Media Change and Civic Activism:From the Cultural Revolution to the Internet

Guobin Yang

July 11, 2013East-West Center

I. Perspectives on media change

II. Media change from CR to reform era: Mass media

III. The internet

State

media liberalization

Market

I. Perspectives on media change

Political economy approach:

Neo-institutionalism:

“Media Change through Bounded Innovations” (Pan 2010)

Co-evolution of internet and civil society (Yang 2003)

Multi-interactionism (Yang 2009)

II. Media change from CR to reform: Mass Media

CR period

Was there culture in the Cultural Revolution?

Limited “culture industry”

Books published in China, 1966 -1970

Elementary and middle school textbooks: 248 titles, 1.7 billion copies

Political pamphlets (e.g. reprints of editorials) 584 titles, 2.6 billion copies

Arts and literature 137 titles, 422 million copies

Culture and education 5 titles, 6.7 million

Science and technology 1739 titles, 243 million

Readers for children and youth 287 titles, 165 million copies

Selected Works of Mao Zedong (in mandarin, 5 minority and 36 foreign languages): 4.2 billion copies

Works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin: 8.9 million

Main channel of book distributionNew China Bookstore (xinhua shudian):

# of branches nationally

1957 3,5841963 3,7911966 (May) 4,0761969 Headquarters in Beijing closed1973 Headquarters re-opened

Bookstores in CR:

576 million copies locked away in book stores

8 million copies of 6,870 titles locked away in bookstores in Beijing

Biggest bookstore in Shanghai had 1,792 titles in social science in early 1966. 200 still for sale after CR started (Dangdai zhongguo de chuban shiye, Vol. 1, p.78).

Shanghai People’s Radio program schedule for Winter 1970-Spring 1971 season-- Rebel Workers Newspaper (Shanghai), Nov. 8, 1970,

First broadcasting

4:30 Chorus: East Is Red, report of program schedule4:45 Revolutionary literature and arts5:30 Program for workers6:00 Weather6:30 News and Newspaper Digest of Central People’s Radio7:00 News and Local Newspaper Digest 7:30 Revolutionary literature and arts8:15 Study and application of Mao Zedong Thought8:46 Revolutionary literature and arts9:00 News and Local Newspaper Digest9:30 Revolutionary literature and arts10:30 Study and application of Mao Zedong Thought11:00 Learn to sing revolutionary model opera and revolutionary songs12:00 Weather12:30 News13:00 Revolutionary literature and arts13:30 Off air for break

“Model Operas”

Red Guard movement, 1966-1968

About 200 Red Guard papers in Chengdu

1,639 Red Guard papers in Chongqing (Chongqing xinwen zhi bianjibu).

256 Red Guard papers in Shanghai, according to a survey conducted in July 1967 (Jin Dalu, p. 3).

Entertainment fiction and underground culture

Breakup

My Friend:What’s wrong with today?Today I look just as “proud” as in the past. This hair of mineIs carefully done by the best barber on Xidan Avenue.This cashmere scarfGives me a handsome look….Look at my shoes!How sharp-pointedHow narrow, how shiny!

What do you want?A worker’s wage, a peasant’s freedom,A student’s life, a petty bourgeoisie’s ideas.

--“Breakup,” Quoted in Yang 1993, 157-158.

Reform period: Commercialization and media liberalization

Jan 1979 First post-CR newspaper advertisement published in Tianjin Daily. For Blue Sky toothpaste.

Jan 1979 First post-CR TV commercial appears on Shanghai TV. For an alcoholic drink.

April 1979 First advertisement in People's Daily, for industrial machinery.

1982 Temporary provisions for the management of advertisements (State Council)

1984 Hong Kong martial arts TV series Huo Yuan Jia aired on CCTV to great success

1980s Media industry flourished, including more independent publishing

1988 River Elegy, documentary, semi-independent

VI of River Elegy. “Blueness”

“The distinguishing marks of a despotic government are secrecy, rule by an individual, and the fickleness of his temperament. The marks of a democratic government should be transparency, responsiveness to popular will, and a scientific approach.”

On intellectuals’ historical mission: “Their talents can be manipulated by others, their wills can be twisted,… their flesh destroyed. And yet, they hold in their hands the weapon to destroy ignorance and superstitution.... It is they who can channel the ‘blue’ sweetwater spring of science and democracy onto our yellow earth!”

1994 China connected to internet

1995 First metropolitan daily: Huaxi Metropolitan Daily

1997 Southern Metropolitan News launched

…

Growth of TV stations in 1980s:

1983 52

1990 509

Circulation of sampled newspapers in 2006

Shanghai Morning Post, 461,900

Southern Metropolis Daily, 1,400,000

Yangcheng Evening News, Guangdong 1,210,000

People’s Daily 1,926,400 (a drop from 8 million in 1980)

Source: China Journalism Yearbook 2006

Decline of newspapers for workers and peasants

Flourishing of peasant newspapers in the 1980s(national, provincial, municipal rural news, peasant daily, etc), Most with circulation of 500,000

Disappearance of about half of these papers and decline of circulation of existing ones

1 CCTV-1 7.02%

2 Hunan SATV 4.14%

3 CCTV-6 (Movie) 4.11%

4 CCTV-3 (Entertainment) 2.94%

5 CCTV-Youth 2.77%

6 CCTV-8 (Television Drama)

2.68%

7 Zhejiang SATV 2.65%

8 Shandong SATV 2.21%

Top 8 TV channels by audience share in 2010

Financial income structure of Hunan Satellite TV, 1998-2006, in 10 thousand

Source: Hunan Radio and TV Yearbook 1998-2006

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4YOHgPVJbg

Singing “Zombie”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SacV3R_Hihs

"Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl Contest"winner, Li Yuchun, 2005

Commercialization and liberalization: Southern Weekend case

Southern Weekend story as example of intersection of mass media, internet, and civil society

III. The Internet

Email Newsgroups BBS Online Shopping Email Newsgroups BBS Online Shopping

June 1999June 1999 90.990.9 21.4 21.4 28.0 3.2 28.0 3.2

Dec. 1999Dec. 1999 71.771.7 17.0 17.0 16.3 7.8 16.3 7.8

June 2000June 2000 87.787.7 25.4 25.4 21.2 21.2 14.114.1

Dec. 2000Dec. 2000 87.787.7 19.3 19.3 16.7 16.7 12.512.5

June 2001June 2001 74.974.9 10.7 10.7 9.0 9.0 8.08.0

Dec. 2001Dec. 2001 92.292.2 13.4 13.4 9.8 9.8 7.87.8

June 2002June 2002 92.992.9 20.4 20.4 18.9 18.9 10.310.3

Dec. 2002Dec. 2002 92.692.6 21.3 21.3 18.9 18.9 11.511.5

June 2003June 2003 91.891.8 20.7 20.7 22.6 22.6 11.711.7

Dec. 2003Dec. 2003 88.488.4 N/A N/A 18.8 18.8 7.37.3

June 2004June 2004 84.384.3 N/A N/A 21.3 21.3 7.37.3

Dec 2004Dec 2004 85.685.6 N/A N/A 20.8 20.8 6.76.7

June 2005June 2005 91.391.3 N/A N/A 40.6 40.6 19.619.6

Most Frequently Used Network Services in China (Multiple Options), June 1999 – June 2004 (in percent)

World Internet Population (2005/June 2012, selected countries)

Country/ Internet population % of populationRegion (million)

USA 202/245 68.5/78Canada 20/28 63.8U.K. 35 59.8China 101/538 7.9/40.1South Korea 31 63.3Japan 78 60.9Hong Kong 4.8 70.7Taiwan 13 60.5Africa 16 1.8

Top 20 internet countries worldwide at mid-year 2012:

1. China: 538.0 million2. US: 245.2 million3. India: 137.0 million4. Japan: 101.2 million5. Brazil: 87.3 million6. Russia: 68.0 million7. Germany: 67.5 million8. Indonesia: 55.0 million9. UK: 52.7 million10. France: 52.3 million11. Nigeria: 48.4 million12. Mexico: 42.0 million13. Iran: 42.0 million14. Korea: 40.3 million15. Turkey: 36.5 million16. Italy: 35.8 million17. Philippines: 33.6 million18. Spain: 31.6 million19. Vietnam: 31.0 million20. Egypt: 29.8 million

(Internet World Stats, October 2012)

Types of Online Spaces (web sites, BBS, blogs, etc)

Official: government agencies, media (newspapers, TV stations, etc)

Commercial: portals, web sites of business companies, online bookstores

Nonprofit and non-state: educational institutions, NPOs, NGOs

Voluntary/private: intellectual web sites, personal home pages/BBS/blogs

Internet and change

a) Internet censorship

b) Cultural change (gaming, literature, news, parenting…)

c) Political and social change – debate, protest, muckraking, civic association online

a) Internet control and censorship

Evolution of internet control regime

1994-1999: beginning, focusing on network security and institutional restructuring

2000-2002: expansion, growing control of content

2003 – present: sophistication (combining proactive with soft control methods)

Contradictions, countercurrents, resistance

•Contradiction between development and control

•growing demand for citizen participation

•Risks, crises, emergencies

•Creative resistance

a) Internet and cultural change

-internet literature

-internet language

-digital videos

-grassroots writing

Doing some writing after a meal, or a cup of tea, or after work and study – this is the real meaning of literature. In the internet, there are no hypocritical and instrumental purposes, no cultivated intentions to compose…. People know they basically cannot persuade others on any specific issue. Yet, the urge to talk when you have something to talk about manifests the cool and authentic inner spirit of internet literature. By returning to life and revealing the inner heart, internet literature gives the fullest possible expression to the authentic part of humanity. (1998)

The biggest appeal of the internet is its openness. To publish “works” there is as easy as blowing off dust. People may do what they please: it is completely unrestrained. All the so-called “criteria” and “traditions” are overthrown. It only takes some typing and posting to “publish” works, to offer them to readers. How exciting this is for those who enjoy playing word games.

And so it happens that an “internet literature” has flourished…. In contrast to its quantity, its overall quality is disappointingly poor. In essence, the “internet literature” as we know it is far more like play than like literature. I wonder whether we should not separate “internet” from “literature” and call “internet literature” “internet writing” instead. (2001)

Political and social change: Case of online activism

Definition:

• “contentious activities associated with the use of the Internet and other new communication

technologies” (p.3)

Where does online activism happen?

•BBS

•Blogs

•Microblogs (weibo.cn, twitter)

•Online communities (e.g. www.tianya.cn)

•Portal sites (sina.com, sohu.com)

Characteristics of online activism:

prevalence

frequency

both organized and spontaneous

demographics: young and urban

concrete and modest goals

symbolic means

Issue Opportunity and Issue Resonance

Main issues in domestic online activism:

(1)popular nationalism(2)rights defense (3)corruption and power abuse,(4) environment(5) cultural contention (6) muckraking (7) Online charity

Issues in rights defense:

(1)vulnerable persons(2)homeowners (3)Demolition and forced relocation(4) hepatitis-B carriers and diabetes patients(5) consumer rights (defined broadly) (6) human rights (7) other issues of urban middle-class concern

Issues in transnational (Twitter and blogosphere) digital activism:

1) Human rights2) June 4th 3) Falun Gong4) Democracy activists in exile

Frequency

Sample Cases of Online Activism, 1989 - 2001

Year Case

1989

Chinese students overseas supported protests in China

1996

Defense of Diaoyu Islands in university BBS

1998

Violence against ethnic Chinese in Indonesia

1999

NATO bombing of Chinese embassy in former Yugoslavia

2000

US spy plane collision

2000

Murdered student in Beijing University

2001

School explosion in Jiangxi

2001

Mine disaster in Guangxi

2003

Death of Sun Zhigang

2003

Online petition changed court decision about crime lord Liu Yong.

2004

Online petition to oppose Japan’s bid for UN security council permanent member seat

2004

BMW case

2004

Niu Niu incident

2005

anti-Japanese protests

2006

Qin Zhongfei arrested for circulating satirical poem

2007

“black kiln incident” in Shanxi

2007

PX demonstration in Xiamen

2007

South China tiger

2008

Anti-cnn.com

2008

Sichuan earthquake relief

Sample Cases of Online Activism, 2003 - 2008

“Fast-Growing China Says Little of Child Slavery’s Role” NYT, June 21, 2007

“Reports of Forced Labor at Brick Kilns Unsettle China” NYT, June 16, 2007

Song of Grass-mud Horse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKx1aenJK08

War of Internet Addiction (2010)

3 months production100 volunteers0 cost

1/7 Preludehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHjg65mQJkw

6/7http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emVhTjBYchs

South China Tiger SpottedOctober 15, 2007, Nature Newsbloghttp://blogs.nature.com/news/2007/10/south_china_tiger_spotted_1.html

Chinese news sources are reporting that the highly endangered South China Tiger has been seen in the wild for the first time in years (Xinhua, Huash). Nearly all the remaining tigers of this species are in captive breeding facilities and experts put the number of wild individuals at around 25 at most (BBC). Now photographs taken by a farmer appear to catch one of these on film, the first confirmed sighting in 30 years.

The Chinese news channels have a pretty impressive picture of the animal in question. Although there don’t appear to be official English versions of these stories there is a translation available. This says the tiger was snapped by Zhenglong Zhou, a villager from Zhenping County in Ankang City, Shaanxi Province.

This sighting is much more convincing than a photo of the Yangtze dolphin that was wheeled out after reports of that creature’s demise. Still, it is going to take more than this to convince that the tiger is out of the woods. On its own, one tiger is not very much use.

“Photos of South China tiger faked” LA Times, July 1, 2008

Deng Fei “Free Lunch project”

Started in April 2011 on Weibo, with support from China Charity Foundation

offers free lunchbox with an egg, a dish and rice to children in poor regions

From then to March 2013, program collected RMB 43 million

Subsidized 200 schools

Ongoing, now with government support

--Source: http://www.mianfeiwucan.org/aboutus/

Mobilized 500 journalists and a dozen mass media

Weibo an important publicity and mobilization platform

“Your three-yuan donation will bring them simple happiness.”您 3元钱的支持便是他们简单的幸福 !

京华时报：如果让你来总结这种创新性的公益模式的成功经验，你觉得最重要的是什么？

邓飞：公开透明。我们的原则是不透明不拨款。(interview 9/26/11, http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2011-09/26/c_122085892_3.htm )

Ensuring transparency of donations through project web sitehttp://service.imore.net/project/ALWYD76001D66G1X