An area I know little about: China. I am pretty unclear as to how things work over there, other than the fact that it is NOT democratic, human rights are at times infringed upon, and that Chinese officials are stubborn as hell when it comes to exchange rate policy.
But a topic I am MOST interested in is the potential that the internet has on influencing and strengthening the public, all around the world, in all types of regimes. I mean to say, the internet can facilitate the government’s accountable to the public in democracies, just as in un-democratic countries it can help the people share information and mobilize against oppressive regimes.
In Nicholas Kristof’s article, Banned in Beijing, the author confronts the problems of internet censorship within Chinese borders.Imagine: you fly in to China, find some wifi, and can not sign on to Facebook. Devastation and withdrawal systems follow. But for the average Chinese internet surfer (there are 450 million of them) they know no Facebook, as the government has blocked it completely.
In China, any website, be it a blog, “microblog” or online community that posts negative material about the Chinese government is “harmonized”, to use Chinese terminology. That means internet moderators block the website or negative political content in order to bring harmony to society. In Facebook’s case, they know how easy it would be for people to log on and share harsh criticism with a vast network of citizens from across the land.
If you want to speak out against Chinese government within China, and your blog or statement draws enough public attention, it’s going to get shut down, just as Kristof’s microblog did. Officials simply don’t want to risk the possibility of people joining together over computer networks, as that may jeopardize the legitimacy of the government. If more citizen’s were aware of problems facing other countrymen in other regions of China, perhaps there would be a greater national movement to overthrow the current government in China.
The internet, and the resources it allows people to access almost instantly, will seriously shape the political arena in years to come. This article was a great example, first hand, of how internet censorship takes place, and the consequences that result from the lack of open and free information. If the internet allows more people to see the realities of the way their governing officials operate, it allows for the opportunity, or at least the desire, for change in government. Just as in the US, the internet has allowed us to hold our leaders more accountable, in China, it may just have the ability to help bring down a suppressive Chinese government.