Dissent by Internet
Who says the Internet is but a toy for the bored and the restless? It can be so much more as most of us know, and none more than those who post messages of dissent and dissatisfaction, criticisms of their ruling elites, political corruption, immoral religious practises, the targeting of helpless minorities within a population. There can certainly be a price to be paid, and we see it happening, with bloggers being arrested, summarily tried, convicted and incarcerated.
On the other hand, what happens when the lone dissenter gains adherents and the numbers multiply and the bloggers rant on in their tens, hundreds, thousands and more? Well as the numbers continue to increase the ruling elite finally realize they've a tsunami of public opinion to stifle. How to arrest them all? Ah, arrest the protest, not the protesters. Alter the situations that lead to criticism. Especially within a country sensitive to the fact that the Internet hosts a universe of onlookers.
Look at China, for example. Her inexorable growth in manufacture and trade has led her to engage usefully and economically advantageously with the rest of the world. It is in her own self-interest to assure the world at large that she is now more open and willing to assume her place in the world as a responsible state that recognizes human rights. (Setting aside inconvenient realities like Taiwan and Tibet for the moment.)
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, in an acknowledgement of internal criticisms of the lavish lifestyles of Communist party leaders, the land grabs by officials and rampant corruption, has promised to curb these excesses in favour of increased spending on health and education. The annual National People's Congress attendees were informed that local officials would no longer be permitted to oversee the building of luxurious new office blocks, free housing for party members and golf courses for themselves.
The wealth distribution between cities of the east coast which have been prospering and the rural interior continues to grow. As has the number of protests against that disparity. Tens of thousands of protests are being lodged against compulsory land requisition, corruption and pollution. People are focusing their attention and complaints on political corruption where local officials serve themselves, not their constituents.
In response, Mr. Wen asserts now that leaders must demonstrate to the public that they still "serve the people". And to that end, central government spending would be increased massively for the purpose of extending free education to the country's poorest citizens, and boosting rural health care. The Beijing government, he said, would also continue to reduce the devastating environmental fallout from China's economic boom. The very air that Chinese breathe is incredibly contaminated, leading to continual health issues.
It's quite wonderful that the fallout from industrial pollution is seen to be so immediately inimical to the well-being of Chinese themselves, to the extent that the people and the government realize they have an internal obligation to effect clean-up measures if only to improve their own quality of life. A not inconsiderable issue, surely as important as their burgeoning economic wealth.
Yet because they're seen, alongside India, as newly come to their economic status, they're exempt from having to observe the same environmental criteria through the Kyoto Accord that other, developed nations have imposed on themselves. "We should avoid seeking only faster growth and competing for faster growth" Mr. Wen admitted, acknowledging double-digit economic growth in recent years had come at a high social cost. "We must put people first."
And come to think of it, not only the Chinese people. A new study is alerting North American scientists and environmentalists that sooty sulphurous coal smoke from Asian industry has altered the eastbound "storm track" in the Pacific. So that floating soot particles are changing the air chemistry making clouds form into towering formations through convection, which influences weather patterns around the world.
It's clear that what happens in China is affecting the rest of he world in a myriad of ways from the global economy to global weather.
On the other hand, what happens when the lone dissenter gains adherents and the numbers multiply and the bloggers rant on in their tens, hundreds, thousands and more? Well as the numbers continue to increase the ruling elite finally realize they've a tsunami of public opinion to stifle. How to arrest them all? Ah, arrest the protest, not the protesters. Alter the situations that lead to criticism. Especially within a country sensitive to the fact that the Internet hosts a universe of onlookers.
Look at China, for example. Her inexorable growth in manufacture and trade has led her to engage usefully and economically advantageously with the rest of the world. It is in her own self-interest to assure the world at large that she is now more open and willing to assume her place in the world as a responsible state that recognizes human rights. (Setting aside inconvenient realities like Taiwan and Tibet for the moment.)
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, in an acknowledgement of internal criticisms of the lavish lifestyles of Communist party leaders, the land grabs by officials and rampant corruption, has promised to curb these excesses in favour of increased spending on health and education. The annual National People's Congress attendees were informed that local officials would no longer be permitted to oversee the building of luxurious new office blocks, free housing for party members and golf courses for themselves.
The wealth distribution between cities of the east coast which have been prospering and the rural interior continues to grow. As has the number of protests against that disparity. Tens of thousands of protests are being lodged against compulsory land requisition, corruption and pollution. People are focusing their attention and complaints on political corruption where local officials serve themselves, not their constituents.
In response, Mr. Wen asserts now that leaders must demonstrate to the public that they still "serve the people". And to that end, central government spending would be increased massively for the purpose of extending free education to the country's poorest citizens, and boosting rural health care. The Beijing government, he said, would also continue to reduce the devastating environmental fallout from China's economic boom. The very air that Chinese breathe is incredibly contaminated, leading to continual health issues.
It's quite wonderful that the fallout from industrial pollution is seen to be so immediately inimical to the well-being of Chinese themselves, to the extent that the people and the government realize they have an internal obligation to effect clean-up measures if only to improve their own quality of life. A not inconsiderable issue, surely as important as their burgeoning economic wealth.
Yet because they're seen, alongside India, as newly come to their economic status, they're exempt from having to observe the same environmental criteria through the Kyoto Accord that other, developed nations have imposed on themselves. "We should avoid seeking only faster growth and competing for faster growth" Mr. Wen admitted, acknowledging double-digit economic growth in recent years had come at a high social cost. "We must put people first."
And come to think of it, not only the Chinese people. A new study is alerting North American scientists and environmentalists that sooty sulphurous coal smoke from Asian industry has altered the eastbound "storm track" in the Pacific. So that floating soot particles are changing the air chemistry making clouds form into towering formations through convection, which influences weather patterns around the world.
It's clear that what happens in China is affecting the rest of he world in a myriad of ways from the global economy to global weather.
Labels: Crisis Politics
posted by Pieface | 5:22 PM
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