The Internet, as a new medium has great
practical and potential impact on society.
One potential impact is the improvement
that online space has made in public and private
discourse, providing the marketplace of
ideas vital to a democracy. Chinese online space is acting as a public sphere
that allows ordinary citizens to discuss public affairs. When the public
opinion is strong enough, it can influence public policies to ensure that they
reflect and match real public interests. This is a big step in the progress of
democracy in China
Before internet can be widely accessible to
the public in early 1996., the predominant role of all media was as an organ of
the party, with their political orientation and fundamental policies depending
largely or totally on those of the Party . Media didn’t
need to care too much about market or readership because they were financially
supported by government subsidy. They functioned as tool for the Party and
government to create and disseminate political propaganda, rather than acting
as a public sphere for citizens to discuss public and political issues.
The era when people blindly believe what
the government tells them is over. Likewise, the era when the people are too
afraid to speak out is also over.
No comments:
Post a Comment