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It was spring 2002 when Isaac Mao, a Shanghai-based software
engineer for US chipmaker Intel, first came across Internet blogs.
He was immediately struck by the freedom of expression the online
journals offered ordinary citizens, and with a fellow blogger from a
remote part of east China's Fujian province he set up CNBlog.org,
China's first online discussion forum about blogging technology.
"We discussed how blogs may change China," Mao said in an
interview. "We didn't imagine how this would make social and
even political changes to the whole Chinese community in the next
five years."
In Communist Party-ruled China, the media -- including the regular
Internet -- is tightly controlled by the government.
But blogs offer a means of dodging the censors, allowing more
freedom of expression and, ultimately, freedom of thought.
"It's only natural for human beings to express themselves and
share their views. But the Chinese people have been repressed for so
long and they have always kept silent. They couldn't find an
exit," Mao said.
"They need this tool to give them the freedom to express
themselves. Blogs can be a very empowering tool to them," he
said.
The power of Chinese blogs was demonstrated recently by the
international coverage given to a lone woman whose defiance of
developers had spared her home from demolition in central China's
Chongqing city.
Photographs of her house balanced precariously on a mound in the
midst of a construction site were circulated all over the world
after first appearing in China's blogosphere.
Bloggers manage to evade the censors by posting their comments on
websites and then linking the site to many other blogs and webpages,
allowing them to form a social network.
"Due to political reasons from the past, Chinese people don't
like to share their viewpoints, they tend to hide themselves so they
don't trust each other. But blogs help people to trust.
"They can form more trusting relationships in this way. And
unlike the traditional media, this is not controlled by
anyone," he said. "There is a cascade phenomenon."
Such grassroots media are fast emerging in China where the
population of bloggers has surged to 20.8 million, the largest in
the world, according to state press. There were only 1,000 bloggers
in the country in 2002, Mao said.
He said blogging had transformed community links throughout China,
allowing urban bloggers to team up with surfers in the rural areas
and international users to develop new technologies to get around
censorship.
"A lot of people only worry about how to make a living and
nothing else, but blogging is a disruptive technology that helps
open up people's minds," he said.
Now making a living through blog-based advertising and other online
investments, the 35-year-old advocate for grassroots power helps
people create their own blogs and runs or advises several non-profit
programmes in China.
He also encourages web users to translate Chinese blogs into
English.
"It has become valuable in helping the world learn about China
and vice versa, instead of just relying on traditional media,"
he said. "Our intention is to generate more social interaction
and sharing."
He said the new media has also helped dissolve misunderstandings
between citizens of China and Taiwan, considered by Beijing a
renegade province.
"Many Chinese and Taiwanese bloggers try to understand each
other. Instead of the traditional quarrelling, this has built a new
bridge between the two sides," he said.
But as the number of bloggers increases, the censors are becoming
more stringent.
China announced last year that it will require bloggers to register
with authorities under their real names to prevent people
anonymously disseminating "irresponsible and untrue"
information.
Mao, however, believes it is simply too late for the authorities to
take control -- tech-savvy online users are outsmarting them all the
way.
"It's too late but they will try harder. It's a game of cats
and rats," he said.
Chinese bloggers do face stiffer challenges from unexpected
quarters, however: international Internet portals like Google and
Yahoo!
As these companies seek access to the lucrative Chinese market, they
are increasingly prepared to do Beijing's bidding in the censorship
wars.
Both, for instance, use sophisticated filtering technology to
prevent users accessing information on issues considered politically
sensitive by the Chinese government.
Such is the concern that Mao wrote an open letter to Google this
year challenging it to support anti-censorship efforts.
"Most of the people would compromise (with the authorities)
because they are businessmen. They don't care about universal values
and human rights," he said.
"Some of the top executives of international companies have
said to me: don't tell me about this. I know there's a problem but
it's my business," he said.
Mao believes the biggest barrier to free thinking is, ultimately,
self-censorship within the Chinese mind -- the traditional Chinese
education system that makes people reluctant to express their
opinions.
They are too used to being controlled, he said.
"A lot of people are accustomed to one-way thinking. They don't
know how to respect diversified opinions.
"People are reluctant to comment on social problems. The
majority of people are still in such a thinking mode. That's why I
think blogging in China is still at a very early stage," he
said.
For his part, he would seek to persuade any officials he comes
across to allow more freedom of expression.
"I would tell them to respect the voices of the people because
one day they will change faster than you.
"I think they are trying to adapt to the changes. Unfortunately
the system is very authoritarian; it would be hard to do within the
ruling party. I can't see obvious change soon," he said.
-- AFP
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