Page 17 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Background

An environmental documentary film was released on the major video websites in

China and it was produced by an independent journalist in 2015. The film caused an
uproar over the issue of air pollution in China’s cyberspace. The total number of views
reached 200 million within 48 hours (Ma, 2015). It managed to arouse fierce discus-
sions through widespread dissemination on major social media platforms, especially on

Weibo – the Chinese version of Twitter. This documentary made Chinese citizens begin
to recognise the dangers of smog and the urgent need to improve air quality. Apart from
its profound social influence, it also rang a warning bell, forcing official departments
to respond to environmental issues and to take serious action. It was a novel example

of the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) pro-
moting the interaction between the public and the government while increasing public
participation in China.
Cases like this documentary have happened frequently in recent years, each

occurrence touching on a vital topic and having a clear call to action. On the media
side, internet companies and major websites seek public attention through a series of
marketing strategies, striving to attract comments and to increase the number of for-
wards. Although there exists great diversity in the views presented on these websites

and most of them are easily swayed, the media companies have managed to provide a
public space for internet users to argue with each other, to criticise a particular case and
to discuss countermeasures. On the government side, reactions can be ambiguous or
unpredictable. On sensitive or controversial topics, arbitrary actions may be taken. For

instance, this documentary film, the environmental department initially made an official
response, but the documentary was later blocked and the related comments were de-
leted. This leads to the assumption that ICT is a prerequisite in such cases. Technology

1
1