Page 54 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Feasibility Study of New Media Technology
on Constructing Online Public Sphere

cient systems of government.

Online public participation in China is neither an established concept nor is it
well-defined:
‘it is a broad combination of public participation and online activities, i.e. the
public use internet as a medium to collect and release information, and a series
of commenting and discussing activities with the intention to influence the public

affairs and government’s decisions’ (Yang, 2010, p.25).
It thus seems that online public participation in China is isolated from the institu-
tional system, which makes it more suitable and effective to have an influence, given

that it removes the political constraints and involves individuals and groups (both well-
known and little-known) in the process. This book focuses on whether online public
participation serves the broad range of ‘the public’ and the process of how social-politi-
cal influence is affected.

2.5.2.3 Dynamics and forms of online public participation

The history of ICT development in China shows a great diversity of innovation.
Although the functions and forms vary, they have changed the relationship between
the government and the public. For example, e-mail, BBS, online forums, online cha-

trooms, instant messaging services, blogs, podcasts and Weibo are all new media tools
that facilitate the practice of public participation. New media tools have surpassed the
traditional participation channels both for cost and speed. They also overcome geo-
graphical limitations and political suppression and enable broader public participation.

Pavlik (1994) confirmed these advantages and argues that the internet removes physical
barriers and reinvents dispersed communities in cyberspace.
As Shao, Lu and Wu (2012, p.78) indicated:
‘new media may function in breaking information asymmetry, offering alternative

participation channels, providing unique motivation for civic engagement, and
consequently promoting the development of democratic politics in China’.
The internet and mobile communication channels have created a new realm in
which privilege is reduced, but freedom and equality are promoted. Due to the plethora

38
38