China and the Internet

It is fascinating to watch how China deals with the Internet.  On the one hand, it often sees new media as a threat that must be suppressed.  So, it blocks access to some sites for political reasons.  On the other hand, it has come to recognize the power of the Internet and is actually responding constructively.

A recent story in the English language Chinese publication, Global Times describes an analysis by the Communist Party of the response of local governments to online complaints about the government.  The analysis actually ranks various governments by how they respond and is critical of those local governments who remain silent in the face of suspicions or criticism.

The public opinion monitoring office of people.com.cn, the website of the Communist Party of China’s flagship People’s Daily newspaper, released a ranking list on Friday marking local governments’ responses to online opinions concerning 10 incidents which occurred over the past few months.

The image some have in the U.S. is of a China that is utterly oppressive and totally unconcerned with the views of its own people.  Clearly, the reality is more complex.  While there is no democracy as we know it, there are mechanisms by which the government seeks to respond to public opinion.  And, the Internet is serving an important role.

Zhu said some local government’s public relation and governance capability does not suit the current situation as the Internet has provided a new platform for the public to voice opinions.

“We hope our evaluation could help officials become fully aware of the importance of online opinions,” he said.