US-China Today:Anonymity But No Place to Hide(有AC)

空气稀薄

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A screenshot of Anti-CNN.com, the home to thousands of nationalist comments last year.
                                            
                            Anonymity But No Place to Hide                    Onthe internet in China, cybernationalism has given way tocybervigilantism. While anonymity encourages radical behavior on theChinese internet, it is also being used to strip away the privacy ofthose deemed as wrongdoers, sometimes with tragic results.                    Release Date: 03/06/2009
                                                            By JESICA CHANG and KATHERINE CHU

With the innovation of communication technology, anyone can expressthemselves anonymously or semi-anonymously on the internet, sometimesto extreme degrees. Internet use in China has grown at a tremendouspace in recent years, and sheer numbers make it difficult for thegovernment to control.

"China has 300 million internet users, and they may each be writingsomething or the other every day over at the millions of portals,websites, forums, BBSs and blogs," said Roland Soong, author of thewell-known Hong Kong blog "EastSouthWestNorth."

The Chinese government has not been oblivious to the implications ofanonymity on the internet, and has taken steps to increaseaccountability. Yet while the government has set rules for internet usein China, they have been largely ignored in places like internet cafes.A user is required by law to present his or her ID so that it can berecorded in connection with the computer and IP address used. However,internet cafes often don't adhere to this rule.

So Chinese netizens can feel empowered by their perceived anonymity onthe internet. And in a country where the internet has been particularlyliberating, some people are using anonymity to voice the radical andsometimes violent views they can't voice in real life.

"Views expressed on the internet are much more radical than what we seenormal in other places," said Suisheng Zhao, editor of the Journal of Contemporary China.

Some of this takes a nationalist turn. While the government encouragesnationalism to an extent, it is careful to make sure it doesn't becometoo extreme, as internet comments often do. Called "cybernationalism,"these views are becoming more and more visible on Chinese internetforums and chat rooms.

"Cybernationalism is a phenomenon that many internet users, especiallythose young and radical people, express their views by hosting internetchat rooms and blogs," Zhao said.

However, "cybernationalism is not a movement," said Abanti Bhattacharya, associate fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, a think tank in India. Rather, it is more of a growing trend with deep roots in older forms of Chinese nationalism.

Chinese nationalismis not new. The Chinese governmentoften uses nationalism to mobilize it's populace behind its agenda and shore up its legitimacy.

"Nationalism in China is mainly state-led and emerged as a potentideological tool in the 1990s when Communist ideology was discreditedand patriotism began to be promoted to bolster party legitimacy," saidBhattacharya. However, "it will be wrong to understand it as merely aparty affair but has spread among the Chinese people particularly amongthe intellectuals, writers and other professionals."

On the internet, however, "only a small portion of hard-core activistsare self-motivated enough to be called cybernationalists," said Wu Xu,assistant professor at Arizona State University.

Those cybernationalists are generally considered to be largely youngadult urban males who are fairly well-educated. However, the anonymousnature of the internet that allows them to post without repercussionsalso prevents them from being definitively characterized.

"Chinese internet users [have] pseudonyms and nicknames, so it isimpossible to tell the demographic composition of the cybernationalists," Soong said.

Events usually trigger outbursts of cybernationalism. In March 2008, aprotest in Tibet followed by the disturbance of the Olympic torch relayby pro-Tibet demonstrations triggered a sharp response from Chinesenetizens.

"The immense speed and maximized impact of cyber nationalism could beglimpsed from the anti-CNN web site that was launched by a Chinese torespond against the alleged Western media bias on the Tibetanuprising," Zhao said. This website was home to thousands of posts andcomments that for the most part fell in line with the website's mission: "collecting and sorting out the evil proof of western mainstream media's guilt, making our Chinese people's voice heard."

The Dalai Lama was a common target on several forums as the protestsfollowed the torch, with comments like "Against the Dalai Lama Bastard!I have to declare to the world, the Dalai Lama is a mongrel!"

This is worrying to the Chinese government. While nationalism isappreciated and encouraged in some respects, radical demonstrations ofnationalism and violence are signs of social instability that thegovernment works hard to avoid. Experts say nationalism on one hand isable to enhance the state's legitimacy, but on the other, it can alsobe an obstacle to China's growth. Zhao said the government is facing a"dilemma" now.

Many Chinese access the internet at internet cafes, where the rules are not always enforced. Photo by: Kai Hendry

"We want to use those nationalist, including cybernationalist, elementsto strengthen [China's] position, but on other hand, these veryemotional, violent calls could hurt [China's] relationship with manyforeign countries or hurt their image and also hurt their economicinterests," he said.

While anonymity encourages radical behavior on the internet, it can atthe same time strip it away. Sometimes, cybernationalism morphs into akind of guardian of Chinese morals and ideals, using virtual space toattack those who don't conform in very real ways.

In April 2008 when the Olympic torch was carried through San Francisco,Grace Wang, a Chinese freshman at Duke University made several commentsin front of clashing pro-Tibet and anti-Tibet protesters in an attemptto encourage dialogue. She was shouted down by the anti-Tibetprotesters. In the days following, a photo of Wang with her Chinesename, identification number, and contact information, along with herparents' home address in China, were circulated through China's mostpopular forums. Thousands of insults and derogatory threads about Wangwere added as Wang's family was forced into hiding.

In response to one of the many posts on the subject, one netizen wrotethat Wang was "effectively embarrassing the Chinese people, with herevil sins witnessed personally by several hundred overseas students."Other comments called for her to be hacked into pieces or boiled in oil.

The tactics used to locate Grace Wang's personal information during theTibet protest has also been used to find and harass people all overChina in a tactic known as the "human flesh search engine" ( 人肉搜索引擎).The victims of these web mobs are often people who have exhibitedbehavior viewed as inappropriate to a Chinese person, as many commentssuggest, and are attacked with a "cybervigilantist" fervor.

In the most recent and well-known case, a woman named Jiang Yancommitted suicide after learning of her husband's infidelity in 2007. Afriend, Zhang Leyi, published her private diary online, and soon thehuman flesh search engines went to work. Within a few days, Jiang Yan'shusband, Wang Fei, found his personal information including his phonenumbers, ID numbers and pictures of him and his mistress circulatingall over the internet, along with thousands of comments calling forvarious forms of harassment and violence.

There are indications that the government is growing concerned aboutcybervigilantism. Wang's situation led to the first court case relatedto these human search engines--in December 2008, a Beijing districtcourt fined Zhang Leyi a total US$1,100 for violating Wang's privacyand causing defamation of character. The courts also held the sitescarrying the information liable, requiring them to remove such personalinformation if it is brought to their attention.

While this is a landmark case, there are worries that little can bedone to stop violence in response to internet postings. "I don't wantto see this sort of thing happen, but this is happening because thejudiciary is not strong enough to bring justice," Soong said. "Insteadwe have cybervigilantism."

Netizens have also targeted governmental officials, furthering thegovernment's concerns. One official seen wearing watches and smokingcigarettes too expensive for someone with his salary was heavilydiscussed in BBS forums. Another official who was seen forcing an11-year-old girl into a public bathroom was the subject of even worsescrutiny. He was identified as Lin Jiaxiang, a party secretary ofShenzhen Maritime Administration, after someone posted his picturefollowing the incident and other netizens recognized him. He wasdismissed from his post as a result of public pressure.

As a result, many Chinese people are cautious on the internet. A Shanghai woman who goes by the English name Fauna runs chinaSMACK,a blog devoted to translating popular Chinese-language posts intoEnglish, and refuses to reveal her Chinese name to the public. Her blogfocuses on scandals and the more shocking posts on Chinese internetforums, which has drawn criticism from some Chinese netizens forpresenting the "bad side" of Chinese society to the English-speakingworld.

"Although the chance that someone will give me trouble is very small, Ibelieve it is still my responsibility to protect myself and myinformation on the internet," Fauna said in an email interview. "Thereis not much I can do to protect myself against professionals or thegovernment, but I can at least protect myself from normal people withbad motivations."

The thought of anonymity emboldens, while the speed and scale of theinternet also make it possible to erase even limited presumptions ofprivacy. The Chinese government continues to monitor and control theactions of cybernationalists and cybervigilantes, but as netizensbecome more tech-savvy and the internet slowly slips out of the Chinesegovernment's hands, it remains to be seen how long this control canlast.
_________________________________________________________________________
Jesica Chang is an undergraduate student at Colby College. Katherine Chu is a Ph.D. candidate in Politics and International Relations at USC.
_________________________________________________________________________
Related: Chinese nationalism was examined in our last issue's "Igniting Nationalist Fires." Daniel Bell's commentary "Chinese Students' Constructive Nationalism" also elucidates the issue. In "China's Modern-Day Great Wall,"we look at the restrictions of the internet in China. In our firstissue, we looked at another form of digital communication: text messaging.

荡漾

不好意思，一篇都没认领过，这个稍许长点的就我来完成好了 :) 可能贴的时间会迟。

BTW... 这样看AC首页的截图，不太像一个网站，呵呵。

墨羽

不看不知道，一看吓一跳：原来Anti-CNN“关于本站”中“收集整理西方主流媒体作恶的证据”一句的正式英文对应还真的是“colleting and sorting out the evil proof of western mainstream media’s guilt”。

这个翻译错得厉害，这下被外媒抓了个“现行”，拿去作为“证据”了——不能怪他们，只能怪“关于本站”翻译得太草率。

“evil proof”不是“作恶的证据”，而是“邪恶的证据”，也就是说证据本身是“邪恶”的。“guilt”是“负罪感”，中文原文根本没有这个意思。

建议翻译：“collecting and cataloging evidence of misconduct by the Western mainstream media”。

“作恶”除了“misconduct”以外，也可以译为“malpractice”或“wrongdoing”。“collecting”原文拼错了。

sarah_wang1986

墨羽老师观察还真仔细~~赞哇~
“作恶”，个人觉得太严重了，有些报道还是比较客观的，应该是misleading这类词，媒体学到新闻业经常遇到这个词，语气稍微缓和一点点，范围也广一点，不仅有误导读者的意思，也指出了西方媒体的一些失实错误报道

荡漾

不好意思，这篇的翻译不在随身的电脑里，今天回来了才贴上，抱歉 *-*

http://bbs.m4.cn/thread-154594-1-1.html