The Internet in China: Cyberspace and Civil Society

ISBN-13: 9780415976558 / Angielski / Twarda / 2006 / 388 str.

Zixue Tai

Opis

The Internet in China examines the cultural and political ramifications of the Internet for Chinese society. The rapid growth of the Internet has been enthusiastically embraced by the Chinese government, but the government has also rushed to seize control of the virtual environment. Individuals have responded with impassioned campaigns against official control of information. The emergence of a civil society via cyberspace has had profound effects upon China--for example, in 2003, based on an Internet campaign, the Chinese Supreme People's Court overturned the ruling of a local court for the first time since the Communist Party came to power in 1949.
The important question this book asks is not whether the Internet will democratize China, but rather in what ways the Internet is democratizing communication in China. How is the Internet empowering individuals by fostering new types of social spaces and redefining existing social relations?

Spis treści

Introduction; 1: The Idea of Civil Society from Early Modern to Contemporary Social Thought in the West; 2: The Idea of Civil Society in the Chinese Context; 3: Government Policy and State Control of the Internet in China; 4: Historical Development of the Internet in China; 5: Communication, Empowerment, and the Emergence of Network Public Opinion in Chinese Cyberspace; A School Explosion, a Fatal Virus, and the Internet Factor; 7: Online Activism, Internet Protest, and Social Movements in Cyber China; Conclusion

O autorze

Zixue Tai is Assistant Professor of Mass Communications at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.