Third WorldQuarterly, Vol22, No 1, pp 99 – 114, 2001 [email protected]?The challengesto the emancipatory potentialo fthenet: lessons f rom Chinaand Malaysia JASONP ABBOTT ABSTRACT It is acommonlyheld view that,given the uniquecharacteristics of the internet, it provides real opportunities for democratisationand political transformation,especially in societies where freedomof speechand expression is constrainedby government controls. This article challengesthis assumption byexamining the impactof the internet in Asia with specic reference to China andMalaysia. In particular the article arguesthat to understandthe impactof the internet ondeveloping economies it is essential to examinethe political economyof the internet—locally, regionally andglobally. While the net may providea newmedium for dissent andopposition, its impactis offset bytwo principal factors. First, the existence of amarkeddigital divide betweenNorth andSouth (as well as the discrepancies that exist within specic countries in terms of gender,education and wealth) andsecond, by growing commercialisa- tion. New informationtechnologies threaten sovereigns that depend on maximum politi- cal,economic, and cultural control over their peoples … nolonger can totalitarian regimesensure themselves a safe environmentby controlling the newspapers, radio andtelevision stations because the World Wide Web remains beyond their control andmanipulation. 1 Libertarian supportersof the internet arguethat the mediumis auniversal space allowingaccess to unltered owsof inf ormation,that it lacks established hierarchies ofpower and that it is ‘araucousand highly democratic worldwith nooverlords or gatekeepers’ . 2 Formany cyberspace resembles the 19thcentury AmericanWest: vast, unmappedand legally ambiguous.Increasingly easy access to email andthe worldwide web globally allows politically disenfran- chised groupsto communicatewith like-mindedor sympathetic audiences. Furthermore,particularly in regimes wherethe freedomof the mainstream media is restricted either bydirect regulationand legislation orindirectly as aresult of conservativecorporate ownership, the internet has becomean alternative me- diumthrough which opposition groups have been able to havea voice.Indeed, as the openingquote from Dean Henry Perrit, Jr suggests, in suchregimes the JasonP Abbottis inthe Department of International Studies at Nottingham Trent University, CliftonLane, NottinghamNG11 8NS, UK. ISSN0143-6597 print; 1360-2241 online/ 01/010099-16 Ó 2001 ThirdWorld Quarterly DOI: 10.1080/01436590020022600 99 JASON PABBOTT internet is notonly a mediumof communication, it is effectively avehicle for political changeand trans formation. This article examines whetherPerrit’ s claims are valid,whether across Asia, andin particular in Chinaand Malaysia, the internet is amediumlargely free of governmentregulations andcontrols. Furthermore, if this is the case, doesit presents real opportunitiesfor greater liberalisation anddemocratisation? How- ever,the article thensuggests that suchquestions must beposed within the overall contextof the political economyof the internet—locally, regionallyand globally.In particular Isuggest that social scientists shouldbe waryof accepting atechnologicalutopian vision ofthe internet fortwo principal reasons.First, the Internet is botha representational space anda representation ofspace. 3 In terms ofaccessibility andusage it is patently clear that vast discrepancies exist in terms ofgender, education and wealth andbetween a wiredcore and a less wired periphery.Secondly, the internet has becomeincreasingly commericalised and privatised, transformingthe universality ofthe medium. 4 Boththese trends threaten at best to reducethe progressivepotential ofthe internet andat worst to reinforceexisting structural inequalities within the globalpolitical economy. The internet as avehicle forpolitical changeand democratisation Thelibertarian possibilities ofthe internet haveraised the prospectthat it canbe usedas aTrojanhorse by activists andcampaigners in authoritarian regimes to effect political changeand reform. The many progressive uses ofthe internet includethe dissemination ofdocuments, audio and video les, communication amonglike-minded people, email petitions, software,and as amediumfor organisingmore traditional forms ofprotest. Globallyinnumerable groups use the internet fortheir ownpolitical interests andagendas— from civil andhuman rights activists to special internet groups,political parties, religious movements andterrorist groups. 5 Inthe developingworld the internet offers the potential ofcheap access to sympathetic counterpartsabroad and the ability foralmost instantaneous trans- mission ofnews, reports, and AV footage.Beginning with the TiananmenSquare incident in 1989the Chinese governmenthas beenparticularly waryabout the use ofthe internet bydissident groupsboth within andoutside China.During the events ofJune 1989 the Communist leadership wereparticularly stungby students’use ofemails andf axes andby the ChinaNetnewsgroup based at StanfordUniversity in the USA.Conservatives within the CommunistParty fearedthat the Internet representeda technologythat was simply aweaponof US domination. 6 Toillustrate the scopeof progressive net sites abrief search was conducted usingcommon keywords for progressive causes. Rather thanlist the numberof actual webpages, Table 1 instead lists the numberof actual sites available. In orderto demonstrate the use ofthe net as aprogressiveforce in Asia a comparisonis madebetween the most popularinternet search engineYahoo and its region-specic engine. This imperfect illustration also implies that, while issues ofprogressive politics are well representedon the webas awhole,within Asia concernwith 100 DEMOCRACY@INTERNET .ASIA? TABLE 1 Internet sitesfor progressive causes: region speci c andgeneral Numberof sites Numberof sites atYahoo.com Keywords atYahoo! Asia (general) Humanrights 188 1270 Civilrights 11 436 Democracy 57 545 Freedomof speech 2 52 Press freedom 1 37 Labourrights 10 86 Women’s rights 22 177 Religiousfreedom/ rights 3/1 107/125 Environmentalrights/ protection 5/25 103/407 Minorityrights 6 20 Racial equality 0 18 Disabledrights 2 45 Gay rights 0 243 Children’s rights 4 112 Comparison Marketing 490 14 002 Electroniccommerce 66 1911 Source:Author’s searches conductedduring July/ August2000. humanrights anddemocracy far exceedsmore issue-speci c andminority group concerns.This conclusionwould broadly support arguments that emphasise that suchissue-oriented politics developmost readily within mature democratic regimes with established strongcivil societies. Inauthoritarian/ transitional regimes issues to effect democratic transition orsecure rights andfreedoms are moresalient andcivil society moreembryonic. 7 Forexample, in Malaysia the principal reformnewsgroups and websites championedthe cause ofthe former DeputyPrime Minister AnwarIbrahim. Indeed, the dismissal fromof ce and subsequentarrest ofAnwar on charges of corruption and sodomy acted as a catalyst forthe formationof coalitions amongMalaysia’ s vibrant NGO sector.8 Nonetheless evenwhere limited regionally, 9 the resources andinf ormation available onthe webas awholeis readily available globally(there are an estimated 1000000 human rights-related webpages). Dozens of country specic studies (AmnestyInternational, Article XIX,Friends ofthe Earth, Greenpeace,etc) reportactions andevents in authoritarian political systems aroundthe world,of ten providingmaterials that are notavailable through traditional media.Several sites stand outas important ‘jump’stations for progressiveuses ofthe internet: TheInstitute ofGlobal Communications, The Electronic DemocracyInf ormationForum, and the National Endowmentfor Democracy. Underthe Presidencyof Jiang ZeminChina has attempted to harness internet technologiesto generatecontinued economic growth and development while tryingto limit anypolitical harmthat might accompanythe growthof Internet use.10 This cautious supportfor the internet has nonetheless led to aphenomenal 101 JASON PABBOTT growthin the numberof users overthe past fouryears. It is estimated that in 1996there wereonly 4 0000internet users in China,whereas by June 2 000this gurehad risen to 12.3million. 11 However,alongside this cautious supporthave beenconcerted efforts to controland regulate internet access andcontent. Tobegin with China’s internet andintranet are completely state-ownedand anyonewho wishes to set upor use anetworkneeds prior approval from the government. 12 Additionally,individuals hadto followonerous registration proce- dures,including providing detailed personaland employment inf ormation,agree- ingto sign apledgenot to access informationthat threatens state security, and in some cases users wererequired to register with the police forthe intent to surf.13 Thereality has provenvery different, however. As well as hundredsof ‘unofcial’ and ‘ unregistered’internet cafes (particularly prevalentin Shanghai), ofcial providershave been openly outingthe regulations.In 1997, for example,Beijing Telecomlaunched a service entitled Capital Online( 263.net) whichallegedly allows users to access the internet withoutany paperwork (real orvirtual). 14 While the numberof these sites has increased,most ofthem only allow access to websites within Chinaon the broadbandmultimedia 169 Network.Although most allow emails to beexchanged globally, users wishing to access sites outside Chinahave to set upindividual accounts with China Telecom’s Chinanetservice, whichserves as oneof