Later on June 27th, Ran’s lawyer confirmed that his case has been returned by Chengdu Intermediate Court because of lack evidence. On August 9th 2011, Ran was released from detention center in Dujiangyan and returned home in Sichuan.21 Although Ran was released but this is not the only one case, there were many people arrested because of engaging in internet activities.
To further control and restrain potential dissidents, the CCP shut down thousands of internet cafes, place where it was the only opportunity to access internet for many people who could not afford to buy computers. The China administration installed surveillance cameras in the internet cafes, required that internet users must register their ID numbers, and threatened to close unregistered websites and web blogs22. The “Borderless Reporter Organization” criticized that western companies not only failed to use their influence to promote freedom of expression and information in China, but compromised to the Chinese Communists. Now it is time that Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft should begin to think about the moral consequences that they have brought to China with their business activities.
Section 2 Relationship between Internet and Democracy
The trend of internet “globalization” will also become the most important characterization in future human society. The birth and rise of the internet has brought an epoch of revolutionized influence on global information technology. Not only has internet development offered a new communication tool and information channel for the Mainland China across the straight, but it has also provided various media a new
ACOBS,
21 The New York Times : China Releases Dissident Blogger, With Conditions, By ANDREW J Published: August 10, 2011,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/world/asia/11blogger.html?_r=1&ref=china
22 The so-called web blog is the fourth way of network communication after email, BBS, and ICQ.
‧
way to enter the society of China. Publishing “Communication and Democracy” in 1997, Christopher Kedzie argued that, in statistical studies, democracy and the technology growth of communication and information have a positive correlation, and meanwhile he proposed the concept of coincident revolution23.
In exploring the relationship between internet in China and democracy, we started with China’s internet policy, internet control vs. democratic participation on network, and the nature of the internet and information, to understand the interactive relationship between internet and democracy.
I. Connection between Network Democracy and Democratization
In the process of economic development, authoritarian countries need advanced communication and communication technologies, and these communication technologies, especially internet, will open the doors to the authoritarian countries so that democratic thoughts will enter the authoritarian countries.
“Internet democracy” is accompanied by the concept of virtual politics. The latter was proposed by American scholar Mark Slouka. It means a democracy mediated by internet, a democracy infiltrated by network components. Namely, known as “electronic democracy” or “digital democracy”, it is a democracy with new channel and new form realized by network information technology24. The connection between network democracy and democratization has the following characteristics.
ew
23 Kedzie C. (1997). "Communication and Democracy. Coincident Revolution and the Emergence of the Dictators Dilemma." RAND Graduate School, Santa Monica, CA,
http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/RGSD127/sec1.html
24 Slouka, Mark. (1995), “War of the Worlds: Cyberspace and the High-Tech Assault on Reality”, N York: Basic Books, New York, p166.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
A. Internet Users Become the Main Promoters of Democratic Force
In 2008, U.S. presidential election for the first time launched a televised debate from the questions of internet users and used the internet blogs to win over popular opinions and enhance poll results. With web strategy as one of the keys for his victory, Mr. Obama was also known as “network president”. It shows the influence of internet on politics could have not been overlooked since some time ago.
Figure 5: American President Barack Obama used the internet as his propaganda tool to win election.
Source: http://www.socialtechpop.com/2011/04/president-barack-obama-live-chat-on- on-facebook/
Interaction among internet users in the world of network ensures real-time transmission of information, while characteristics of democratic mechanism are participation, dialogue, and communication. By way of equal debate and interrogation, citizens reflect their wills and exercise their civil rights. With the great contributions of internet inventers, not only is the technology given human elements and civil spirit,
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
but it is also provided with methods and ways for materialization of the human elements and civil spirit.
As the world's most populous country, China surpassed the United States in 2008 and became the most populous in internet. Up to date, the internet population of China is still rapidly growing by the rate of super multiplication. Although facing global financial crisis, China remains great intensity in network infrastructure.
Especially in the program that domestic appliances go to the villages the government subsidizes information products such as mobile phones, computers, and so forth. It shows China is spending full effort in establishing a complete network in the nation.
Internet is irreplaceable to China’s web population in communicating civil opinions and expressing civil status. The rampant development of internet and passion of internet users in participating in discussion of political topics have greatly changed the political landscape of China’s democracy. However, China’s policy and control toward internet are still variables as China moves on to democracy in the future.
B. Network Control and Democratic Speech
In view of how internet brought democracy into China, Morris (2000:186) had a statement, which was in fundamental contradiction that puzzled dictatorship:
“economy will not grow without intensively using computer, but the flow of information can be out of control if every one can use computer.” The basic discourse is exactly the same as that of Kedzie, where Morris was more optimistic in democratic vision that internet would bring to China.
Compared with the optimistic perspective of Morris, the “democracy” in China today as a political system, the author thinks, should still get a negative response
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
when we examine whether internet has brought democracy into China after it has been connected for twenty years25 and its commercialization has proceeded for more than twenty years. Although scholars such as Michael Fromkin, took it more fairly that internet and global communication has effectively changed the political system.
For example, in China, “facsimile communication and CNN camera restricted the repression capacity of the China regime in the Tiananmen massacre” (quoted from Yang Du and Liu Zi Hua, 2001). Viewed as of today, the control by the China government in clamping down democratic speech on the network is still quite effective.
C. Internet Users’ Participation in Democracy and Consolidation in National Ideology
With the advent of Internet in a new era, it brings more challenges to social and political systems in China. Hence, on one hand it is necessary to strengthen internet monitoring and control and to avoid that internet becomes one of the channels for the international community to conduct “peaceful evolution” toward Mainland China; on the other hand, China controls internet to achieve its political propaganda. That becomes one of the most difficult issues that the central administration of China presently faces.
China always holds a sense of the urgency of danger as to the assimilation of capitalist countries because it is one of the few remaining big nations of communism.
It regards the American proposed peaceful evolution as force invasion and escalates it to ideological struggle. Today, in the popularity of internet, western information finds one more convenient channel to enter the Mainland China. It makes China even more
25 In 1987, China Academic Network issued the first email “cross the great wall; lead to the world”,
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
so concern about the peaceful evolution. Thus, Jiang Zemin stressed that the internet must be “actively developed and intensively managed”. During the development, China spent a considerable amount of manpower and materials in organizing internet police force, developing administrative software, and specifying rigorous regulations.
In addition, it also made good use of internet features, employing the internet as an effective tool for propaganda and management. As far as the consolidation of domestic ideology, it, placing patriotism and cultural-nationalism, calls for the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics to consolidate the consensus of people against the western peaceful evolution.