Is the Internet a Positive Force in the Development of Civil Society, a Public Sphere, and Democratization in China?

Abstract

The existing literature on Chinese communications/media is varied, although it has been marked by some key themes and interests. The Chinese case is complex because, unlike the former Soviet Union, which feared the communications revolution and severely restricted the availability of such new technological innovations as photocopy and fax machines for citizen use, Chinese leaders made a conscious and enlightened judgment that harnessing the benefits of the information revolution was absolutely crucial to the development and rise of China. 1 The leadership was confident enough that China’s engagement with the outside world and the introduction of the latest technological tools into China could be controlled and managed successfully. China’s decision to participate actively in the information revolution has led to a number of questions that have dominated the literature, particularly among political and other social scientists. Some of these questions — such as the role of the Internet in promoting or suppressing democratic voices — have been commonly raised from the start, while others — such as China’s likely success in its pursuit of “soft power” and cultural influence outside the country — are more recent, and are associated with the country’s increasing confidence and importance in world affairs. The questions raised below are likely to remain important in the area of China Communication Studies. One key theme relates to China’s success in its management and control of information that appears in the mass media, including the print and broadcast media. However, as suggested above, arguably the most contested area in communications research has been the role of the Internet in statesociety relations, and whether the Internet can be seen as a crucial step in the development of civil society, a public sphere, and the eventual democratization of China. Some observers, such as He Qinglian, have asserted that China has been almost completely successful in meeting “its goal of keeping citizens ignorant,” and that such citizens are “isolated from one another and woefully lacking in organizational