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Tiger on the loose: The microblogging revolution in China
Deutsche Presse Agentur - August 8, 2011
The weibos, as the Chinese versions are generically known, are shattering the state's monopoly on information, with almost one in two of the country's 485 million internet users signed up. At the end of last year, it was just one in 10.
The potential of the platforms was illustrated by the wave of indignation over the government's reaction to the collision of two high-speed trains that caused 40 deaths and 200 injuries in July.
"The first to spread news of the tragedy were the passengers on the train," the editor-in-chief of a communist propaganda organ said requesting anonymity.
The new media "definitely have an enormous influence," and "have triggered large social changes," he said, adding they could even bring about a "new era" in some respects.
How does the party deal with the phenomenon? The editor-in-chief is cautious. "Weibos are new, and we have yet to measure their influence," he said. He is, however, adamant about his own task and that of his publication: "We must steer public opinion."
As Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are blocked in China, web portals such as Sina and Tencent have filled the niche. China's answer to Twitter is censored but has more functions: Posts can be forwarded with one's own comments to allow conversations to develop.
The 140-character limit is not nearly as limiting in Chinese, because a single character can be a whole word. Images and video can be shared as well.
Censorship is circumvented by turning text into a photo or by forwarding screen shots of deleted posts. It's a cat-and-mouse game and the state's watchdogs can barely keep up. Weibos spreads information more effectively and more quickly than it can be censored.
Their rapidly increasing user base has reached a critical mass, reminiscent of the Chinese saying: "He who rides a tiger finds it difficult to dismount." The first news of the train accident was forwarded tens of thousands of times. The responsibility was discussed millions of times.
To the micro-blogging nation, the collision was a culmination of the mismanagement around the country's much – vaunted rail system, currently being upgraded at breakneck speed. The railway ministry, seen as powerful and arrogant, has long been a target of complaints.
After the last railway minister was dismissed for corruption in February, his successor uncovered a mountain of undeclared debt. The operation of the high-speed route between Beijing and Shanghai, which is plagued by problems and tardiness, has also been widely criticized.
Since the July incident, the ministry has not been enjoying as much protection in the media. Even the state-controlled outlets appear to have had more room for negative coverage.
And journalists have been publishing their thoughts and information more widely than just in the papers. Weibo reports by media professionals have indicated that local authorities warned lawyers not to accept any civil cases from victims of the accident.
As the social media echoed to rumbles of public anger over the revelations, the authorities said they had been "misunderstood," and never instructed the lawyers as alleged.
The next wave of indignation rolled in as one of the carriages involved in the accident was simply buried. Accusations of a cover-up rang out across the weibosphere, and the carriage was dug up for forensic tests.
Micro-bloggers also poked at premier Wen Jiabao's excuse for not visiting the site of the accident earlier. They dismissed his claim of illness, pointing out that he had still received official guests at that time.
How the party deals with the new threat to its control over public opinion is still an open issue.
Some commentators in the state media have dismissed the new wave of social media as propagating "rumors" and "false information," in a bid to undermine their credibility and limit their impact.
But even the party's own propaganda organ, the People's Daily, has said in an editorial that weibos can serve to "better understand the concerns of the people and solve their problems."
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