Defending the right to know in China
- By Xu Peixi
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China.org.cn, July 8, 2011
The fact that Guo's every move is being closely watched by netizens resembles neither a scene from George Orwell's 1984 nor the plot of the 1998 American film The Truman Show, in which Truman is watched without his own awareness. But the degree of supervision by netizens is still striking. Microbloggers have provided instantaneous updates on Guo Meimei, ranging from her flight information to personal information on the guys in her photos. In this way, they attempt to map out her interpersonal network and get to the bottom of the story.
The invasive nature of the investigation has led some commentators to worry about the breach of privacy. Some commentators have even called the search a return of the Cultural Revolution, when there was a tyranny of the majority. But these comments are beside the point. Though Guo Meimei has been bearing a seemingly unbearable burden, she is the best available thread to unravel a likely web or corruption and lies. When the police do not do their job, the people have to organize themselves against potential social injustices.
From James Carey to Elihu Katz, communication researchers have the tradition of discussing a ritualistic role of communication, which considers the role of communication in constructing communities where people sharing similar values gain solidarity by attending the same ceremony. The intense debate over Guo Meimei in China has been a live exchange of worry, fun, anxiety and anger that can all be summarized as distrust of big institutions. Taking into consideration a few other scandals involving the Red Cross Society of China, the Guo Meimei case may arguably become the last straw destroying its public credibility. Regardless of the result of the ongoing scandal, if the organization does not respond to the public appeals to publish its budget details online, it may see a substantial drop in donations.
Thus, broadly, the Guo Meimei case can be read as a partial upspring of democracy. Specifically, it is about the Chinese people's lack of trust in big institutions, though they remain confident, enthusiastic, and hopeful in rebuilding these institutions in a better way. It is about people's right to know how their tax money is spent, and when such a channel of communication is absent, an alternative route is adopted to force authorities to fulfill their obligations and face people's concerns. This alternative route typically refers to people riding on a spectacular media event and mobilizing their available online or offline resources to collectively report, investigate and confirm a potentially breath-taking scandal.
The Guo Meimei case serves as an impressive reminder to other big institutions which operate with a shortage of transparency and often hide behind empty rhetoric that the wolf is really coming and if they don't do anything to adapt themselves to these new values, the people will do something. This also rings a warning bell in a post-Assange world, doesn't it?
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/xupeixi.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn
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