The Rise of Online Public Opinion and Its Political Impact

With the rapid spread of the Internet and related wireless technologies, China is becoming an increasingly transparent and mobile society.  The CCP’s authoritarian regime is learning to be more responsive and adaptive in this new environment.  The Internet has also become a training ground for citizen participation in public affairs.  This paper describes and analyzes the conflicting forces of censorship, information flow and collective action interacting with each other in Chinese cyberspace.  From such dynamics,  an emerging pattern of public opinion and citizenry participation, which represents a power shift in Chinese society, as recent news events, from the Chongqing nail house, to environmental protests in Xiamen to slave labor in the Shanxi brick kilns vividly demonstrated.  The facilitating role of the Internet unfolds in the domination of ruling elites, the spread of liberal or nationalistic ideas and the formation of social movement networks and associations. 

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