A Field Study of Internet Cafes in China Hua Lin Sun
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2003 Internet Policy and Use: A Field Study of Internet Cafes in China Hua Lin Sun Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION INTERNET POLICY AND USE: A FIELD STUDY OF INTERNET CAFES IN CHINA By HUA LIN SUN A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2003 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Hua Lin Sun defended on June 20, 2003. ________________________________ Stephen D. McDowell Director of Dissertation ________________________________ John K. Mayo Co-director of Dissertation ________________________________ Paul R. Hensel Outside Committee Member ________________________________ Gary R. Heald Committee Member ________________________________ Kartik Pashupati Committee Member Approved: ____________________________________________________________________ Stephen D. McDowell, Chair, Department of Communication ____________________________________________________________________ John K. Mayo, Dean, College of Communication The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the named committee members. ii For my father, Ji-sun Sun, and my mother, Ke-qing Shen iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many individuals contributed to the writing of this dissertation. Here, I mention only those to whom I am most directly indebted. Dr. Stephen McDowell and Dr. John Mayo, my major and co-major professors, warmly encouraged me to carry forward the research project. Discussions with them have been most helpful to my understanding of the Internet café phenomenon. Their comments, suggestions, and advice about this dissertation over the last three years were invaluable. Relatedly, Margaret Redus, my friend and colleague at Richland College, Dallas, was always there when I needed her. Dr. Pashupati from the Communication Department and Dr. Hensel from the Political Science Department at FSU also helped me with the organization and editing of this dissertation. Their efforts to edit these chapters and to discuss with me about idea flow in this dissertation could not be more appreciated. I thank COGS, the Provost’s Office, and the Office of Research at FSU for awarding me the Dissertation Research Grant, which partly supported this project financially. I also thank those research participants in China, who were willing to participate in the survey, to talk with me, and to allow me to sit in their net bars to observe. Finally, I want to thank my husband, Gang, and my son, Paley, who were patient with me and tolerated my absence from home and my ignorance of family responsibilities during all these years. Without their understanding and support, I would have never completed this dissertation. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables …………………………………………………………………… x List of Figures …………………………………………………………………… xi Abbreviations and Acronyms …………………………………………………… xii Abstract ………………………………………………………………………….. xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW……………………… 1 New Technology, Media Policy, and Media Use……………………… 1 Statement of the Problem ……………………………………………… 2 Significance of the Study ……………………………………………… 4 Study Design …………………………………………………………… 5 Methods of Collecting Data ……………………………………. 6 Location ………………………………………………………… 6 Overview of Thesis ……………………………………………………… 7 CHAPTER TWO: NEW TECHNOLOGY, THE STATE, AND MEDIA POLICY……………………………………………………………… 10 Overview of Early Media Society Theories …………………………… 10 Current Perspectives on Media Technology and Control …………..…. 13 Control and “Regulability” of the Cyberspace ………………………… 15 The Power of the Nation State and Commerce …………………..…..….. 17 The Power of Commerce – Private Corporations ……………… 17 Institutional Theories ……………………………………………………. 21 Policy Making in Developing Countries ………………………… 22 Summary of Chapter and Research Questions …………………………… 23 CHAPTER THREE: NEW MEDIA RESEARCH ………………….……. …….. 26 Uses & Gratification Approach (U&G) …………………………………. 26 Early U&G Approach …………………………………………… 26 v Television and U&G Approach …………………………………. 27 Criticism of U&G Approach and Its Evolution …………………………. 28 The Internet Technology and U&G Approach ………………………….. 30 Critical and Ethnographic Perspectives on Audience Activities …………. 32 Internet Cafe Studies …………………………………………………… 34 Summary of Chapter and Research Questions …………………………….. 36 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY ……………………………………….. 40 Qualitative Design ……………………………………………………… 40 Pilot Study ………………………………………………………………. 42 Rationale and Levels of Analysis ……………………………………… 44 Collecting and Analyzing Data at the Macro Level ……………. 45 Collecting and Analyzing Data at the Micro Level ……………. 46 Data Sources …………………………………………………………… 47 Official Policy Documents and Statistics ………………………. 47 Participant Observation …………………………………………. 48 Unstructured and Semi-structured Interviews …………………… 50 Survey Questionnaire …………………………………………... 51 Photographs of the Sites ………………………………………….. 52 Journalistic Articles, News Reports, and Literature ……………… 53 Writing and Coding Methods …………………………………….……… 53 Presentation of the Evidence …………………………………………. 54 Limitations …………………………………………………………… 54 Summary ……………………………………………………………... 56 CHAPTER FIVE: THE TELECOMMUNICATION POLICY BACKGROUND AND ENVIRONMENT IN CHINA……………………………………………… 57 The Political System and Communist Culture ……………………….. 58 Political and Legal Structure ……………………………………. 58 The Communist Ideology and Political Education ……………… 61 Economic Reform and Telecom Development in China ………………. 62 vi Fast Growth of Economy and Development of the Internet……. 62 Favored Institutes ……………………………………………….. 63 The Nation State, Media Policy, and Social Use of ICT…………………. 64 The Gap between State Use and Individual Use ………………… 65 Two Commercial Actors Treated Differently …………………… 66 Uneven Development of Telecommunications………………….. 68 Current Internet Policy-making and the Major Players …………..……… 70 Social Control over Internet Use ………………..……………………….. 74 The Main Policies and Regulations Issued since 1993 ………….. 74 Technical Design and Monitoring Software ….………………….. 77 Monitoring Personnel, Legal Punishment, & Administrative Measures …………………………………………………………. 79 Summary ……………………………………………………………… 81 CHAPTER SIX: INTERNET CAFES …………………………………….…. 83 The World-wide Internet Cafe Phenomenon …………………………. 83 The Emergence of Internet Cafes in China …………………………… 85 The Reasons for the Boom of Net Bars in China ……………… 86 Comparison & Contrast of Internet Facilities …………………. 88 The Net Bar Setting, People, and Services ……………………………. 92 The Net Bar Setting …………………………………………… 92 People at Net Bars ……………………………………………… 96 Services Provided in Net Bars ………………………………… 98 Local Regulations and Enforcement of the Regulations ………………. 100 Regulations and Propaganda ………………………………….. 101 Permit & License Application Procedures ……………………. 105 Installation of “Ren-zi-xing” ………………………………….. 105 Registration of “Wang-guan”…………………………………. 106 Registration of Users ……..…………………………………... 106 Frequent Sweeps by Local MPS ……………………………… 106 Summary ……………………………………………………………… 107 vii CHAPTER SEVEN: INTERNET USERS …………………………………. 109 Users’ Perceptions of the Internet …………………………………….. 109 Results from Observations and Interviews ……………………. 110 Results from the Survey Questionnaire ………………………… 114 Use of the Internet in Net Bars………….………………………………. 117 Internet Bars and Social Relationships …………..…………………….. 120 Regulations over Users in Net Bars and Their Interactions ……………. 121 Self-censorship Rule …………………………………………… 122 Users’ Attitudes toward & Reactions to the Regulations ……… 123 Summary ………………………………………………………………… 126 CHAPTER EIGHT: INTERNET CAFÉ OWNERS AND MANAGERS ……… 129 Profiles of Net Bar Owners and Their Managers ………………………. 129 Three Owners and Four Managers …………………………….. 129 Perceptions of the Internet and Net Bars ……………………… 133 The Double Roles of Owners and Managers in Net Bars …………….. 135 The Regulated and Monitored ………………………………… 135 The Regulator …………………………………………………... 139 The Mismatches and the Cat-and-Mouse Game ……………………… 140 Business Hours………………………………………………….. 141 ID Card Checking ……………………………………………… 142 Complaints about Game Policy ………………………………… 143 “Black” Bars and Enforcement of the Regulations …………….. 144 Summary ……………………………………………………………….. 146 CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………. 148 The Nation State and Internet Technology ……………………………. 148 The Nature, Characteristics, and Implications of Policy-making………. 149 Means of Control over Internet Access and Use ….……………………. 151 Mismatches between the Regulators and Average Citizens …………….. 153 viii Internet Users in Net Bars ………………………………………………. 154 Net Bar Owners and Managers’ Reactions to Regulations……………… 157 Limitations of Findings and Direction for Future Research …………….. 162 APPENDIX A: Survey Questionnaire (Part I) …………………………………… 165 Survey Questionnaire (Part II) …………………………………… 166 APPENDIX B: Observational Questions ………………………………………… 167 APPENDIX C: Interview Questions- Net Bar Owners ...………………………… 168 APPENDIX D: Interview Questions- Net Bar Users …………………………….. 169 APPENDIX E: Survey Questionnaire (Part I) in Chinese………………………… 170 Survey Questionnaire (Part II) in Chinese……………………… 171 APPENDIX F: Informed Consent Form in English………………………………. 172 Informed Consent Form in Chinese ……………………………… 173 APPENDIX G: Human Subject Approval Letter ………………………………… 174 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………….