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risks that the type of network democracy, in which people shoot their opinions as if they utter randomly and noisily in one place, appears in a country that uses internet as national apparatus and stresses unity of caliber in uttering any word.
B. Contradiction between Information Flow and Control
The free flow of network information will always be contrary to China's information control and become a Gordian knot. On the contrary, the trust of online information by internet users increases. A survey showed that 84.3% of internet users replied that network is the most important channel for information; 48% of them trusted network more than television32. Nonetheless, internet actually contains a huge amount of false messages due to the property of anonymity and freedom of mobility.
Not only does the existence of security risks at the technical level, such as phishing, viruses, Trojans, and so on become a hurdle to the development of e-commerce, online payment, and other applications, but the long-term performance of China’s information control makes it even hard for network flow to enter the phase of credibility.
Section 2 Impact of Internet on the Democracy of China
Before the advent of the Internet, it was by no means to imagine that a scholar, with his speech being blocked, could present his speech to affect the community.
Using the communication feature of network, Li Shan Zhi was able to break the blockade to voice on the network and let his friends, intellectuals, and ordinary people to hear him, influencing at least several hundred thousand people33. With the rapid growth of internet users in Mainland China and ever-renovating software that breaks
32Quoted from CNNIC “The 24th China Internet Development Statistics Report”, 30 June 2009
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internet blockade, the monitoring of internet in the future will become increasingly difficult.
I. Network Communication and the Challenge of Public Opinion Guide
Analysis shows China’s internet policy is both open and control. The challenge of CCP’s ability as a ruling party by network communication, including that network communication breaks China’s control uniformity of public opinion and impacts construction of communist ideology. To adapt to this change, China is bound to change its internet policy. The former concept of China’s government, such as “Do as I command” and “Guide public opinion”, conflicts prevailing international rules.
The so-called “public opinion guide” will certainly face new challenges. The
“public opinion guide” will be challenged by the new form of social consciousness.
As internet users are deeply immersed in western ideology, combined with the reality of China, a new social consciousness is created that is more independent, more open, more equal, and more democratic of the time. With that, the implementation of one-sided, one-way, and even some rough public opinion guide is certainly hard to receive a good result of dissemination. It may even arouse antagonistic public opinions.
II. Thought Control and Manipulation of National Awareness
At the present time the place that could most reflect freedom of expression in China on internet would no longer be tightly controlled official portals but electronic bulletin boards, internet forums, and chat areas that were scattered all over the country. With the popularity of internet and computers in the mainland community,
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residents of coastal cities who own computers will touch different political views in these discussion areas. That will slowly shake the thought control to the people by the Chinese communist regime and bring certain impact and shock to political development on the mainland.
The CCP advocates national awareness on internet, but when manipulating the ethnic awareness, China is bound to appreciate that, although the national sentiment can be a useful tool, it may also become a scourge once out of control. Moreover, promiscuous and diversified as it often is, speech presented in network forums is not the same as the official “patriotism” advertised by traditional mainstream media. In the discussion of issues about the influence of internet on the democratization of China, speech presented in network forums is more extensive, including various perspectives such as nation, regional identity, economic factors, historical context, and so forth, for shaping the future image of nationalism and pluralist democracy. On the contrary, the CCP worries about the trend, fearing the loss of leading and control of public opinions. Thus, it does everything possible to prevent the so-called “harmful information.”
III. Comment on the Democratization of Mainland China by Internet
For CCP, the creation of internet democracy might be negative in the aspect of political development in Mainland China, but, from the perspective of western political science, views were actually very positive. With enhancement of political participation, national system will be moved from authoritarianism toward democracy because the mechanism of checks and balances is generated. The so-called political
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stability by the Communist China will also be replaced with constant change due to the generation of rapid and continuous transition by internet development.
In the long term, the author remains skeptical. The CCP can proceed with reform of institutions and systems, but it remains solid as a monolith for its party organization so as to hold a strong support when facing challenge by the power of society. Nevertheless, the change of the organization itself can be expected when it faces the trend of information society.
Affected by North Africa and Middle East Asian countries people’s against authoritarian governments in power, so called “Jasmine Revolution”, the people of the 13 cities in Mainland China walked out on February 20 from the call of Internet’s connectivity and walked without a clear subject assembly, or said it is Chinese Jasmine Revolution34. China's public security department had been alert in major cities, besides to rapidly arrest participants in rallies, to disperse the assembled crowd, detention and monitoring many human rights activists. However, this inter-city held simultaneously the autonomy of the collective action of the masses had caused high tension of the leadership authority of the CCP and foreign media’s widely reported, and thus from all walks of life were also great concern to its subsequent development as well as the political influence to the CCP. The Chinese Jasmine activity had been suppressed by China, however, much critical analysis also considered that this is just an isolated incident and micro impact. In fact, it has re-ignited the fire, called on the mass rallies from network connected, to become political pressure. Therefore it will have a considerable impact to China’s political development in the future.
34 Time World : State Stamps Out Small 'Jasmine' Protests in China, By Austin Ramzy, Published : February 20, 2011,
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2052860,00.html#ixzz1m3GAk56e
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After the Tiananmen incident in 1989 and following the Falung Gong Tiananmen Square rallies and the protest of “To promote mandarin and abolition of Cantonese” in Guangzhou, the Chinese Jasmine activity in China was one of the large scale spontaneous political mass rallies35. Compared with other social protests relevant to urban management, land acquisition, and cadre’s abuse of power caused by local grassroots personal interests, this large-scale spontaneous mass political rallies were more able to generate political pressure to show people’s strong challenge to CCP’s regime and governance legitimacy. However, this also made the Chinese Communist leadership more timid for people’s power, and continued closely controlling the occurrence of spontaneous mass rallies, and increased the suppress power to dissidents.
Figure 9: The first time mass rally in Beijing.
Source: Wikipedia
The Chinese Jasmine activity was called through network connected, and showed the information technology, and communication internet development in China has been quite mature. The urban middle class and political dissidents could avoid CCP’s surveillance through the emerging network technology to “over the
35 Southern Metropolis Daily: Guangzhou TV stations Switch to Mandarin, By Sun Ying, July 6th,
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firewall” to discuss political and social issues, even interlinked to form a collective action. As the progress of information technology, people’s political autonomy has raised and this similar action called through the network will become more common.
The CCP will strengthen management but it will also be exhausted, while increasing its social and financial costs in the treatment and suppression relevant actions.
Finally, the CCP’s capability to control and repression social and political dissents on network will become severely weakened.
The Chinese Jasmine action was held simultaneously in various cities, it was forming a collective pressure action cross provinces and cities, and it is not only in outside Beijing but also happened in the central square of major cities. It became an everywhere effect and possibility of “A single spark can start a prairie fire”. The spontaneous political assemblies between people will still be spread around the whole big cities in China.
There are many “Chinese Jasmine Revolution” websites springing up like mushrooms after “Chinese Jasmine Action” explored. There was even a “Chinese Jasmine Revolution” website created by Chinese Jasmine Revolution initiator (pseudonym) who desired to call on netizen joined this Chinese Jasmine Revolution groups, named shadow group36. This website not only published diverse information to notify people time and place to mass rallies but also taught people how to escape CCP’s monitor on internet. Of course, all members of this website are joined anonymous and its server was set on other region outside of China. Until February 16, 2012, the network flow has reached more than 8 million and 731 thousand times. Thousand of people discussed and expressed their desire for democracy and unsatisfied with CCP’s regime on these “Chinese Jasmine Revolution” websites.
36 Molihua website link : http://www.molihua.org/
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：Chinese Jasmine Revolution website lists Table 3
Item Name Website
1 China Molihua Revolution http://www.molihua.org/
2 China Jasmine Revolution http://www.facebook.com/Chinarevolution 3 China Affairs http://www.chinaaffairs.org
4 Fireofliberty http://www.fireofliberty.org
5 Wolfax http://www.wolfax.com
6 Futurechinafourm http://bbs.futurechinafourm.org 7 China Support Network http://www.chinasupport.net 8 Huanghuagang http://www.huanghuagang.org Source: adapted from author’s collected.
balan
It seems no clear subject for this Chinese Jasmine action, but actually the people spontaneously walked on street to express dissatisfaction and ire to the CCP’s official power abuse and corruption. It had caused many economical and social problems, including inequitable distribution, rising prices, countries and people’s assets to profiteers. People dissatisfied with CCP official corruption due to its long-term one-party dictatorship, and lack of powers of oversight and political checks and ces, resulting inner-party supervision failure, and accountability system failure.
Thus, when CCP tightly controlled media to beautify the occasion of its governance and performance, the network with public opinion has enough to replace the media watchdog. It had exposed the CCP’s lack of ruling, so it could be quickly called on the masses and held rallies in major cities. If the CCP continues its one-party dictatorship, and adhered to the current governance model and media
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control mechanism, once the dissatisfaction with the political and social issues happened in the future, people will still walk on the street called through internet to expr
joining democratic activities on internet. It is worth to notice its future development.
IV. China’s First Successful Democracy
f Wukan protesters and agree their request to re-election the village head of Wukan.
ess their opposing views to those in power.
During this new wave of global democratization, whether the seedlings of democracy would be flowered in China is unknown but Chinese people have begun
Follow the wave of Jasmine Revolution, in September last year, villagers, from Wukan village of Guandong province, walked on the streets to protest against corruption and land disputes. The occasion was the original village head of Wukan sold villagers’ land but without properly compensation, it caused Wukan villagers anger to official’s corruption and power abuse. Therefore the leader of protesters organized people to protest on the streets to express their dissatisfaction, before the official powerful interference, the Chinese-foreign medias have rapidly report this land dispute in Wukan and spread to the whole world via the internet very soon.
Finally, the Guangdong party Chief Wang Yang negotiated with the delegate o
Figure ukan village
Source: Epochtimes.com 10: Protesters of W
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he rapid reaction on internet and to show Chinese people’s desired for democracy.
eople and Media Claimed that this is China’s First Successful Democracy.
As people know that the most officers in China are almost assigned from the CCP. However this time, the Chinese authorities allowed Wukan villagers to vote their village head instead of assigned from the party. During early March in 2012, Wukan villagers finished their first anonymous votes and then an elective village head was born. This is a historic time for China’s democracy. The most amazing thing is that these elected committees of Wukan are the leaders of protesters. Compared the other disputes cases in China, most protester leaders was arrested by Chinese polices and imprisoned, even some of them were died with unknown reason. This is also a democratic case which was through t
Figure 11: Villagers of Wukan voted for their committee members Source: Chinanews.com