Who is Shaping China's Public Opinion?
Dr. Monika Chansoria
Come January 2012, China will considerably taper the freedom of media and Internet-usage by imposing severe restrictive measures. During a meeting of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) presided over by President Hu Jintao, the converse impact of social media networks, which in effect, could undermine the legitimacy of the Party and the government were forcefully discussed. At the end, the meeting proposed that the government should "apply the law to sternly punish the dissemination of harmful information."
The Central Committee of the CCP has urgently called for an 'Internet management system' that would strictly regulate the social networking and instant-message systems. A Xinhua News Agency report, cited Zhou Yongkang, most famously known for presiding over the brutal suppression of ethnic Uyghurs during rioting in China's Xinjiang Province, when he urged authorities "to solve problems regarding social integrity, morality and Internet management"¦ and early introduction of laws and regulations on the management of the Internet."
China has accepted that it, in fact, is undergoing a media revolution with the Internet constituting the core of this revolution. For instance, the People's Daily has acknowledged that newer forms of media have altered public opinion, rebuilt public life, and most significantly provided every member of society, an opportunity to express and speak aloud.
Significantly, China's state-controlled media is said to be carrying out a campaign wherein the Internet is being projected as a "platform for various groups to promote their interests, particularly vulnerable groups seeking to preserve their basic rights." It would only be prudent to assume that both the Chinese government and the CCP comprehend that online public opinion counts and continues to grow. Senior Party officials have been pressing hard for more and more stringent censorship of what they term as "unapproved opinions". A case in point could be China's southeast-situated Guangdong Province which boasts of more than 91 million mobile phone micro blog users and more than 50 million Internet micro blog users. Thus, when China poses a question of whether the Internet can accurately gauge public opinion, it in fact, reflects Beijing's apprehension that political oppression could at some point activate a chain of events that could put the future of the CCP in jeopardy.
The Chinese government and the Party have managed to maintain unyielding and firm control over its print media, but have been unable to control the dissemination of information regarding their shortcomings and failures through micro blogs. It is essential to underline here that ever since 2010, micro blogs, commonly referred to as weibos in China have become the main plank to put forth political scandals that crucially involve both the government and the ruling elite. The two largest privately-owned micro blogs namely, Sina Corporation and Tencent Holdings each count more than 200 million registered users. In order to cast a hold over the micro blogging community tacitly, Party Secretary of Beijing, Liu Qi, has publicly visited the companies and urged for upholding social order.
Based on these anticipated ramifications, the statement issued at the end of the meeting undertook to, "strengthen guidance and administration of social Internet services and instant communications tools, and regulate the orderly dissemination of information." Further, the statement called on conventional Chinese media including print, TV and radio, "to correctly guide public opinion, to emphasise positive propaganda, and to uphold stability and unity." For instance, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has ordered 34 major satellite television stations to showcase only two 90-minute entertainment shows in a week.
It is widely known that a large chunk of the Chinese print media is state-controlled and state-run. Wang Yukai at the Chinese Academy of Governance, points out a difference between today's Internet era and the past, in that, the government could easily shape public opinion through mainstream media in the past. However, with more voices having emerged in the era of Internet, the situation has changed remarkably. Moreover, the speed with which information is spread on micro blogs is far more rapid and diversified. Drawing a comparison between 'traditional media' and the Internet, Yu Guoming at the School of Journalism and Communication, Renmin University, asserts that 'traditional media' was a means of one person communicating with many, but the Internet is a many-to-many communication platform, providing an equal chance to many individuals to express their opinions.
The eruption of populist political uprisings across the Arab world, probably, has been a critical pointer for the Chinese leadership, whose rigorous and inflexible political censorship can become a trigger for spreading dissatisfaction among the Chinese masses. What seems alarming for China at the moment is that any attempt to shield or cover up the government or Party's malfunctioning would be presented in a magnified format in the Internet age. Therefore, by means of imposing perhaps the strictest measures in recent years to limit media and Internet usage, Chinese government and the CCP is best thwarting any potential medium/platform that could consolidate repressed groups or sections of society.
Dr Monika Chansoria is Senior Fellow, CLAWS
The Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS)
