This report confirms what we have been observing for the last several months that Chinese microbloggers are being taken seriously by the Chinese authorities. This is really a continuation of the ancient petition system whereby any citizen can appeal directly to the emperor for redress. Since travelling to Beijing may be costly and time consuming, microblogging may be the 21st century alternative if the authorities are actually going to listen and do something about the grievance. This report indicates that this is happening.
Xinhua: “China has the world’s largest number of microbloggers, said a latest report on the country’s new media development.
The report, published by the Social Sciences Academic Press annually, quoted the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), which said that about 274 million Chinese people had microblog accounts as of June this year.
The number of microbloggers increased sharply from about 63 million in 2010, said the report issued by a team of social sciences experts headed by Yin Yungong, director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Microblogging has become an important channel for Chinese people to express themselves, particularly about public issues, it said.
It has also become an easy and low-cost communication channel between the government and citizens, the report said. At Sina Weibo, a leading microblogging service, 18,132 accounts have been registered by the Party and government departments and officials as of last October.
Social networks like microblogging have begun to set the agenda of public opinions and affected public emotions in some incidents, like the high-speed train crash near Wenzhou, in east China’s Zhejiang Province, in July last year, the report said.
Governments have realized the influence of social networks and put more effort in working with them, it said.
Research by the report’s authors from July to December last year showed that the authorities responded to about 71.9 percent of issues that were widely discussed by microbloggers and 50.4 percent were within 24 hours.”
via China has most microbloggers in the world: report – Xinhua | English.news.cn.
See also:
- https://chindia-alert.org/2012/04/26/understanding-social-media-in-china/
- * How China’s 300m microbloggers are shaking the system (chindia-alert.org)
- http://unintend-conseq.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/social-media-triggers-revolutions.html
- https://chindia-alert.org/2012/09/02/chinese-military-official-shamed-after-attack-on-flight-attendant/
- https://chindia-alert.org/2012/08/07/chinese-criminal-procedure-at-its-worst/
- * Beleaguered official faces netizens online (chindia-alert.org)
- China’s Microbloggers Take On Re-Education Camps – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 
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