BEIJING – A fascinating study of China's media has found that its bloggers are much more liberated and pluralistic than the mainstream Chinese media.
The analysis, by U.S. professor Ashley Esarey, found that 61 per cent of Chinese blogs were critical of governments, corporations, celebrities or social trends. By contrast, only 19 per cent of Chinese newspapers contained any criticism of anything.
The same study found that 36 per cent of Chinese blogs were pluralistic (containing two or more opposing viewpoints) while only 5 per cent of Chinese newspapers were pluralistic. And a mere 4 per cent of blogs contained national propaganda, compared to 21 per cent of newspapers.
The Olympics are a good example. While the state media are afraid to criticize any aspect of Beijing's Olympic extravaganza, the bloggers are energetically debating the Olympics, with many bloggers willing to complain about the negative side of it. Their comments are far more honest and balanced than the monolithic praise that emanates from the state media.
One Chinese blogger, who calls himself “A Lonely Talker,” says the Olympic security measures are excessive. “To make the citizens of the whole country nervous – that is not very pleasant,” he wrote.
The blogger, who lives in Hebei province, said the security measures are making everyone “highly nervous and scared” – even if they live far away from Beijing. “Even remote villages are being required to have personnel on guard 24 hours a day,” he wrote.
“The most ridiculous part is that the government banned all crowds from gathering. Even various training programs have been stopped. The reason is to prevent terrorists from making trouble in crowded gathering places. The national television course university entrance exam has also been cancelled. All testing papers that were already in place at the testing locations have been sealed and have to be guarded day and night.”
Another Chinese blogger, calling himself “Speaking Against Injustice,” said he is feeling more and more “distanced” from the Olympics. He said the government is “sacrificing the common people's interests” to pay for an “image project.” And he criticized the government for spending extravagant sums on the Olympics without any accountability.
“Spending without answering the people's questions is our country's characteristic,” he wrote in his blog. “Once the business is elevated to a ‘political height,' then there's absolutely no tolerance for any doubt by any individual or organization. If a Chinese has some doubt, then he or she will be trashed as a ‘dissident' who runs tremendous risk; if a foreigner has questions, then he or she will be labeled as part of an ‘anti-China conspiracy group,' ready to be grilled by flaming ‘nationalist sentiments.'”
