The Tao of the Web: China and the future of the Internet

The Tao of the WebChina and the Global Internet

Rebecca MacKinnon

Open Society FellowAssistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre,

University of Hong KongCo-Founder, Global Voices

Blog: RConversation.comemail: [email protected]

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License. To view acopy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons,171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

“The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it.”

--- Lao-tzu, The Tao-te ChingChapter 29, No.1


Cultural loss of control: “Back dorm boys”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2HOD-nrOY8






Premier Wen Jiabaoʼs 2-hour live chat with “netizens”


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGSd6qrZ-Ok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGSd6qrZ-Ok

Gov.cn


Gov.cn


http://www.gov.cn/test/flash/flash.htm

http://www.gov.cn/test/flash/flash.htm

E - “Two Congresses”National Peopleʼs Congress & Chinese Peopleʼs Political Consultative Conference

http://elianghui.people.com.cn






Sign up for a “membership

badge”






Sign up for a “membership

badge”

Two suggestions for fighting corruption

Crackdown on ads for illegal medicine as hard as the anti-porn crackdown

Suggestions for improving safety in coal mines




Proposal to abolish one child policy

“End the one-child policy, restore population growth to a sustainable

rate”


Proposal to abolish one child policy

“End the one-child policy, restore population growth to a sustainable

rate”

Don’t we have enough people?

Uphold the reproductive rights of the Han Chinese race!

Reward single childless people with free health care...

Deng Xiaoping himself said that the one-child policy would be for 30 years!


Chinese cyber-glasnost???


Not so fast...

Wang Xiaofeng: people are getting too emotional .. “...without a proper [political] structure all

Premier Wen can do is interact with people on an emotional

level...”


Not so fast...



level...”

“Due to certain problems Wang Xiaofengʼs blog is closed temporarily (for a few days)”


Sorry, due to a sudden case, plus the two-space- conferences, plus having

mentioned Pre-space-mier-space Wen, therefore Teacher Wangʼs blog

has been temporarily “smutted”...please have patience

until the two-space-meetings are over.

Not so fast...



level...”

“Due to certain problems Wang Xiaofengʼs blog is closed temporarily (for a few days)”


Dissidents are still in jail


Cyber-tarianism?President Hu Jintao (June 2008):

“We pay great attention to suggestions and advice from our netizens. We stress the idea of

"putting people first" and "governing for the people." With this in mind, we need to listen to people's voices extensively and pool the people's wisdom when

we take actions and make decisions. The web is an

important channel for us to understand the concerns of the

public and assemble the wisdom of the public.”


http://video.sina.com.cn/news/c/v/2008-06-20/105617742.shtml


Cyber-tarianism?President Hu Jintao (June 2008):

“We pay great attention to suggestions and advice from our netizens. We stress the idea of

"putting people first" and "governing for the people." With this in mind, we need to listen to people's voices extensively and pool the people's wisdom when

we take actions and make decisions. The web is an

important channel for us to understand the concerns of the

public and assemble the wisdom of the public.”

• “Authoritarian deliberation” (Yongnian Zheng)http://video.sina.com.cn/news/c/v/2008-06-20/105617742.shtml

Technological Empowerment: The Internet, State, and Society in China






Common Western paradigm for Chinese Internet controls: makes it

harder to understand Cyber-tarianism


“Iron curtain 2.0”(h/t Lokman Tsui)

Photo courtesy “PC fish” on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Point_Alpha_Ostseite.jpg (GNU Free Documentation License)


The “Great Firewall” in action


“Net nanny”

Photo courtesy “merwing” at http://flickr.com/photos/merwing/2569326878/ (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license)


http://flickr.com/photos/merwing/2569326878/

http://flickr.com/photos/merwing/2569326878/

Inside the firewall: Search censorship Image search for “Tiananmen massacre”


Tianya blog service: Blog post about

“Tiananmen Mothers”

Censorship by Chinese blog-hosting companies


Your post “Tiananmen mothers organization publishes a website” has been successfully submitted! Because it

contains sensitive words, please wait for the community editors to approve it. Please donʼt re-post. Thank you.

CENSORED


Sina.com: Report about explosion in Xinjiang, published successfully, but...


Post is removed within 24 hours.Error message at same URL: “Sorry, the blog address

you visited does not exist.”

8 OUT OF 15 BLOG SERVICES TESTED CENSORED THIS CONTENT


Tests show blogs are censored by companies, amount and methods very decentralized

Company A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

0 27 54 81 108

1

3

9

13

17

19

20

22

24

26

27

31

34

44

60

Number of blog posts tested

Blog

ser

vice

s

NOTE: Company names have been replaced with letters due to concerns that companies who censor

less will be subject to repercussions.

For more about Chinese blog censorship see February issue

of First Monday at:http://firstmonday.org

15 blog hosts tested, 108 valid tests


http://firstmonday.org

http://firstmonday.org

Chinese web management: Hydro-electric engineering?

Photos: LEFT: “noelinthebahamas” on Flickr at http://flickr.com/photos/noelinthebahamas/2417798169/ (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND)RIGHT: “yunmeng” on Flickr at http://flickr.com/photos/yunmeng/323886547/ (Creative Commons BY-NC-SA)


http://flickr.com/photos/noelinthebahamas/2417798169/

http://flickr.com/photos/noelinthebahamas/2417798169/

http://flickr.com/photos/yunmeng/323886547/sizes/m/in/photostream/

http://flickr.com/photos/yunmeng/323886547/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Riot in Wengʼan county, Guizhou province, Julyʼ08Summer 2008 marked a shift in

official media strategy: let official news agencies cover

bad breaking stories to get the official version out quickly, then

censor unofficial versions.


“Pushups” were used by bloggers

to talk about Wengʼan incident

This Sina.com website no longer exists


“Pushups” were used by bloggers

to talk about Wengʼan incident

This Sina.com website no longer exists

3 images from: http://www.caobian.info/?p=3778Tuesday, March 3, 2009

http://www.caobian.info/?p=3778

http://www.caobian.info/?p=3778

“Rivercrab”“Harmonious”

Political joke: “River crab wears three watches”


Anti-censorship Protest video: “song of the alpaca sheep”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3tPA_Z_MT0






River crabs vs. alpaca sheep


Cyber civil war 2.0？


Cyber-nationalism


V.P. Xi Jinping in Mexico

Some foreigners who have eaten their fill have nothing better to do than point their

fingers at our affairs.





“It is only by way of this frankness that the confidence of a responsible big power can be better displayed; it is only by way of this frankness that the bright attitude of an increasingly powerful China can best be shown; and also it is only with this frankness

our fellow countrymen will feel excited.”





“It is only by way of this frankness that the confidence of a responsible big power can be better displayed; it is only by way of this frankness that the bright attitude of an increasingly powerful China can best be shown; and also it is only with this frankness

our fellow countrymen will feel excited.”

“Vice President Xi Jinping is so cool! He trashed the unfriendly

foreigners.”


“Fifty Cent party” paid & volunteer web commentators


Cyber-vigilantism“Human flesh search engines”


Cyber-vigilantism“Human flesh search engines”

Cyber-Maoism?


Cyber police


Cyber bonapartism?“a broad centrist

political movement that advocates the idea of a strong and centralized

state, based on popular support.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonapartism




Cyber-confucianism?

“importance of education for moral development of the individual so that the state can be governed by moral virtue rather than by the use of coercive laws.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism




Cyber-ocracy?

2008 Chinese Blogger Conference, Guangzhou.Photos courtesy “HKdom” http://www.flickr.com/photos/hkdom/3046205362/

and http://www.flickr.com/photos/hkdom/3046219444/in/photostream/ Tuesday, March 3, 2009

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hkdom/3046205362/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hkdom/3046205362/

Isaac Mao

http://www.isaacmao.com/

Photo by Joi Ito (Creative Commons BY) at: http://freesouls.cc/essays/07-isaac-mao-sharism.html

If we want free speech, first we need free thinking.

“Sharism will be the politics of the next global superpower. It will not be a country, but a new human network joined by Social Software.”

“Sharism will result in better social justice. In a healthy sharing environment, any evidence of injustice can get amplified to get the public's attention. Anyone who has been abused can get real and instant support from her peers and her peers' peers.”


http://www.isaacmao.com

http://www.isaacmao.com

http://freesouls.cc/essays/07-isaac-mao-sharism.html

http://freesouls.cc/essays/07-isaac-mao-sharism.html

Bloggers & civil rights lawyers argue:

“Internet democracy” isnʼt really democratic without things like:

• rational, systematic & fair mechanisms;

• mandated institutional transparency & accountability;

• meaningful and robust legal protection for free speech


Web freedom vs. controlJeffersonians vs. Hamiltonians

(Central idea in David Postʼs Jeffersonʼs Moose)

Both photos in public domain via Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T_Jefferson_by_Charles_Willson_Peale_1791_2.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_Hamilton_portrait_by_John_Trumbull_1806.jpg

The argument is very much unresolved in todayʼs parliamentary democracies when it comes to Web standards and regulations..


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T_Jefferson_by_Charles_Willson_Peale_1791_2.jpg


Web freedom vs. controlJeffersonians vs. Hamiltonians

(Central idea in David Postʼs Jeffersonʼs Moose)

Both photos in public domain via Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T_Jefferson_by_Charles_Willson_Peale_1791_2.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_Hamilton_portrait_by_John_Trumbull_1806.jpg

The argument is very much unresolved in todayʼs parliamentary democracies when it comes to Web standards and regulations..

A lively Chinese version of this debate is now

raging, hampered by censorship - and

complicated by strong nationalism.




We are building a global layer between citizens and government

Government

Citizen



Government

Web & IT services

Citizen


Where are we going?

“AuthoritarianCountries”

“DemocraticCountries”


Where are we going?

“AuthoritarianCountries”

“DemocraticCountries”

?



Web & IT services

Government

Citizen



Web & IT services

Government

Citizen

Global Network Initiative



Web & IT services

Government

Citizen


Regulation(GOFA, WTO, etc?)



Web & IT services

Government

Citizen

Internet governance & Technical standards





Web & IT services

Government

Citizen


International human rights normsGlobal

Network Initiative




Web & IT services

Government

Citizen


International human rights normsGlobal

Network Initiative


MUCH better

organized, informed & equipped

GLOBAL CITIZENRY?Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The Tao of the Web: China and the future of the Internet

Technology

Transcript of The Tao of the Web: China and the future of the Internet