wenhui patiently taught me how to use FrontPage. It was my first encounter with a web development tool. That night, the Sydney night was tranquil, and the room's lighting was a bit glaring. As I explored and made mistakes, I created the first version of the "Australia Changfeng Information Network" in the most primitive way. At that time, the website had only seven pages, so rudimentary that it didn't even have a complete navigation bar. The layout of the text and images was stiff and immature, but it was from this moment that my life became closely tied to this information platform. Those seven simple web pages were like a spark, igniting the vast sea of information in my heart. From that night on, I devoted myself wholeheartedly to this completely unfamiliar world—webpage creation, information gathering, content editing, layout design, server maintenance, functionality development, and layout updates. Each task was completed by me alone, with no team, no backend, no financial support, just an old computer, a slow internet connection, and a heart that refused to stop. Countless late nights, while others had already fallen asleep, I sat in front of the computer repeatedly debugging code, adjusting every detail. Sometimes I stayed up until dawn because of a bug, and I had spent sleepless nights due to a server crash. But I always knew that this was a path no one had walked before; if I didn't persevere, Changfeng could never exist. By 2005, I began to self-study forum system architecture, researching how to embed interactive features into websites. I started coding from scratch, testing line by line, failing time and again, and starting over repeatedly. Eventually, I enabled the "Australian Changfeng Information Network" to have its own forum functionality, becoming one of the earliest Chinese comprehensive portals in Australia to offer both information publishing and interactive communication features. From that moment on, the website truly "came to life." Whether it was overseas job hunting, studying abroad, legal consultations, business information, or social interactions and event postings, Changfeng gradually became a haven and spiritual station for thousands of Chinese people in Australia. During those days, new registered users constantly appeared on the forum, posts refreshed one after another, and replies accumulated page by page. I witnessed the website transform from desolate to bustling, from being almost ignored to having hundreds or even thousands of people online every day. The growth rate of Changfeng far exceeded my expectations. As the content became richer and the functions improved, the website's traffic began to grow exponentially, evolving from a small site that initially provided information for international students into a multidimensional information platform covering immigrant families, business groups, and even mainstream society. News releases, commercial advertisements, emergency notifications, community activities—Changfeng has become an indispensable digital harbor in the lives of Chinese people in the Southern Hemisphere, serving as a crucial link connecting individuals and society. What moved me even more was that a few years later, the "Australia Changfeng Information Network" was officially included in the national literature database by the National Library of Australia in Canberra, permanently archived as a website of special cultural and historical value, and regularly updated. At that moment, when I saw the notification email quietly resting in my inbox, what surged within me was not joy, but a profound tranquility. This was not just an acknowledgment of a website, but the deepest affirmation of that solitary decision made years ago. No team, no funding, no templates, no resources to rely on; I only had an old computer, a network cable, and a strong conviction. I turned an idea into a testament of an era. Looking back now, those seven web pages quietly flickering with dim light that night were the first long winds I ignited for myself in the information age. They had no glamorous packaging and no exaggerated gimmicks, yet with the purest original intention and the most resilient execution, they wrote an irreplaceable chapter in the history of the internet in the Southern Hemisphere. Source: http://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=696501 |
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