The Tao of the Web: China and the future of the Internet

The Tao of the Web China and the Global Internet Rebecca MacKinnon Open Society Fellow Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong Co-Founder, Global Voices Blog: RConversation.com email: rebecca.mackinnon@gmail.com This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. Tuesday, March 3, 2009

“The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it.” --- Lao-tzu, The Tao-te Ching Chapter 29, No.1 Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cultural loss of control: “Back dorm boys” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2HOD-nrOY8 Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Premier Wen Jiabaoʼs 2-hour live chat with “netizens” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Gov.cn Tuesday, March 3, 2009

E - “Two Congresses” National Peopleʼs Congress & Chinese Peopleʼs Political Consultative Conference http://elianghui.people.com.cn Tuesday, March 3, 2009

E - “Two Congresses” National Peopleʼs Congress & Chinese Peopleʼs Political Consultative Conference http://elianghui.people.com.cn Sign up for a “membership badge” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

E - “Two Congresses” National Peopleʼs Congress & Chinese Peopleʼs Political Consultative Conference http://elianghui.people.com.cn Sign up for a Two suggestions for ﬁghting corruption “membership badge” Crackdown on ads for illegal medicine as hard as the anti-porn crackdown Suggestions for improving safety in coal mines Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Proposal to abolish one child policy “End the one-child policy, restore population growth to a sustainable rate” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Proposal to abolish one child policy Don’t we have enough people? “End the one-child policy, restore population growth to a sustainable rate” Uphold the reproductive rights of the Han Chinese race! Deng Xiaoping himself said that the one-child policy would be for 30 years! Reward single childless people with free health care... Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Chinese cyber-glasnost??? Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Not so fast... Wang Xiaofeng: people are getting too emotional .. “...without a proper [political] structure all Premier Wen can do is interact with people on an emotional level...” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Not so fast... “Due to certain problems Wang Xiaofengʼs blog is closed temporarily (for a few days)” Wang Xiaofeng: people are getting too emotional .. “...without a proper [political] structure all Premier Wen can do is interact with people on an emotional level...” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Not so fast... “Due to certain problems Wang Xiaofengʼs blog is Sorry, due to a sudden closed temporarily (for a few days)” case, plus the two-space- conferences, plus having mentioned Pre-space-mier-space Wen, therefore Teacher Wangʼs blog has been temporarily Wang Xiaofeng: “smutted”...please have patience until the two-space-meetings people are getting too are over. emotional .. “...without a proper [political] structure all Premier Wen can do is interact with people on an emotional level...” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Dissidents are still in jail Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber-tarianism? President Hu Jintao (June 2008): “We pay great attention to suggestions and advice from our netizens. We stress the idea of \"putting people ﬁrst\" and \"governing for the people.\" With this in mind, we need to listen to people's voices extensively and pool the people's wisdom when we take actions and make decisions. The web is an important channel for us to understand the concerns of the public and assemble the wisdom of the public.” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber-tarianism? President Hu Jintao (June 2008): “We pay great attention to suggestions and advice from our netizens. We stress the idea of \"putting people ﬁrst\" and \"governing for the people.\" With this in mind, we need to listen to people's voices extensively and pool the people's wisdom when we take actions and make decisions. The web is an important channel for us to understand the concerns of the public and assemble the wisdom of the public.” • “Authoritarian deliberation” (Yongnian Zheng) Technological Empowerment: The Internet, State, and Society in China http://video.sina.com.cn/news/c/v/2008-06-20/105617742.shtml Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Common Western paradigm for Chinese Internet controls: makes it harder to understand Cyber-tarianism Tuesday, March 3, 2009

“Iron curtain 2.0” (h/t Lokman Tsui) Photo courtesy “PC ﬁsh” on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Point_Alpha_Ostseite.jpg (GNU Free Documentation License) Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The “Great Firewall” in action Tuesday, March 3, 2009

“Net nanny” Photo courtesy “merwing” at http://ﬂickr.com/photos/merwing/2569326878/ (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license) Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Inside the ﬁrewall: Search censorship Image search for “Tiananmen massacre” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Censorship by Chinese blog-hosting companies Tianya blog service: Blog post about “Tiananmen Mothers” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

CENSORED Your post “Tiananmen mothers organization publishes a website” has been successfully submitted! Because it contains sensitive words, please wait for the community editors to approve it. Please donʼt re-post. Thank you. Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Sina.com: Report about explosion in Xinjiang, published successfully, but... Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Post is removed within 24 hours. Error message at same URL: “Sorry, the blog address you visited does not exist.” 8 OUT OF 15 BLOG SERVICES TESTED CENSORED THIS CONTENT Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Tests show blogs are censored by companies, amount and methods very decentralized Company A 60 B 44 15 blog hosts tested, C 34 D 31 108 valid tests E 27 F 26 Blog services G NOTE: Company names have been replaced with 24 letters due to concerns that companies who censor H 22 less will be subject to repercussions. I 20 J 19 For more about Chinese blog K 17 censorship see February issue L 13 of First Monday at: M 9 http://ﬁrstmonday.org N 3 O 1 0 27 54 81 108 Number of blog posts tested Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Chinese web management: Hydro-electric engineering? Photos: LEFT: “noelinthebahamas” on Flickr at http://ﬂickr.com/photos/noelinthebahamas/2417798169/ (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND) RIGHT: “yunmeng” on Flickr at http://ﬂickr.com/photos/yunmeng/323886547/ (Creative Commons BY-NC-SA) Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Riot in Wengʼan county, Guizhou province, Julyʼ08 Summer 2008 marked a shift in official media strategy: let official news agencies cover bad breaking stories to get the official version out quickly, then censor unofficial versions. Tuesday, March 3, 2009

“Pushups” were used by bloggers to talk about Wengʼan incident This Sina.com website no longer exists Tuesday, March 3, 2009

“Pushups” were used by bloggers to talk about Wengʼan incident This Sina.com website no longer exists 3 images from: http://www.caobian.info/?p=3778 Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Political joke: “River crab wears three watches” “Harmonious” “Rivercrab” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Anti-censorship Protest video: “song of the alpaca sheep” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3tPA_Z_MT0 Tuesday, March 3, 2009

River crabs vs. alpaca sheep Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber civil war 2.0 Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber-nationalism Tuesday, March 3, 2009

V.P. Xi Jinping in Mexico Some foreigners who have eaten their ﬁll have nothing better to do than point their ﬁngers at our affairs. Tuesday, March 3, 2009

V.P. Xi Jinping in Mexico “It is only by way of this frankness that the confidence of a responsible big power can be better displayed; it is only by way of this frankness that the bright attitude of an increasingly powerful China can best be shown; and also it is only with this frankness our fellow countrymen will feel excited.” Some foreigners who have eaten their fill have nothing better to do than point their fingers at our affairs. Tuesday, March 3, 2009

V.P. Xi Jinping in Mexico “It is only by way of this frankness that the confidence of a responsible big power can be better displayed; it is only by way of this frankness that the bright attitude of an increasingly powerful China can best be shown; and also it is only with this frankness our fellow countrymen will feel excited.” “Vice President Xi Jinping is so cool! He trashed the unfriendly foreigners.” Some foreigners who have eaten their fill have nothing better to do than point their fingers at our affairs. Tuesday, March 3, 2009

“Fifty Cent party” paid & volunteer web commentators Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber-vigilantism “Human ﬂesh search engines” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber-vigilantism “Human ﬂesh search engines” Cyber-Maoism? Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber police Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber bonapartism? “a broad centrist political movement that advocates the idea of a strong and centralized state, based on popular support.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonapartism Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber-confucianism? “importance of education for moral development of the individual so that the state can be governed by moral virtue rather than by the use of coercive laws.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cyber-ocracy? 2008 Chinese Blogger Conference, Guangzhou. Photos courtesy “HKdom” http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/hkdom/3046205362/ and http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/hkdom/3046219444/in/photostream/ Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Isaac Mao If we want free speech, ﬁrst we need free thinking. http://www.isaacmao.com/ “Sharism will result in better social justice. In a healthy sharing environment, any evidence of injustice can get ampliﬁed to get the public's attention. Anyone who has been abused can get real and instant support from her peers and her peers' peers.” “Sharism will be the politics of the next global superpower. It will not be a country, but a new human network joined by Social Software.” Photo by Joi Ito (Creative Commons BY) at: http://freesouls.cc/essays/07-isaac-mao-sharism.html Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Bloggers & civil rights lawyers argue: “Internet democracy” isnʼt really democratic without things like: • rational, systematic & fair mechanisms; • mandated institutional transparency & accountability; • meaningful and robust legal protection for free speech Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Web freedom vs. control Jeffersonians vs. Hamiltonians (Central idea in David Postʼs Jeffersonʼs Moose) The argument is very much unresolved in todayʼs parliamentary democracies when it comes to Web standards and regulations.. Both photos in public domain via Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T_Jefferson_by_Charles_Willson_Peale_1791_2.jpg Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Web freedom vs. control Jeffersonians vs. Hamiltonians (Central idea in David Postʼs Jeffersonʼs Moose) The argument is very much unresolved in todayʼs parliamentary democracies when it comes to Web standards and regulations.. A lively Chinese version of this debate is now raging, hampered by censorship - and complicated by strong nationalism. Both photos in public domain via Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T_Jefferson_by_Charles_Willson_Peale_1791_2.jpg Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We are building a global layer between citizens and government Government Citizen Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We are building a global layer between citizens and government Government Web & IT services Citizen Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Where are we going? “Authoritarian “Democratic Countries” Countries” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Where are we going? ? “Authoritarian “Democratic Countries” Countries” Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We are building a global layer between citizens and government Government Web & IT services Citizen Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We are building a global layer between citizens and government Government Web & IT services Global Network Initiative Citizen Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We are building a global layer between citizens and government Government Web & IT services Global Regulation Network (GOFA, WTO, etc?) Initiative Citizen Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We are building a global layer between citizens and government Government Internet Web & IT governance & services Technical Global Regulation standards Network (GOFA, WTO, etc?) Initiative Citizen Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We are building a global layer between citizens and government Government Internet Web & IT International governance & services human rights Technical Global Regulation norms standards Network (GOFA, WTO, etc?) Initiative Citizen Tuesday, March 3, 2009

We are building a global layer between citizens and government Government Internet Web & IT International governance & services human rights Technical Global Regulation norms standards Network (GOFA, WTO, etc?) Initiative MUCH better organized, informed & Citizen equipped GLOBAL CITIZENRY? Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The Tao of the Web: China and the future of the Internet

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