China and the Internet-the next big thing?

May 4th, 2006, filed by Astrid Zweynert

Is the Internet a tool that will democratise all who use it? Is the Internet likely to threaten communist rule in China? Is the West’s concern about democratisation of the Internet in China an obsession that hinders analysis of all the other changes going on there? These were some of the issues that opened discussions at the second day of the We Media event, held at Reuters global headquarters in London.

Many Western commentators predicted just a few years ago that the Internet would spell the end of communist rule but there remain no signs of a mass political movement organising itself online to bring this about.

The question raised during a Q&A session at We Media was to what extent censorship, as an obsession of Western media, means that study of the Internet in China is skewed. Does the Wests concern about censorship have a disproportionate effect on the way that the Internet in China is perceived?

Some delegates participating in the Q&A session suggested that it was wrong for Western observers to apply their own standards to the Chinese market and to patronise Internet users there for reluctance to use the medium to circulate political views.

David Schlesinger, Reuters managing editor and a former bureau chief in Beijing, observed that while the Internet has begun to take off as a tool for entertainment and business in China, it has not yet done so for politics.

He said, however, that it was important to put the discussion in some perspective because the number of active internet users is still a small proportion of the population as a whole.
He added: When you talk about the digital divide, it’s there and it’s important but in China you’re talking about a thin layer of the urban elite and within that you’re talking about a very thin layer that wants to talk about politics. The rest of them are not talking about politics.’

Schlesinger suggested that this could be an unstated bargain between the state and individuals. He said:

There is a compact that the Chinese state has made with its people in that you can express yourself through economics or culture but not politics. It is an unstated bargain that most people have accepted. It does affect people but it doesnt effect a movement.

Rebecca MacKinnon, the co-founder of the citizens’ media blogging operation Global Voices, questioned how problematic the censorship problems which exist in China may prove for Western companies. All Chinese companies are expected to monitor their services for political content - how big a problem is this, she wondered.

Marcus Xiang, who launched mobile blogging service provider PDX.CN in 2004, rejected suggestions that this would prove seriously problematic and gave a sense of his own experience as an Internet entrepreneur in the Chinese market. Users are not interested in politics, they are more interested in personal experiences. Im comfortable with the current government, we have a great economy, great opportunities. I can go to the U.S. to develop my business but I dont want to. I want to stay in China to develop my business. The Chinese government wants to take it gradually.

Xiang added that like Chinese companies, Western companies, such as Google, who are moving into the domestic Chinese market, simply have to follow local customs and laws.

My suggestion to the management of Google, is that they should comply with the law. When the law changes, you can change your operation. Right now, as a business, Google complies with the policies and laws in place.

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