Has the era of “Internet supervision” pitted Chinese netizens against the government in the promotion of democracy and political reform？
By Yu Xiaodong
In recent months， China’s netizens have witnessed and commented on a string of explosive scandals mostly involving misconduct by government bureaucrats. Following the investigation of the controversial death of Li Qiaoming， an inmate who， officials said， died during a game of “hide-and-seek” with fellow inmates at a detention house in Yunnan Province， the most recent case involving a young woman named Deng Yujiao has again drawn the attention of both the Chinese Internet community and the society at large.
Many see these events as the catalyst for， “Internet-motivated public participation，” and claim that they signify the coming of “an era of Internet supervision，” one in which netizens can compel visible transformation in the behavior of government bureaucrats.
What’s next？ Is this form of governance viable and sustainable？ Will it bring about broader political reform？
How Internet Media Became Mainstream
Theoretically， under the current Internet policy in China， independent websites are not allowed to produce their own reports， but are allowed only to compile what has been reported by traditional media， namely print and television. Webmasters， writers and other online managers are not eligible for the certificate required to be officially recognized as a journalist. Although the Internet media that report on entertainment and sports are left mostly unregulated， most websites have refrained from independent reporting on political issues.
But， through the development of online forums and blogs， a form of “citizen journalism” has emerged where ordinary netizens voluntarily collect and distribute information and opinions on events where the public’s interest is concerned. Often， these tend to be scandalous cases involving government officials or wealthy citizens that have been leaked onto the web.
When stories like these appear to expose the truth and bring about change， people become more confident that the Internet can help influence those in power， and more people are able to air their grievances on the web. After a series of high-profile cases in the last two years， online media seems to have overshadowed traditional media and turned the relationship between political power and China’s media on its head.
During the 1980s， China’s traditional media began a gradual transformation as part of economic reform. And while the core of the Party media was kept intact， many market-oriented metropolitan newspapers and satellite television channels were established. But while commercialized media outlets have enjoyed relative freedom， they are not always capable of fulfilling the “watchdog” role to protect the public’s interest. It is the newly emerging Internet media， in particular， citizen journalism， that has filled the need to kindle political discussion in China， leading many to conclude that Internet media has become the mainstream itself， rather than a peripheral form of communication.
“Traditional media in China are almost entirely dominated by one-way communication and there is no channel for the public to voice their opinions and complaints，” said Zhan Jiang， a professor at China Youth College for Political Science. “In contrast， online media provides two-way interaction， which is much more appealing， especially for the technologically savvy younger generation.”
“For print media， it is impossible to compete with Internet media on timeliness，” said Qu Xiaoyi， a journalist with the Beijing Times， a major commercial newspaper in Beijing. “It has become imperative for print media journalists to go online to identify hot topics.”
In reality， however， both the Internet and traditional media are not completely distinct. Many reporters and writers who work for traditional media outlets also maintain their own blogs and participate in online reporting. And to a certain extent， some Internet media has forged an alliance with traditional media， especially commercial media outlets in major cities， in addition to various scholars and activists.
While the popularity of an online topic legitimizes a report by a newspaper or television program， reports by traditional media， with its official State-backed status， in return grants the Internet media a certain level of legal endorsement and safety to further report and disseminate.
Take， for instance， the case of Tan Zhuo in Hangzhou. Tan， a university graduate， was killed by a speeding car as he walked across the street. The driver was a young man from a wealthy family who was taking part in a street race. Local police quickly claimed that the speed of the car at the time of the accident was a mere 45 miles an hour (thus absolving the driver of complete liability)， leading many netizens to accuse the police of siding with the rich.
According to Jiang Qiping， a forum manager of Sohu.com， one of the major gateway websites of China， relevant reports and eyewitness accounts of the car accident appeared in local online forums almost immediately. But out of political concerns， forum managers deleted some of the reports， limiting their influence. But later， the accident was finally reported in a Hangzhou newspaper， giving license to Internet media participants to freely and fully engage in further reporting. The incident then incited a heated online discussion and the local police were forced to withdraw their earlier report and reinvestigate the case.
Local Officials Caught
What makes the recent exposés different is that netizens are no longer satisfied with simply venting anger， but have begun to publicize local government scandals， which has sparked change in the outcomes of these cases by forcing government authorities to reverse their decisions and clean up their acts.