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Could public opinions get drawn in a sea of online vioces ?

This topic has been highlight by szh at 2010-2-4 12:35.

Could public opinions get drawn in a sea of online vioces ?

This is the season for people's congresses and political consultative conferences at all levels. To benefit from the increasingly powerful online public opinion, netizens are being encouraged to participate in the sessions and move proposals.


Such participation in matters of governance, especially in these sessions, has become popular of late. Netizens look upon it as a broad avenue for common people to participate in the deliberation and administration of state affairs.


For governments, this means adopting a new openness toward citizens. For media, this represents social progress and increasing transparency in governance.


These positive trends are in stark contrast to the comparatively poor communication between governments and citizens in preInternet China. Today, more than 384 million netizens are making their voices heard loud, and no one can neglect them. The Internet boom has revived and revitalized the communication channels.


However, in my opinion, this isn't the full picture.


Online public opinion, rather than traditional public opinion, is paid more and more attention. It seems that netizens' interests take priority in the public sphere. Is it because netizens make themselves heard? What of the silent majority? Online voices could deafen the opinions of the general public off line.  (Edited from Global Times)
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It is certainly true that those with access to the internet have more influence on the framing of policy than those without. But this is only partly because of this access itself. It is also because they represent the new urban middle class which has largely developed since China's economic modernisation beginning in the 1980's. Even before the advent of the internet this class (or in the beginning the creation of such a class) was given priority.
But before this class made their voice heard it is not true to say that there was such a thing as a 'traditional' public opinion operating in China. I would rather say that there was a general absence of public opinion (apart from a fairly small administrative elite).

I think that the development of a public sphere amongst the (relatively) wealthy is a positive thing. It is certainly better than the very limited public sphere which existed previously. Of course the priority now should be to extend this public sphere to the less wealthy. This can be achieved in two ways. Firstly, by continuing the development of China in such a way that the entire population become better off (in which case more and more people will enter that 'class' which participate in a public sphere); and secondly (because the first initiative is a long term one), of finding ways to allow those who are not now wealthy to make their voices heard (a rather difficult task admittedly, and not only in China, but throughout the world).

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