Page 43 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 2. Literature review

ence of new media on the government. Wu (2007) argued that the advent of the internet

has brought opportunities for economic development in China in the form of promoting
digitalisation in media, business, banking and other industries, and that the government
has taken advantage of the internet, using it as an extended information platform and
actively supporting state-controlled mainstream media for propaganda (ibid). It has also
pushed forward tight information control to prevent the spread of democratic ideas on

other internet media platforms (ibid).
Hence, the evolution of the information regime has facilitated changes in the na-
ture of communication and led to new forms of media, an adaptation of government

institutions and increased opportunities for the public. It is one of the theoretical frame-
work that has structured this research.

2.5 Analytical framework: the triangular structure of the in-
ternet in China

Du and Cao (2013) identified three fundamental factors that sustain the running of
the online public sphere in China: technology, citizens, and government. This provides
a basic structure of the online public sphere. Several studies have empirically investi-
gated the issue from multiple dimensions, and a comprehensive analysis of the complex

interactions, relationships and power structures of the three factors is needed in future
research.
I have developed a theoretical model focusing on the triangular relationship
among the government, the public and the media, focusing on Chinese society and its

particular background. The internet is used as part of the media market in the frame-
work to elaborate the evolution and process of public participation and how social
change is generated, and each sector’s role in the dynamic system. Figure 1 shows the
operational mechanism in my triangular system. The three key elements constitute the

online, quasi-public sphere in China. I attempt to find out the process of the interaction
between these three elements and how they contribute to the online public sphere.
These discussions have demonstrated that the public sphere is used as a normative
theory to analyse the role of mass media in modern society. In the following section, I

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