Online democracy pushing forward real reform

• Source: Global Times
• [08:08 January 12 2010]
• Comments

PO: Netizens tend to instinctively support the underdog. What does this tell us about social conditions? How can the credibility of the government be improved?

Wang: Netizens usually support the weak and attack the strong, which to some degree reflects people's natural tendency to side with the underdog.

In most cases, the strong side is closely connected with the government or other authorities. This shows that the credibility of our government is indeed decreasing and some people mistrust the authorities.

It is a question we should attach great importance to. In fact the reason why the government's credibility in recent years seems to be going downhill is also directly linked to Internet events.

The government's own lax behavior and its failure to disclose information has aroused netizens' doubts. Finally, the truth of events is often publicized after netizens protest about them, which embarrasses the government and has seriously harmed its credibility.

PO: What do you think that some local officials block the Internet in order to control public opinion?

Xie: The media control is due to the lack of confidence of some officials. In fact, there aren't really a lot of "shady deals," as netizens sometimes claim. If netizens are publicizing accurate information, most people in the government understand.

However, in the view of some officials, the Internet is a distribution center for rumors and is the natural enemy of officials.

In addition, Internet blocks are often related to the hidden rules of power and the ugly reality of corruption. Once unfettered power finds a reason to block the Internet, it will not hesitate to do so.

We can even infer that the degree of Internet freedom in an area reflects the degree of corruption in the local government. In regions with frequent Internet blocks, there's probably some problems with the nature of the local bureaucracy.