Written for Issue No. 6 of Berggruen Insights, October 21, 2016
On January 13, 2008, Southern Metropolis Daily in the southern city of Guangzhou, China carried a story titled “The Rise of Internet Citizens: Don’t Even Think about Duping Netizens.” Referring to the many online protests in 2007, the story noted that in the internet age, netizens could no longer be hoodwinked by anyone. They would use online forums and blogs to voice their concerns and fight for social justice.
The word “netizens” in the title of the story, as was in public discourse at that time, carried a sense of solidarity. Wangmin, or netizenry, had taken on the meanings of a collective identity in Chinese society. No matter how different they might be in other ways, netizens shared one distinct trait. Champions of marginal social groups, they were vociferous on issues of social injustice.
“Netizens” became a powerful collective identity through frequent netizen action – or what I refer to as online activism in my 2009 book The Power of the Internet in China. They have sought justice for victims of police brutality, exposed corrupt government officials, challenged the censorship practices of propaganda authorities, and put government authorities on the defense on policy matters. As recently as in the 1980s, students and intellectuals were considered as the conscience of the nation. Now it is netizens.
Continue to read the whole essay here.
On January 13, 2008, Southern Metropolis Daily in the southern city of Guangzhou, China carried a story titled “The Rise of Internet Citizens: Don’t Even Think about Duping Netizens.” Referring to the many online protests in 2007, the story noted that in the internet age, netizens could no longer be hoodwinked by anyone. They would use online forums and blogs to voice their concerns and fight for social justice.
The word “netizens” in the title of the story, as was in public discourse at that time, carried a sense of solidarity. Wangmin, or netizenry, had taken on the meanings of a collective identity in Chinese society. No matter how different they might be in other ways, netizens shared one distinct trait. Champions of marginal social groups, they were vociferous on issues of social injustice.
“Netizens” became a powerful collective identity through frequent netizen action – or what I refer to as online activism in my 2009 book The Power of the Internet in China. They have sought justice for victims of police brutality, exposed corrupt government officials, challenged the censorship practices of propaganda authorities, and put government authorities on the defense on policy matters. As recently as in the 1980s, students and intellectuals were considered as the conscience of the nation. Now it is netizens.
Continue to read the whole essay here.
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