【10.01.03 英国卫报】 In the next decade, I hope for a spirit of 'sharism'

青蛙小王子

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/03/goodbye-noughties-sharism

Feng Zhenghu, a Chinese scholar and human rights activist, has been stuck at Narita Airport in Tokyo since 4 November, unable to shower and dependent on airport staff and travellers for food. Amazingly, he seems to be becoming more optimistic about his situation. With a Twitter account and a mobile phone, he has set up a global network to support his campaign to return to China after having been denied entry eight times by the authorities. "I'm the most wretched lucky man in the world," he tweeted.

Feng created a whole new way of life, following in the footsteps not only of real historical figures such as Gandhi and Martin Luthur King, but also fictional characters like Tom Hanks in The Terminal and Neo in The Matrix. He has gained thousands of supporters from across the world. The old-fashioned Chinese government still can't understand how a microblogging site can provide such power. It doesn't seem to have realised that the world is moving into a new age, in which everyone is connected – and in which you won't be able to use sovereignty to claim your border anymore. That's the trend in the coming decade. You have the capability to see anyone in the world, or be seen by others if your words really have value.

This triggers my reflection on nationality, once a most important part of our social identity. I was told by my balance sheet that I have spent more than 6,000 US dollars in the past five years to apply for visas from China to the US. Over the same period I made more than 5,000 friends from all over the world via the internet. Sometimes, when I'm in an internet cafe, the only thing to remind me that I'm still in China is that I have to turn on a proxy to access the thousands of blocked websites. But even then, I'm just a few clicks away from the status of non-nationality again. In this way, the country's border has been disrupted and won't be easily restored.

Technology matters, but the more important thing is whether people will be more open to sharing. I call it "sharism". The new spirit can help one person to make his or her thoughts known and plug into global social networks. Without doubt, the media world will be changed because of such paradigm shift – as will sovereignty.

Those who believe in a top-down approach will still try hard to maintain a hierarchy so that they can keep their authority. But I'm sure they will learn many lessons as they begin to face the reality of losing their power. A purely top-down structure can destroy itself, whether we're talking about a country or a small organisation. It's sad for some in the short term, but best for all human beings as we evolve towards the vision of a global brain.
I get the feeling that Feng Zhenghu is not fighting for himself, and not even to return to his home country. Instead, he is campaigning for the freedom of identity. After declining refugee status from the UN, he is actually a digital nomad now. That's really postmodern today, but could be very common in 2020.