Internet increasing the transparency of the Chinese government?

Readers, I apologize. I have many stories to tell you but I’ve been losing the battle against jet-lag and thus have fallen behind blogging. For example, last night after walking the Bund, I came home exhausted and decided to lie down on the bed for a few minutes. Next thing I know, I’m waking up a little after midnight still in my jeans. So here’s a belated recap of Thursday, our first full day in Shanghai.

The highlight of the day was when we visited the Shanghai Overseas Returned Scholars Association (SORSA) and met a panel of experts, all educated and well-versed in English. They addressed some of our individual topics and answered questions about China’s globalization, economy and politics.

Easily the most passionate and outspoken on the panel was Shijing Qu, vice president of SORSA and member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He vouched for a “better and harmonious world” between the East and West.

“Do not judge China from an American point of view,” Qu said.

It struck me. Did I come into this country knowing what my story was going to say?  Was I just another victim of ignorance, superiority and Americanism? Have I been judging the East with the West’s eyes?

These were some of the questions I struggled to answer for myself. Sure, it’s a journalist’s job to be skeptical and to question. But something I realized after talking with a few of the experts was that what America calls censorship, China understands as responsibility and the duty of a citizen to trust and obey one’s country.

Dunren Zhou, professor of international relations at Fudan University and member of SORSA, argued he votes against “free for all,” where anyone can exercise the freedom to roam the Internet as he or she wishes. But he said the challenge, for not only China but U.S. and other countries, is, “who should be the judge” of what is good and what is bad?

The experts agreed the Internet has positive and negative effects in China - the obvious negatives being increased exposure to pornography, online fraud and other topics considered taboo bby the government. One positive aspect Dr. Limei Gu, alumna of UIUC and professor at Fudan University, mentioned was that as technology develops, transparency of the government is possible and it helps keep the public voice. They acknowledged while China has its flaws and is a long way from being perfect, China is progressing and learning.