Xiao Qiang: "China's First Internet-Organized Protests"
China's First Internet-Organized Protests. A very good article by Xiao Qiang in April 27th's edition of Asia Wall Street Journal. It analyzes the role that internet technologies have played in the recent Anti-Japanese protests in China, the differences between recent protests and the ones in 1989 and the extend in which the protests are bottom-up grassroot efforts.
It is a pitty that the article is behind the paid-registration wall. Below is a glimpse to some of the points covered in the article. Isaac has a bit more plus the latest public opinion on the protests from Chinese blogosphere.
The author concludes that:
Update: Here is the entire article.
It is a pitty that the article is behind the paid-registration wall. Below is a glimpse to some of the points covered in the article. Isaac has a bit more plus the latest public opinion on the protests from Chinese blogosphere.
"while using the Internet to organize protests threatens the authorities' traditional mechanisms of social control, that is still a far cry from the emergence of a social movement that can truly challenge the government. That requires not just an understanding of modern technology, but a strong emotional or ideological motivation that is shared by the participants, and the political space that allows them to take action.
[...]
This time around there are no clearly identifiable leaders to go after...the anti-Japan demonstrations are endorsing government policy, rather than challenging it. That means these demonstrations, can only exist in a political space temporarily provided by the government for its own purposes."
The author concludes that:
By providing space for a pluralistic debate on such a heated topic, the Internet allows rational voices to be heard, and may ultimately help aid the development of civil society.
Update: Here is the entire article.
