Page 269 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 8. Conclusion

experiences. It did not include sufficient data specifically for those who directly par-

ticipated in the events of the case studies. This was partly because the events were still
considered as sensitive in China. When the invitations to participate in the research
were sent, respondents expressed concern regarding negative consequences, even
though the privacy and anonymity were informed and guaranteed. Thus, many netizens
declined to participate because of the sensitivity. Future studies may consider finding a

thorough research method to improve the response rate and to gain more data from the
direct participants of these sensitive public events.

8.4 Suggestions for future research

To begin with, my book has revealed the situation of China’s online public par-
ticipation and online public sphere from the period between 2003 – 2010 covering the
BBS/forum age, blog age and Weibo age. During the online activities, the interactive
relationship among the three factors (government-media-public) demonstrates a steady

trend, and a unique tacit understanding has been established among them. Both the pub-
lic and internet companies are aware of the sensitive topics, government’s bottom line,
as well as the negative consequences if one goes beyond the government’s tolerance.
On the one hand, it is because the online public sphere in China has grown to a much

higher and maturer level than the initial stage of media commercialisation and infor-
mation digitalisation. On the other hand, the Chinese government also tends to respond
promptly to mass event, propose and update corresponding internet regulations timely.
The three cases analysed in this book are representative public events during the de-

velopment of China’s online public sphere. However, due to the rapid development of
ICTs in China, more recent and highly debated cases need to be addressed. Future stud-
ies may pay more attention to the emerging forms of online activism or public events
under the background of a mature online public sphere in China. I plan to examine my

triangular framework in the context of more recent mass incidents, and to come up with
an updated and a more generalised theoretical and analytical model.
The patterns of online behaviour on different social media platforms are also
worth investigating. For example, the possible consequences of the challenges and

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