The Internet in China: Cyberspace and Civil Society

by Tai; Zixue

• ISBN13: 9780415976558
• ISBN10: 0415976553
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-09-18
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Internet in Chinaexamines 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?

Author Biography

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

Table of Contents

List of Figures	vii
List of Tables	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xiii
1 The Idea of Civil Society from Early Modern to Contemporary Social Thought in the West	1	(46)
2 The Idea of Civil Society in the Chinese Context	47	(34)
3 Government Policy and State Control of the Internet in China	81	(38)
4 Historical Development of the Internet in China	119	(42)
5 Communication, Empowerment, and the Emergence of Network Public Opinion in Chinese Cyberspace	161	(48)
6 A School Explosion, a Fatal Virus, and the Internet Factor	209	(46)
7 Online Activism, Internet Protest, and Social Movements in Cyber China	255	(32)
Conclusion	287	(6)
Notes	293	(22)
Bibliography (English)	315	(24)
Bibliography (Chinese)	339	(2)
Index	341