Page 255 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 8. Conclusion

public sphere. The solution to the Sun Zhigang case was mainly a result of the exposure

of traditional media platforms and the primary content of news coverage and relevant
first-hand information of this case were all derived from the traditional media platforms.
Web portals and BBS/forums acted as communication channels and carriers of infor-
mation. The role of new media was simple - further boosting the developing process of
the case. If the Southern Metropolis Daily had not made the first post, the news would

probably only have been noticed by very few people; if People.cn had not published the
article criticising the CCP’s mouthpiece, many other media platforms would not have
had the courage to provide further news coverage. The influence of new media was not

fully displayed in the Sun Zhigang case. However, the easily accessible technology
changed the situation of the almost zero communication between the government and
the public to at least a minimum of indirect communication via online channels. This
was the prime contribution of the new media during the early phase of the internet age.
An increasing number of victims gained an alternative approach to make a personal or

public appeal: using social media to release the information with the hope to achieve
a satisfied solution by gathering large-scale social campaign. Hence, easily accessible
ICT is the fundamental support for the diverse channels of social media, as well as the

source that makes the alternative approaches of civic engagement possible.

8.2.1.2 The era of blogs and QQ

Blogs represent a new stage of public participation centralised by opinion leaders,
while the instant messaging service involved more general citizens to the form of pub-

lic opinion. Opinion leaders mastered the blog technology early, and they often posted
detailed articles which were filled with personal emotions and views. As can be seen
from the articles published by Lian Yue in the Xiamen PX plant case, blog articles re-
garding social events quickly gathered a large audience and these followers shared the

article by forwarding it to other blog sites and BBS/forums. Lian’s posts were also for-
warded by some influential web portals, such as Sina and Xinhua.
QQ is the largest Chinese instant messaging service, and it gathers individuals
who share common interests and concerns. Each QQ group can be seen as an online

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