China is
experiencing a micro-blog revolution. In the space of just a few months,
Twitter-like micro-blogging sites have turned into a social explosion that
seems to have the Communist Party on the back foot.
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| (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno) |
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."
DPA
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