BLOGS: POLITICAL TOOLS IN CHINA?

“So far, the Chinese government has succeeded, through censorship and regulation, in blocking activists from using the Internet as an effective political tool” (31).

Blogs may invoke “long-term political change” because they help to “enlarge the space for collaboration and conversation on subjects not directly related to political activism or regime change” (31).

"People's Daily Database (1946- ) (Renmin Ribao)." 2006. OriProbe Information Services, Inc. 21 Jan. 2008 .

“A 2005 People’s Daily editorial encapsulated this view: As long as we use more ways of properly looking at the Internet, we can make use of the best parts, we go for the good and stay away from the bad and we use it for our purposes, then we can turn it around on them. [W]e won’t be defeated in this huge Internet war by the various intranational and international reactionary ideological trends in the various areas (Wu 2005)” (33).

People’s Daily was first published in June 1948, has a current circulation of 3 million, and “is among the most influential and authoritative newspapers in China. According to UNESCO, it [is] among the world top ten”.

“Introduction to People's Daily.” People’s Daily Online. 21 Jan. 2008 .

MacKinnon, Rebecca. “Flatter world and thicker walls? Blogs, censorship and civic discourse in China.” Public Choice 134.1 (2008): 31-46.