Technological Empowerment: The Internet, State, and Society in China

Will new information technologies, especially the Internet, bring freedom and democracy to authoritarian China? This study argues that the Internet has brought about new dynamics of socio-political changes in China, and that state power and social forces are transforming in Internet-mediated public space. Its findings are fourfold. First, the Internet empowers both the state and society. The Internet has played an important role in facilitating political liberalization, and made government more open, transparent, and accountable. Second, the Internet produces enormous effects which are highly decentralized and beyond the reach of state power. Third, the Internet has created a new infrastructure for the state and society in their engagement with (and disengagement from) each other. Fourth, the Internet produces a recursive relationship between state and society. The interactions between the state and society over the Internet end up reshaping both the state and society.

Table of Contents:
Contents List of Figures xxx List of Tables xxx Preface xxx Acknowledgments xxx Chapter 1. Politics of Technological Empowerment: Science vs. Democracy 1 Chapter 2. Information Technology, Nation-State Building, and Social Movement 00 Chapter 3. Regulatory Regime and Political Control 00 Chapter 4. The Internet, Political Liberalization, and Political Democratization 00 Chapter 5. The Internet, Civic Engagement, and Public Distrust 00 Chapter 6. Interaction Strategies, Collective Action, and Political Consequences 00 Chapter 7. Information Technology, State-Society Relations, and Political Changes 00 Selected Bibliography 000 Notes 000 Index 000 Figures and Tables Figures 2.1 Number of Computer Hosts in China 000 2.2 Growth of Internet Users in China 000 2-3 Number of Domains Registered under CN, October 1997-January 2004 2-4 Internet Users by Occupation, January 2004 2-5 Use the Internet at Work among Business Elites 2-6 Use the Internet at Home among Business Elites 2-7 "I am proficient in using the Internet" 2-8 Regional Allocation of Internet Users, October 1997-January 2002 2-9 Location of Internet Access, Jan 2004 2-10 Monthly Income of Internet Users in China, Jan 2004 3-1 Party and State Organizations Responsible for the Media (Central level) 3-2 Party and State Organizations Responsible for the Internet (Central level) 3-3 Internet Arrests in China 5-1 "Using the Internet will enable people to work more efficiently" 5-2 "The Internet keeps me up-to-date with world developments." 5-3 "Using the Internet will invade one's privacy" 5-4 "Using the Internet will enable one to befriend bad company" 5-5 "Using the Internet will subject one to bad influence" 5-6 The level of trust of the Internet 5-7 The Internet and Inter-personal Interaction in China (2003) 5-8 "The Internet is a good way to keep in touch with people" 5-9 "Do you think by using the Internet people like you can better understand politics?" (all respondents, 18 and above) (2003) 5-10 "Do you think by using the Internet people like you can have more say about what the government does?" (all respondents, 18 and above) (2003) 5-11 Approval Rate of the Government's Anti-Corruption Performance Tables 2-1 Local Switchboard Capacity in China, 1985-2002 2-2 Number of Fixed-Line Phone Subscribers in China, 1978-2002 2-3 Penetration Rate and Teledensity in China, 1985-2002 2-4 Number of Mobile Phone Subscribers in China, 1988-2002 2-5 Social Groups that Benefited the Most and Least since the Open Door and Reform Policy (perceptions, 2002) 2-6 Fluctuations in the Urban-Rural Income Levels since 1995 2-7 The Development of Corruption among Leading Cadres in the 1990s 3-1 Heads of the Central Propaganda Department 3-2 Major Rules and Regulations on the Internet in China, 1994-2005 4-1 Most Important Reasons for Going Online in China (%), 2002-2004 4-2 Information Searched for Among Internet Users in China (%), 2002-2004 4-3 Services that were used most frequently (multiple choices, %), 2002-2004 5-1 Reasons for Not Using the Internet in China (percentage, 2003) 5-2 Reasons for Not Using the Internet in urban areas (percentage, N: 1,382) 5-3 Trust on information available in the Internet among Internet users and non-users in urban China (by percentage) 5-4 Public Opinions of the Internet and Politics in urban China, percentage, 2003 5-5 Public Opinions on Corruption in China 6-1 Popular concerns about SARS in five Chinese cities on May 24, 2003 (percentage) 6-2 The Question: "Were you aware of SARS before such news became available in official news media?" (Percentage) 6-3 The Question: "What do you think of the performance of the central government in battling SARS?" (Percentage) 6-4 The Question: "Has your confidence towards the government increased or decreased" (Percentage)

About the Author :
Yongnian Zheng is Professor and Head of Research at The China Policy Institute, Nottingham University. He is also a coeditor of China: An International Journal. His publications include Globalization and State Transformation in China (2004) and Will China Become Democratic? Elite, Class, and Regime Transition (2004).

Review :
"As a China expert, Zheng's superior knowledge on China allows him to execute an insightful and balanced analysis of the Internet's impacts on the state-society relations in China ... Overall, this is a truly well-researched and well-written book. Zheng has successfully provided a conceptual framework to assist our understanding of the political impact of the Internet in China. This book is a must-read for those scholars studying contemporary China. It is useful for relevant graduate courses in the fields of political science, sociology, and business." - Sheng Ding, Journal of Chinese Political Science "By reviewing the impact of information technology on political development in China, Zheng seeks to explore the dynamics of socio-political changes brought about by the Internet, the transformation of state power and social forces in Internet-mediated public space, and how the Internet provides an arena for the mutual empowerment of the state and society ... Highly recommended." - S. K. Ma, Choice "Technological Empowerment is a great contribution to the study of information technology in China. Zheng provides not only a thorough analysis of the origin of the nation-building framework, but also case studies of interactions between the state and society that are facilitated through information technology." - Technology in Culture