Chinese Wall Against Human Rights: Does the Internet Open Doors?
May 22, 2009
Internet surfers and online censors are changing China’s society. Nearly 300 million Chinese use the Internet. For the young, educated urban class it's a door to the outside world. Like users in other countries, they are looking for information, entertainment and exchange. Dynamic growth rates, booming Internet cafes, fast broadband connections: the country is experiencing a digital awakening – with an unforeseeable impact on its political-societal relationships.
The Internet and Web 2.0 enable even in authoritarian-ruled countries understanding among and between political groups – crossing governmental and technological boundaries. Citizen journalists and democratic movements use the Internet as a system of quick communication. Reports, pictures and videos of political events are disseminated around the world in seconds. A globally available alternative to state media is emerging. The political establishment in Beijing replies with cyber police, Internet censorship and network blockades. It looks for new ways to channel the streams and effectively deploy its own digital propaganda. At the same time, the government is building a dam against unfiltered information flows.
What do the developments in the multimedia sector mean for the assertion of human rights such as freedom of information and speech and for the pluralistic forming of opinion? Who controls the Internet? What journalistic and social responsibility do the Web 2.0 "prosumers" bear? Does the Internet promote political awareness in authoritarian societies? And what do these developments mean for international broadcasting? Web 2.0, YouTube and Facebook – new, difficult to control platforms that favor the democratic movement – or an instrument for total surveillance?
These and other questions will be discussed on the 20th anniversary of the violent ending of the student protests on Tiananmen Square in Beijing by:
- Günter Nooke, German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid in the Foreign Ministry
- Yang Hengjun, Chinese Blogger
- Shi Ming, Freelance Journalist
- Moderation: Sybille Golte-Schröder, Head of the Asia Program at Deutsche Welle