Free The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends That Will Disrupt the World by Shaun Rein Page B

Chinese actively access the Internet on a daily basis from computers and mobile phones, making it impossible to stop information flow.
    The Chinese government is no longer nervous about letting its citizens travel and study abroad, or view information and content online. Just a decade ago, by contrast, they severely restricted overseas travel to a privileged few.
    Now, the government does cast suspicious glances at Web 2.0 social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as possible tools to foment unrest. True, they might be overly concerned but even U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said during the 2011 London riots he would block and patrol those social media sites being used to stir up violence. There is probably a more elegant solution for China than simply blocking all foreign-run social media sites, but their concerns about how they can be used to foment instability are understandable. Few content sites are blocked today in China, and Chinese can get unfettered access to international news sites that run critical pieces on China’s government, like those of the New York Times , TIME , and The Guardian .
    In online chat forums, Chinese people constantly criticize government actions, such as the corruption scandals involving high-speed rail investment and overspending on lavish government buildings. There is no shortage of opinions. If you walk down the street in China, it is even common to see people yelling at police who are trying to ticket them for some driving offense or jaywalking. Many Westerners think that the Chinese people are scared to express themselves, and shake with fear when police walk by—but that is simply not true.
    The government understands that draconian limits on access to technology would be counterproductive for society, so it has pushed for domestic alternatives like microblogging on Sina Weibo instead of Twitter, and has even encouraged Chinese police to use these channels to communicate directly with the people. These vehicles provide the Chinese with the freedom of speech the West demands for every citizen of the world. The difference between Sina Weibo and Twitter, however, is largely that the government trusts the executives at Sina to delete within minutes a post that may cause unrest, whereas Western-run sites like Google or Twitter will not turn over information if the government legally asks them for it, much as these sites do in America without balking if the Federal Bureau of Investigation provides a warrant.
    Younger Chinese might not like curbs on Internet access, or may even think they are silly, but giving up life’s comforts and turning to protest is not in their heads. The benefits that the central government brings far outweigh any negatives. They would rather complain about regulations in person and in online chat rooms, and hope that positive changes will be made as officials get less fearful, than try to overthrow the entire political system.
    Given the tribulations of the postdynastic era and the impact of the Cultural Revolution, perhaps most Chinese people understand that a Western model of democracy is not necessarily the best system for China now—and potentially never, as Wu Bangguo, currently Chairman and Party Secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and ranked second in the Party hierarchy, has stated. Chapters 6 and 10 will further explore reforms in the political system and what a future system might entail, but such a system is more likely to be shaped by Chinese voices rather than Western ones.
     
    Many Westerners view spending on internal stability by the Public Security Bureau to be nefarious—the actions of a Big Brother–like government—yet do not view the installation of cameras in London, the German government’s use of online Trojans to spy on people, or wiretapping in the United States after 9/11 with such fear or anger. Many Chinese see internal security spending as a natural response to new threats to stability.