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DIGITAL MEDIA ACROSS ASIA

China: Technology Implications

Censorship

censor

China’s online population is currently over 300 million users and is expected to jump to 500 million by 2010.The country holds a tight grasp on censorship restrictions. Companies such as Google and Yahoo have met with these content censorship demands in order to satisfy this growing market.

Although China's constitution guarantees freedom of speech, it only holds true to a certain extent. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook were blocked in China. One main reason was due to a protest for religious freedom led by a group of 1000 Uighur Muslims which turned ugly.

According to a Netpop Research study, it shows that Chinese citizens are "more likely to share information broadly and openly." This is surprising considering the controversial debate on censorship by the government. Nevertheless, the study estimates that up to 92% of Chinese netizens use social media, meanwhile, only 76% of US netizens do the same.

This is a strong obstacle to the progress of China. By having censorship regulations, Chinese netizens are limited in content and information flow. From the study, there is definitely a huge market for social media. By restricting it, political as well as economical implication will arise.

Banned Olympics China: Technology Implications - DIGITAL MEDIA ACROSS ASIA

China: Technology Implications - DIGITAL MEDIA ACROSS ASIA

In July 2008, the Chinese government blocked media access to certain Web sites. This is despite previously stating that foreign journalists would be able to report freely on the Olympic games.

Journalists in the Olympic village in China were blocked from “sites deemed sensitive to China’s communist leadership.

Although with all these measures in place, some bloggers found ways to bypass this censorship. China’s advanced Web censor, known as the “Great Firewall,” automatically tracks objectionable phrases. But bloggers found that some methods, including writing backwards, enabled them to circumvent the censor and get their message out.

Source: China to block “unhealthy” websites during Olympics

China blocks social media ahead of Tiananmen anniversary

20th anniversary of the Tianamen Square protests was a significant event of 2009 in China. Two days before the anniversary, netizens were blocked from using social networking sites that include, Flickr, Hotmail, Bing (Microsoft’s new search engine) and Twitter.

Netizens experienced difficulty as pages either stalled or had delayed loading times. The web became mostly unsuable. This badly hurt both consumers and marketers. Netizens that relied on these social networking tools were unable to service clients or work.

This is part of the government plan in taking precautionary steps in order to prevent chatter among Chinese netizens. According to the BBC, police have been examining visitors at checkpoints around the Square, and checking the bags and papers of people in the nearby area.

Source: Tiananmen Anniversary

The Impact of 'The Great Firewall of China'

Although there is a great amount of foreign media coverage dedicated to the existence of the The Great Firewall and its supposed impact upon Chinese internet users, most Chinese say that they approve of internet control and management on the part of the government. In a recent survey conducted by the PEW Research Center, 84% of respondents said the internet should be regulated by the government, as the reliability of online content is low and worries about the potential impacts of unregulated internet use on the youth abound.

Most internet users are not affected by the firewall, as they do not seek any sensitive information in their daily usage. Practically speaking however, subverting the firewall is fairly easy for anyone with an intermediate level of familiarity with internet technology. Proxy servers and VPN clients are two commonly used methods of bypassing the barriers. In addition to this, many Chinese bloggers also use phonetic spelling in order to prevent their posts from being censored. However, the firewall also bans some sites unconditionally and accessing these poses a far greater challenge.

Source: "Ignoring the Great Firewall of China"

Green Dam

Origin

On 1st July 2009, all computers sold in China are to have a censorship program called Green Dam installed. The software filters pornographic and content deemed unfit by the Chinese government. It was designed to track and monitor content by searched and posted by netizens.

This has posed serious security problems for chinese netizens. Security information gathered from visited sites will be stored onto personal computer’s log files. There is the problem of external people to hack into systems and retrieve this data to manipulate it.

A second problem involves low efficiency. With the filtering software in place, people find it difficult to be productive in work. Connections to websites are either impeded or slowed down. This makes it more difficult for people to access information for work such as research.

Conflict of interest
However, there is some resistance to this software. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology required schools to install the web filter. However, some schools around China have begun removing Green Dam; the web filtering software, as it is in conflict with current teaching software.
As a result of the Green Dam Youth Escort filtering software imposed by the Chinese government on July 1, individuals such as artist Weiwei called on China’s 360 million internet users to “stop working, reading, chatting, blogging, gaming and mailing”. This was an act of protest to stand up for freedom of choice by Chinese citizens.

Source: Green Dam
Source: "Chinese schools quietly discard controversial Web filter"

Resistance to online newspaper China: Technology Implications - DIGITAL MEDIA ACROSS ASIA

While there is an increasing number of closures of daily newspapers in the West, Chinese media know no fear of death. They are alive and well, and are financially robust, and have expanded their circulation. The People’s Daily, the largest government-owned newspaper in China, sells 2.8 million copies daily. The main sources of revenue come from advertising.

However, the Guardian reported that consumers are more resistant to paying for online newspapers.

But there is hope for publishers. Print and online may work together hand in hand. Only 5 percent of respondents who read a news site at least once a month would pay for online access. But if a free or discounted printed paper subscription is provided, that number was up to a combined 48 percent.

Source: Chinese newspapers don’t fear extinction

GAAP, Newspaper Industry

The Chinese General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) plans for major changes for the country's newspaper industry.

The changes will include closures, mergers and acquisitions. There will be a number of non-profitable newspapers that will be closed while those running successfully will receive support from the GAPP.
The aim is to construct six to seven large media conglomerates covering different regions and divisions. This is hoped to be achieved within five to six years, according to China Daily.

GAPP has recently come under scrutiny outside of China for its book censorship and control over online games.

Source: GAPP plans major changes for Chinese newspaper industry

Entertainment Vs Business

Social Media Used for Personal rather than Corporate Use

Culture forms the third wall before social media can flourish in China. Traditionally speaking, the Chinese lead very personal lives hence the blogosphere is used for personal reasons as opposed to corporate use. Businesses in China often follow a top-down hierarchical structure known for following long-established practices and may not encourage activities such as employee blogging. There is however a rise in the number of small businesses engaging the blogosphere for purposes such as marketing and public relations. Employing the social media is to a great extent inexpensive as compared to advertising in the mainstream media, and provides start-ups with an effective method of directly reaching their customers.

This is a huge difference as opposed to their western counterparts who use social media mainly for business purposes.

Source: Statistics

About China - Social Media and PR across Asia

ahmadtan	Latest page update: made by ahmadtan , Nov 19 2009, 10:10 AM EST (about this update About This Update Edited by ahmadtan 1 word deleted view changes - complete history)
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