Netizens take on speech limits with microblog megaphones

In a China that has always emphasized “maintaining stability,” microblogging has become a challenge to government control.

The first news of a horrific high-speed train collision in Wenzhou on July 23 came not from official media but from a post on Sina Weibo.

Within four minutes of the crash, Sina Weibo user Yuan Xiaoyuan sent out a post: “Something has happened with the D301 (train) at Wenzhou and we've come to a sudden emergency stop. There was a powerful jolt. Make that two jolts! The power is completely out. I'm in car No. 1, praying that all will be well! This is terrifying!”

Nine minutes later a plea for help came from female student Yang Mi: “Help! ... the carriage is full of crying children! Not one rail worker has come to help! Please hurry and rescue us!”

Within two short days, nearly 5.4 million messages regarding the Wenzhou train disaster were posted on Sina Weibo. Netizens reported events as they unfolded, providing real-time reporting from the disaster scene and furiously emotional commentary.

Anyone who forwards a message can add their own comments, which lead to further comments, ultimately cascading into an outpouring of public fury. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao quickly came forward to severely and publicly castigate the nation's Ministry of Railways.

The power of this “bullhorn” is not lost on Sina Corporation president and CEO Charles Chao. “From the perspective of numbers of people, reach and influential power, microblogging is undoubtedly the most influential media outlet in China,” he says.

Consequently, Chao has become more cautious and protective of Sina Weibo.

“(The question is) How can we better manage it, especially when hot button incidents occur, we don't want to lose control,” Chao says. “As administrator of a media platform, there's a certain responsibility to maintain order and to a certain extent there are rules to maintain order.”

Double-Edged Sword — Free Speech vs. Rumor-Mongering

Like a flowing rapid, microblogs can either carry a canoe or capsize it. They offer informational transparency for a more open society. But they can also serve as rumor mills for those with ill intent seeking to foment upheaval.

The biggest negative microblogging service providers face is being denounced for rumor-mongering, as if it is they themselves that are letting the cat out of the bag. It's gotten to the point where even Liu Yunshan, head of what is now known as the Central Publicity Department, formerly known as the Chinese Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department and still often referred to among locals as the “Ministry of Truth,” acknowledges that it's impossible for his agency to completely control the actions of half a billion Netizens.

“It's been said that China maintains strict control over the Internet, but it's actually quite difficult,” Liu has acknowledged. “China is faced with an Internet management crisis.”

China's government authorities have recently begun strengthening their supervision of microblogging outlets. And various “new media” outlets have also begun self-censorship. Sina Weibo already has a staff of 15 tasked specifically with quashing rumors and verifying the veracity of microblog posts. Where “falsehoods” are found, the relevant posts are immediately deleted. The problem, of course, is that traditional news media reports are vetted before broadcast while Sina Weibo can only verify the assertions of its netizens after they have been posted.

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