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Chapter 5 Conclusion
Overview of China's Internet policy development, a concept can be summed up.
Namely, internet development and control proceed in parallel. Through strict control, internet develops in a direction according to the plan of the Chinese Communist.
Nonetheless, research results show that China on one hand reduces the impact of internet on its authoritarian regime by means of network control; it on the other hand actively uses network as its political propaganda instrument.
In the transition of political power by reality, we do not see any clue, in such a political body of autocracy as China, whether internet, with the exhibited virtual property, can further become a tool that converts the Chinese communists out of the one-party dictatorship, yet neither is it in sight that internet development will threat the authoritarian regime of China. Although the final conclusion of this study does not offer an optimistic anticipation on the internet democracy of China, the characteristics of internet and understanding of democratic participation will continue to influence the development of democratization in China.
I. Research Findings
Overall speaking, the control of internet development in China exists as a tool of propaganda and ideology for the CCP and thus the nation. Network media serve for the interests of the political party and nation. The political power of the party and the administrative strength of the nation play a very big role of control in China’s communication structure. Research findings are summed in the following.
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A. Internet Becomes a Catalyst to Accelerate China's Democratization?
Nevertheless, it is certain that network plays a certain role in the opening and liberalization of Mainland China. Yet it also further helps China legalize the capability of ruling. The key point is whether the opening reform of the Mainland China lasts as well as whether the magnitude of reform and opening continues to expand. It can be expected that, with the rate of reform and opening increases and socio-economic development progresses in the Mainland China, people will generally have the economic and intellectual conditions to assess internet even if they have difficulty in obtaining the ownership of information resource and are confined under the control of the CCP. It actually means that the type of network control by the CCP is gradually disintegrated.
The internet development in China is built on interpersonal relationship rather than achieved through ownership. Individuals will be given ability. People in the mainland are liberated from the authoritarianism of one-party dictatorship through the widespread use of network. Network will become a catalyst that accelerates a quiet revolution of democratization in the Mainland China.
B. Internet as a Tool of Domination with the Legitimacy and Legality of Regime
Some studies show that: the CCP, on one hand, reduce possible impact of network on its authoritarian regime by means of network control; on the other hand, it actively use the network as the instrument of domination to strengthen the legitimacy and legality of the regime. By combining the two strategies above, China takes the benefits of network but avoid damages from it. Therefore, the argument is presently not conclusive that internet development results in a big threat to the authoritarian regime of the communist China. Likewise, a report from the Rand Corporation, an
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intellectual database company, pointed out that the government of China used advanced technology to combat political dissidents as they increasingly appeared on internet and the repression was very successful, indicating the view was too much exaggerated that internet would bring revolutionary change to China.37
C. Pros and Cons of China’s Internet Regulatory Effectiveness
Cutting in from the perspective of internet technology, the study explores how China regulates internet to achieve its political purposes. In reverse thinking, initiators of China’s network control were international capitalists who provided technical support and cooperative development. Henceforth, the combination of commercial interests also accelerated China to grasp the resource and technology of internet control. However, under the strict guard of China, still a number of groups and dissidents actively look for weak points for China’s network to help internet users in China break through the blockade. It takes time to test the discussions on whether China achieves its goal in network control and on the effectiveness of gains and losses.
II. Impact of Internet Development on its Democratization
The subject of the study is “Impact of China’s Internet Development on Democratization of China.” Internet development and democracy in China are by no means monolithic. The two are inevitably correlated. The experience or statistical results of other nations does not necessarily explain the case of China. Network control in China has its particularity. Its internet development proceeds in parallel
37 Michael S. Chase, James C. Mulvenon(2002), You've Got Dissent! Chinese Dissident Use of the Internet and Beijing's Counter-Strategies, Rand Corporation, pp49.
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with network control, and it continuously build up network control mechanism with national strength and capital.
Moreover, the dilemma between economic development and network control is not necessarily true as viewed by scholars mentioned in this study. On the contrary, under commercial mechanism, business body can even agree to accept China’s network regulation for entering the China market, and the network regulatory mechanism built with the strength of the whole nation allows China to effectively regulate and control network information, which had the capability of small-scale and short-term blockade that does not cause damage to its economic development. In this logic, economic power can still make the network control more closely and even assist in the control. With that, democratic related information in China’s network becomes more difficult to survive.
Annexing to the above discussion, the author believes that the impact results from three factors: the first is the trend of globalization and information technology;
the second is that, as the world advances the information technology to enhance national power, China also accelerates internet construction to escalate its national competitiveness; the third is that, when internet and the technology become weapons of a new type, China is then committed to internet development to ensure national security and to fight against peaceful evolution.
According to democratic standards from Schudson,38 a well known American media scholar, the so-called democratization standards can be summarized as follows:
38 Schudson, M.(1998) . The Public Journalism Movement and its Problem. In Doris Graber, Denis McQuail & Pippa Norris(eds), The Politics of News: The News of Politics.pp:132-149. Washington,
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A. People can get fair and adequate information from media, and make judgment.
B. The Medias should provide a channel to help people realize the complex political and social environment.
C. The Medias should provide an expression channel to help different groups raise their opinions.
D. The Medias should replace as public to speak and gather public’s interests.
E. The Medias should provide an open platform for people to talk each other.
Comparison China’s internet features as follows:
A. Under CCP’s internet control, the Chinese internet users can’t get fair and adequate information to make judgments.
B. The internet forum could offer a channel in the cracks to help Chinese internet users realize the complex political and social environment.
C. The internet could limit service different groups to provide a platform to raise their opinions.
D. The internet could be replaced public to speak and gather public interesting, particularly the emergencies happen, it obviously to show its function.
E. People can use the internet equipment and earn knowledge from internet, they can be fair to attend the discussion on the forum.
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Although the democratic standards on Chinese internet forum didn’t totally meet Schudson’s standard, however, it has owned a prototype and potential is expected in the future.
The most noteworthy trend is China’s internet forum to practice public domain will increase continuously. If from the long-term history to compare the before and after the internet’s appear, we can better understand the changes for intellectual expression space. It has several noteworthy development trends:
A. Expanding comments space.
B. The rise of intellectuals’ website.
C. The deepen of democratic discussion.
D. To challenge judicial authority.
E. Dialogue between the intellectuals and socials.
III. The Relation Between Internet and Democracy Has Become More and More Complicated.
The internet population in China has reached 513 million and its penetration has overtaken the average of world standard. The contents from the internet are rich and diversity; it has also changed people’s thinking and ideology. Additional, the unique of the media bring impact and pressure to China’s regime which was used to control the public opinion. In particularly, the current Internet users highly concerned about the corruption, the gap between rich and poor, industry monopoly, social injustice, urban-rural imbalance and other issues. If the China’s regime has slightest neglect, it may arise out of control situation. This time Chinese Jasmine revolution was not
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further expand but it has make a warning to China’s regime. Although the China’s regime still tries to use powerful method to deal with any protests, they also realize that the public power from the network connected was so powerful. Like the China’s Jasmine action and Wukan village event. When CCP used internet as a propaganda tool, on the contrary, Chinese people not only use internet to supervise CCP’s corruption and other unfair events but also use this platform to express their democratic demands. I believe that the CCP will still strengthen its control power of internet but Chinese internet users will also find their way to create next possibility of democracy.
To sum up, the relations between internet and democracy in China has become more and more complicated and it involved political, economical, and other huge benefits. It is worth to watching how CCP continuing its control and development of internet and its impact to China’s democracy in the future.
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