Page 172 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Feasibility Study of New Media Technology
on Constructing Online Public Sphere

opinion on the internet. Only 22.86% held the opinion that citizens have the freedom of

speech and public opinion should not be guided by the government.
Combined with the respondents’ response in using online information, the result
implies that, firstly, most netizens realised and admitted the possible influence of online
rumour, cyber-violence and network hype on Chinese online public sphere. Thus, they
were open to a certain degree of government control over irresponsible and irrational

public opinion aroused on social networking sites. Secondly, netizens often suspect the
validity of information collected from the internet; for example, the viewpoints pro-
posed by controversial intellectuals. Therefore, some Chinese netizens would expect

the government to provide more specific and more accurate information about public
affairs so that they could decide how to react.

Figure 33. Do you think that the government should guide public opinion?

6.4.2 Commercial media platforms: ‘dancing with shackles’
Although the reform and opening-up policy has improved this to some extent,

China is still a highly bureaucratic state, and the concept is only accepted at the bottom
level of the hierarchical system. Therefore, it is difficult to foster an antagonistic rela-
tionship between the state and society, such as exists in western countries. Yu and Xing
concluded that:

‘[t]he public sphere can only exist in the overlapping space between the state and
society in China. It is under the political authority’s governance. No matter how it

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