How has the liberalization of Chinas mass media contributed to the

development of Chiese society from 1997 to 2007?

Before 1997, Chinese media was cut off from the world, resulting in social
isolationism. However, after Deng Xiao Pings death in 1997 brought about
the demise of a revolutionary generation and a new era in China, major
reforms have been introduced, making the media in China more autonomous
and diverse. The media's content is much bolder than before and the control
of the media is greatly loosened, contributing to the political process and
social transition to greater liberalization. The development of Chine from a
planned economy into a market economy also increased economic growth,
transforming the social landscape into multiple strata with different social
cultural and economic status. More Chinese are able to receive education and
thus, rising affluence and increased education have raised their civic
awareness and global awareness. This leads to a rise in a more critical and
better-informed middle class who are value-carriers that could accelerate the
establishment of a modern civil society. The Chinese society has also become
more commercialized and less politicized and there is more freedom of
expression given to them. Liberalization of Chinese media has contributed to
these development in Chinese society to a large extent by introducing media
competition, decline in influence of political ideologies and system of beliefs,
media expansion and decentralization. However, Chinese media has only
liberalized in the socio-economic aspects as there is still political censorship.
The expansion of media in terms of variety and quality has resulted in
increased global awareness. Globalization as exemplified by hosting the
Beijing Olympics has resulted in the almost free flow of ideas and people
through mass media, such as the internet, which raises the awareness of
issues such as civics, environmental protection and human rights. The
Chinese are more willing and able to organize for the purpose of helping
their fellow citizens to unite in the pursuit of large-scale public projects
designed to bring pride to China. As of 2007, there were more than 360000
registered civil society organizations (CSOs) in China, including trade
associations, charities, environmental groups, legal aid groups and
foundations. About 4.2million people are involved in these CSOs. Even
though the government implemented strong authoritarian regulations, there
has been a large increase in the creation of civic groups. Civic groups in
Shenzhen pressured their municipal government to strengthen law and
order, prevent violence and protect the safety of civic groups and activists.
Civic groups also worked with the government and celebrities to promote
AIDS awareness m year 2007. Chinese environmental activists also voiced
their displeasure against pollution of the major rivers. They also make use of
the media to carry out campaigns and form new groups, thus creating a
snowballing effect for both the civic groups and Chinese media. The rise in

civic and global awareness of the Chinese can be attributed to the expansion
and decentralization of Chinese media.
A larger variety of media has helped greatly in allowing the Chinese society
to be more well-informed and have a better understanding about what is
happening n the outside world. There are more media outlets now as
compared to the past. In 2005, there were about 2000 newspapers, 9000
magazines, 282 radio stations and 24 TV stations. Many newspapers and
magazines specialize in particular subjects such as poverty tourism,
entertainment, fashion and employment. Also, the use of internet became
popular since 2005. Thus, the Chinese now have wider views towards the
international community and this speeded up the process of building
linkages between China and the world. The linkages are an effective force
that made the country's media system more open to the world and freer
from the monopoly of the party. This trend continues with the internet,
whose liberalizing power is enhanced by its global accessibility, channel
capacity, interactivity, and decentralized structure.
The rise of an affluent and better informed middle class has emerged partly
with the help of the liberalization of the mass media, such as freer internet
and increased information shared with the expansion of various media. The
middle class, estimated about 20% of the total population by the turn of the
century, are better educated and informed about global trend and affairs,
largely due to the annual double-digit growth that China has. They are more
opened-minded and critical about the country's politics and societies,
benefiting the media largely, as more Chinese are ready to take up the
professions of entrepreneurs and journalists. With Chinas membership in
WTO, the media market was further liberalized. China agreed to allow
increased foreign investments in its advertising market and foreign
companies in the printing and packaging of publications. In 2002, the
Chinese government approved 202 foreign-invested printers, and an
additional 84 in year 2003. It also allowed foreign participation in the retail
and wholesale of books, newspapers and magazines. China approved of
more than 10 foreign companies'' applications to enter the retail business by
August 2004 and has also agreed to import more foreign films each year. The
world's largest media company, AOL Time Warner Inc., signed a deal with the
Chinese government to broadcast a mandarin language cable television
sector was willing to accept an American media cooperation, which has
always been seen as the propaganda apparatus. Closer contact with the
West is increasingly influencing educated urban opinion in China on concepts
such as a tree press, freedom of speech, and political pluralism. Users are
able to read, circulate and giver opinions to news and discuss on a
nationwide level on chat rooms and forums. It also allowed the middle class
to express their aspirations, such as the revival of traditions like

Confucianism, The shift in Chinese media has led to an increased political

liberalization and more political freedom. These allow the Chinese to be more
vocal about their concerns and have more knowledge about modern values,
such as individual rights and freedom.
A more commercialized and less politicized society has been formed as the
media decentralizes. Decentralizations of Chinese media helped in allowing
the Chinese to be more receptive to capitalist influences and thus, adopting
values such as materialism, consumerism and emphasis on individual
success. Furthermore, a freer media environment contributes significantly to
enhance transparency in commercial and business dealings. This will prevent
excessively close government-business linkages from forming and hence,
preventing corrupt practices, reducing politicization. Both regional and nation
al newspapers are also feeling pressurized to commercialize and provide
more reader-friendly and attractive content. For e.g. the press promotes the
business and lifestyle that modern Chinese society wants to pursue. News
organizations have become more and more like market-based enterprises by
publishing commercials to earn more income and to create business and
investment opportunities.
With a freer media, the Chinese are given more freedom of choice and
expression. It becomes a great social strength as well as fostering creativity
and promoting individuality among the Chinese. They are able to access an
enormous quantity of information due to the revolution in information due to
the revolution in information technology, especially the internet and satellite
television. The midea scence varies widely in content and style, catering to
different interests and providing more information. A commercialized media
industry and new technologies also give the Chinese unprecedented access
to news and news. The exponential growth of phone-in radios and lifestyle
magazines means that ordinary people have more opportunities than before
to express their concerns on many issues. The restriction on the content
posted on various media forms have been lifted partially and some
traditionally censored websites have been made accessible. For e.g. the
organization, Amnesty International websites together with several others,
including those of human Rights Watch, Radio Free Asia and the BBC Chinese
language service, have been unblocked in the Olympics media venues as
China prepares for the Olympics.
The Chinese have also become politically critical as they are given more
freedom to express their desires and unhappiness towards the government
and policies. Critical reporting of bad behavior of the government officials
and agencies has increased over the years. The television program, "Focus"
on CCTV, focuses on investigative journalism and has been well known for it.
The newspaper, Southern Weekend also contains articles that exposed
official corruption ad abuse of power. Since the late 1990s, it diverted its

attention towards social problems, such as crimes and prostitution. Today,

there are over 162 million internet users in China. As the numbers of internet
users keep increasing, blogs became popular outlet for bloggers to vent their
frustrations and give their opinion on current issues. "Flesh search" are
conducted by netizens to investigate and real cases of social abuses and
even abuse of power by officials. Freer media also resulted in the spread of
aggressive modern Chinese nationalism. Young netizens vented their
frustrations against the West and Japan against what they perceived as
injustices towards China such as support for Tibetans independence and
visits to the Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese leaders.
However, ever, though the expansion and decentralization of media has led
to an increased exposure of information and a free flow of ideas, it also
resulted in increased glamorization of violence, sex arid drugs. Online
violence and pornography have been spreading rampantly with the increase
in large numbers of internet cafes. This may lead to a different mindset of
the Chinese whereby they think that they can solve their problems by using
violence and abusing drugs. Proliferation of online .games, played though
illegal private servers, caused social problems as many Chinese teens are
distracted from their studies and are becoming socially dysfunctional. Scams
and crimes committed via the internet are also increasing at an alarming
rate.
Meanwhile, the Chinese media still remain far more controlled than many
other countries in the world. This might hinder the modernization of China
and limit the development of its society. Even though there has been an
increase in the popularity of internet and an increased openness, most
internet users still practice some form of self-censorship, avoiding
controversial issues such as the politically sensitive topics like promoting
Taiwan's independence or highlighting human rights abuses. Firewalls are
established to limit the contents of homepages and block access to certain
websites though routing filters. Journalists are occasionally jailed for making
unfavorable reports. For example, Xu Wei was detained for suing the internet
to circulate articles on political reforms and government corruption.
Censorship is also being practiced and 202 branch offices of newspapers and
338 publications have been punished for printing "internal" information and
engaging in news activities. Also, media institutions are coerced to follow
strict regulations. They are not allowed, or have to been extra careful on
reporting matters concerning the party such as the major political events.
In conclusion, the relationship between the media and the development of
Chinese society is mutually reinforcing. In the long term, Chinese media will
always be inevitably more liberalized, which could then lead to a truly civil
society where freedom of expression is bring emphasized, an increased
awareness of current affairs and 3 better-informed middle class which
provides tremendous impetus for the country's modernization. Nevertheless,

the government being authoritarian will exercise its control over the
censorship of Chinese media to sustain its political monopoly, thus slowing
down the process of social liberalization.