Recent protests by thousands of Chinese in the city of Xiamen show that armed with today’s technology even government censors can not fully stop the flow of news and information. The protesters took to the streets after several scientists raised concern about a new chemical plant but were dismissed by government officials. Most of the coordination and reporting on the protest was done through text messaging (SMS) and the blogging community.
“[The] Chinese tuned in to the blogosphere in great numbers, viewing written accounts and cell phone photographs. Sites carrying the live reports recorded thousands of hits. Some sites were knocked out by security monitors. But by then their reports had bounced to other sites around the country, keeping one step ahead of the censors. Many of those tuned in were traditional newspaper and magazine reporters whose editors were afraid to cover the protests because of warnings from the Xiamen party Propaganda Department.”
This is the latest in a series of developments that has proven the importance of non-traditional sources of news and information in countries where the traditional media is either unwilling or unable to report freely. The continued permeation of the internet in China and around the world will lead to more transparent government and business through the free flow of information. As Mr. Gorbachev found out in the 1980’s, you can’t just reform a little bit.
Published Date: June 29, 2007