资源描述
Mapping Chinese Netizenship:
A Case Study of the Green Dam Project
Course: [COMU7002]
Communication Project
Course Coordinator: Dr Kitty Van Vuuren
Supervisor: Dr Rhonda Breit
Student Name: Jing Wen
Student Number: 41610952
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Rhonda Breit, whose broad knowledge and logical thinking have been of great value for me. Her encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final stages enabled me to finish this project. Dr Breit gave me the confidence and support to begin my Masters project. She also challenged me to set my benchmark even higher and to look for solutions to problems rather than focus on the problems, which helped me learn to believe in my future, my work and myself.
I would also like to gratefully acknowledge the encouragement and support from Dr Kitty Van Vuuren, who guided me through the process of learning and helped me immensely. Without her knowledge and assistance, this study would not have been accomplished.
Lastly, I give my special thanks and regards to all of those who supported me in any respect during the completion of this project.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 2
Acronyms 4
Abstract 5
1. Introduction 6
1.1 Background and rationale 6
1.2 Statement of the problem 7
1.3 Research Problems 8
1.4 A summary of the methods used to address the problem 8
1.5 The theoretical framework for the project 8
1.6 Aim and objectives 9
1.7 Ethical considerations 9
1.8 Limitations of the study 9
1.9 A brief outline of the chapters to come 10
2. Literature Review 10
2.1 Key concepts and WSIS documentation analysis 12
2.1.1 Netizenship and The role of ICT in the Information Society 14
2.1.2 International approaches to internet governance 16
2.2 Stakeholder Consultation 19
2.2.1 The role of Civil Society and NGOs in Information Society 19
2.3 Capacity building 22
3. Research Methodology 25
3.1 Digital divide 26
3.2 Governance structures 27
3.3 Capacity building 27
4. Results and Discussion 28
4.1 Digital divide 29
4.2 Governance structure 32
4.3 Capacity building 36
5. Conclusion and Recommendations 39
5.1 Changes in governance narrowing the digital divide 39
5.2 Multi- stakeholder participation in bridging digital divide 41
5.3 Capacity building for eliminating digital divide 41
5.4 Suggestions for future study 42
5.5 Conclusion 43
Reference 44
Appendix 49
Acronyms
CNNIC China Internet Network Information Centre1
GNI Gross National Income
ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
ICT Information and Communication Technology
IDN Interactive digital network
IETF Internet engineering task force
IGF Internet Governance Forum
IS Information Society
ITU International Telecommunication Union
NGO Non-governmental Organisation
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
WGIG Working Group on Internet Governance
WSIS World Summit on the Information Society
1. Official abbreviation from the CNNIC website:
Abstract
There is much evidence that Information Technology is recognised as a significant sector in the Information Society (IS). With the further development of economic globalization, Information Technology continues to enable breakthroughs in numerous technical and scientific fields. It has become a strong driving force for socio-economic development, allowing human society to attain new historical highs at an unprecedented speed.
Fostering the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of Information Technology, internet governance as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for development, are particularly important. As the centre of an Information Society, internet governance and ICT for development ensure that ‘[e]veryone, everywhere should have the opportunity to participate and no one should be excluded from the benefits the Information Society offers’ (Geneva Declaration of Principles, 2003).
The Green Dam Project case that occurred on 15 June 2009 challenged the state of Chinese netizenship, going against the indicators of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS). Poor levels of internet penetration suggest that China still needs to strive to prepare for transition to the IS.
This paper looks at the extent to which China has moved towards IS objectives through analysis of WSIS documentation and stakeholder theories. It also aims at making recommendations on how China can enhance consultation processes to aid the implementation of IS objectives, by mapping the conditions of Chinese netizenship.
Key words: WSIS; Stakeholder; Green Dam Project; Chinese Netizenship
1. Introduction
When Information Technology plays a decisive role in human society, Information and Communication Technology for development, as well as Internet Governance, are crucial and indispensible. This is in order to ‘develop and foster a clear statement of political will and take concrete steps to establish the foundations for an IS for all, reflecting all the different interests at stake’ (WSIS, Geneva Declaration of Principles and Geneva Plan of Action).
1.1 Background and rationale
The IS is a concept that ‘describe[s] present-day structures, discourses and practices’ with a meaning of ‘enshrining the promise of a better world’ (Carpertier, 2006). In 2001, the United Nations (UN) Assembly and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) decided to hold a two-phase WSIS: the first phase was held in Geneva in 2003 and the second took place in Tunis in 2005. The documentation produced in these two phases guides all stakeholders to contribute to the establishment of an IS and maintain the sustainability of the Information Society. The effect of the WSIS is to create policy tools to overcome diversified societal divides. The multi-stakeholder approach is to foster a fair decision-making process which allows different stakeholder involvement and the bridging of the digital divide. The WSIS proposed solutions to reach international agreement regarding Internet governance and ICTs for development.
The Geneva phase of the WSIS focused on developing underlying principles for the founding of a global Information Society. The Tunis phase paid more attention to implementation of these principles as well as follow-up mechanisms (Malcolm, 2008). Each phase resulted in the production of a pair of documents: Geneva Declaration of Principles and Geneva Plan of Action for the first phase and Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda for an Information Society for the second phase. The documents in each pair are integrally joined and complementary to each other. Both phases of WSIS emphasise the importance of Internet governance reform and ICTs for development.
The Geneva Declaration of Principles and Geneva Plan of Action were to build up and promote a clear statement of political will, and take tangible steps to set up the foundations for an IS for all mankind that ‘reflect[s] all the different interests at stake’ ("Basic Information: about WSIS," n.d.). The Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda for an Information Society, built on the Geneva Plan of Action, help ‘find solutions for reaching agreements in the fields of Internet governance’ and ICT for development ("Basic Information: about WSIS," n.d.). The Tunis documents were to promote the implementation and development of the Geneva documents, and presented a conclusion about Internet governance that helped reinforce the content of the Geneva documents. Additionally, they outlined subsequent steps to be taken(Malcolm, 2008).
As the world prepares for the third phase of the WSIS in May this year, it is time to examine how far individual countries have progressed in implementing the WSIS principles. According to statistics presented by Internet World Stats ("Asia Internet Usage and Population," 2009), the status of Chinese netizenship is disconcerting: with a population of more than 1.3 billion, Chinese internet users number only 360,000,000, an internet penetration level of 26.9 percent. This suggests that the Chinese netizenship faces severe challenges and needs to strive in preparing for the transition to an Information Society.
1.2 Statement of the problem
On 15 June 2009, the Chinese government announced that it was compulsory for all computer manufacturers to install a piece of software called Green Dam Youth Escort on all new computers to be sold in China. Officials said that this software was designed to filter out pornographic and violent content for the purposes of protecting children, yet some internet users discovered the software blocking normal pictures of babies, pigs and even the cartoon cat Garfield, tracking key words and colours, leading to some unusual effects such as sudden computer crashes. Free speech advocates in China argued that this software could be used by the government to block activist groups as well as anything the government considers to be an undesirable influence (Carpertier, 2006).
1.3 Research Problems
The Green Dam Project case arouses concern from various sections of society and raises the following questions:
· What is the current state of Chinese netizenship?
· What China can do to narrow the digital divide?
· What is the governance structure of China?
· How could China broadly promote stakeholder relationships to meet WSIS indicators and achieve WSIS objectives?
· How should China build capacity to meet WSIS objectives?
1.4 A summary of the methods used to address the problem
This project is designed to develop a set of key IS indicators for mapping Chinese netizenship by reviewing, analysing and critiquing the WSIS documentation. It then seeks to map the state of Chinese netizenship and analyse China’s capacity to meet WSIS indicators, using an in-depth examination of the Green Dam Project case study. Finally, it describes the state of netizenship in China and makes recommendations on how to enhance stakeholder engagement in order to promote Chinese netizenship.
1.5 The theoretical framework for the project
This project will use two theories to analyse the Green Dam Project case: explanation of WSIS on IS development, and stakeholder engagement analysis, which is drawn from the literature from the field of participatory communication.
1.6 Aim and objectives
The key aim of this study is to make recommendations on how China can enhance the processes of consultation to aid the implementation of IS objectives. The project will achieve this aim by mapping the conditions of Chinese netizenship against WSIS indicators.
In order to achieve this aim this study will need to meet the following objectives:
· Development of a set of key IS indicators by reviewing, analysing and critiquing the WSIS documentation.
· Use of an in-depth examination of the Green Dams Project for mapping the state of Chinese netizenship and analyse China’s capacity to meet WSIS indicators
· Reviewing of stakeholder consultation analysis to make recommendations on how China could promote stakeholder relationship broadly to improve consultation and implement WSIS objectives
1.7 Ethical considerations
This project report may involve certain sensitive issues related to the state of freedom of expression in China; however, it will not have the potential to harm anyone and it is very necessary for mapping Chinese netizenship objectively.
1.8 Limitations of the study
The limitation of this project is that it will not be drawing on other theoretical frameworks and will focus on only one case study. It will use only two theories to analyse the case, and the data that the project will rely on is collected from journal articles, official surveys and other online sources.
1.9 A brief outline of the chapters to come
This paper is organised as follows. The Literature Review part will introduce the concept of Netizenship and subsequently explain the role of technology. It will use the WSIS documentation and critiques from contemporary articles to describe the global trend of internet access, and develop some categories from WSIS to evaluate Chinese netizenship. The Methodology part will explain the methodologies this paper will employ to look at the extent to which China has moved towards IS objectives. Through relevant statistics, surveys and reports from the WSIS, ITU and China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) websites, the Results section will collect data to analyse Chinese netizenship based on categories identified in the Literature Review. In addition, it will include a case study of the Green Dam project to reflect a general idea of the state of Chinese netizenship. The subsequent Discussion part explicitly explains the state of Chinese netizenship, to see how Chinese netizenship conditions are against WSIS indicators. It explores how the government has failed to deliver on WSIS objectives with respect to the digital divide, internet governance and capacity building. It also includes the WSIS documentation in detail as well as other reports from CNNIC in order to analyse the capacity of China to meet WSIS indicators. The Conclusion and Recommendations part summarises the main findings of the whole project and makes recommendations on how China can enhance the processes of consultation to aid implementation of IS objectives.
2. Literature Review
This chapter explains the role of technology and the importance of governance in promoting the IS vision. It then critiques the WSIS from the stakeholder angle and analyses capacity building. The WSIS creates policy tools to overcome digital divides and found a global Information Society.
The previous section identified the role of the WSIS in outlining a vision for IS Development. Central to this vision is fostering information access, promoting effective and transparent Internet governance, and building capacity. The aim of the WSIS is to create a global Information Society (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2007). The IS is a multi-level society, integrated with complex communication networks, in which the creation, distribution, and manipulation of information has become the most significant economic and cultural activity ("Informatio
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