SUN WUKONG A president logs on
By Wu Zhong, China Editor
HONG KONG - In a rare move, Chinese President Hu Jintao last Friday visited a
popular Internet chatroom hosted by the People's Daily - the Communist Party's
flagship newspaper - for a 20-plus-minute online dialogue, though he only
answered a few questions screened by the website's moderator.
This is the first reported online chat by a top Chinese leader with China's
"netizens" and it immediately attracted wide attention. During Hu's chat, the
People's Daily website received over 2 million visits in 30 minutes.
Hu's brief online interview wasn't really about answering questions from
bloggers. Rather, it was a symbolic nod to the fact that views
expressed on the Internet are such an increasingly important part of public
opinion that policy-makers can no longer ignore them.
According to a study of China's Internet society conducted by the Data Center
of the China Internet, the number of Internet users in the country reached 182
million in 2007, up 33.8% from the previous year. It is estimated the figure
could grow another 34% and reach 244 million this year.
While the traditional media are still under tight control, Internet users
comparatively enjoy greater freedom of expression, sometimes this can even
include harsh criticisms of government policies.
And it may not be a coincidence that Hu made his high-profile cameo on the
Internet amid growing anger from many bloggers over reports that Beijing had
reached an agreement with Tokyo to jointly develop gas fields in disputed
waters in the East China Sea.
Hu said because of his busy agenda, he could not surf the Internet every day.
But, he admitted that when he had the time he did visit websites. In addition
to reading domestic and international news, he said he also pays attention to
online criticisms and suggestions for the party and government.
With his "sincere greetings", Hu wrote: "As we stress on the principle of
people first and governance for the people, we must widely listen to people's
opinions ... [the] Internet is an important [tool] through which we [can]
understand what people think and appreciate their wisdom."
Hu made the friendly remarks after Internet users had expressed their concerns
and discontent with what they saw as a concession by China to strike an East
China Sea deal with Japan.
On June 16, a spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry, Jiang Yu, issued a
statement on the ministry's website, saying negotiations with Japan on the
joint development of gas fields in the East China Sea had made major progress.
Some netizens immediately expressed their concerns. For instance, on popular
Sina.com one wrote: "[The government] must show the dignity of the Chinese
people, and let people know ... [we] absolutely oppose any deed that betrays
our nation's interests."
At a regular press conference the next day, Jiang said the joint development of
gas fields had nothing to do with China's sovereignty claim, reiterating that
Beijing's position on the boundary had not changed.
On June 18, China and Japan announced they had struck a deal over the East
China Sea, after four years of on-off talks. Asia's two largest economies
agreed to share the potentially lucrative gas resources from an area that lies
near islands which remain the focus of bitter dispute. The two sides continue
to dispute other gas fields in the East China Sea.
The dispute centers on where the boundary between the two countries' exclusive
maritime economic zones falls. Japan claims the median line between the two
countries' coasts marks the divide. China says the boundary is defined by its
continental shelf, extending its zone towards Japan.
According to the deal, Japan's private sector will be allowed to invest in
China's ongoing development of the Chunxiao gas field, which Japan calls Shirakaba.
The amount of investment is still being worked out.
Amid growing nationalism boosted by the Beijing Summer Olympic Games and the
recent Sichuan earthquake that claimed thousands of lives, many bloggers
immediately protested against the deal. Words such as "humiliating the country
and forfeiting its sovereignty", "Shame!" and "Disgusting!" could be seen at
less popular websites as many major websites rejected posts discussing the
issue.
On the same day, apparently to let nationalists vent their anger, Chinese
police - in a rare move - allowed a group of some 20 protesters to demonstrate
in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The protesters also denounced what
they claimed was Beijing's compromise with Tokyo in the gas field deal.
The protesters also condemned Japan for a recent row with Taiwan over disputed
islands known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese. "The
Chinese people won't let Japan steal any wealth from our East China Sea," and
"Japanese, get out of the Diaoyu islands," they chanted
Later that day, Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei issued a statement through the
Chinese media assuring people that the East China Sea deal did not hurt China's
sovereignty.
In a prior visit to Japan, China's late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping once
said the sovereignty dispute over the Diaoyu islands could be shelved for
"future generations, who must be wiser than us" to resolve.
Tong Zeng, chief of the Hong Kong-registered China Federation of Defending
Diaoyudao Islands, said Deng only proposed to shelve the dispute over the
Diaoyu islands, not the dispute over the East China Sea. So, according to Tong,
the gas field deal does not accord with Deng's position and it is likely to
rouse strong reactions among Chinese people.
Tong told Hong Kong's Ming Pao daily that the Chinese government did make some
substantial concessions to allow Japanese enterprises to take stakes in the
Chunxiao gas field. Therefore, Japan must also show its sincerity by agreeing
on joint development of oil and gas resources near the Diaoyu islands. He urged
Beijing to add this as a new item in the East China Sea deal.
The fact that Hu landed on a website to briefly chat with netizens at such a
sensitive moment speaks for itself. The president, as well as Premier Wen
Jiabao, have gained unprecedented popularity with the disaster relief after the
Sichuan earthquake. Hu's friendly chat may help to tone done the rhetoric of
outspoken bloggers over the East China Sea issue. He assured them that their
Internet voices were heard. With Hu's acknowledgement, it can be expected that
the government will make greater efforts to explain the gas field deal to the
public to solicit support.
Interestingly, after Hu made his appearance on the People's Daily's chatroom,
the harsh criticisms of bloggers about the China-Japan deal immediately began
to soften. Of course, this might also be because the Chinese Internet police
had stepped up their efforts.
Viewed rationally, the East China Sea deal may yield win-win results when
further negotiated by both sides. That the two countries could even strike such
a deal shows that both China and Japan are willing to take a pragmatic and
flexible approach toward their disputes.
Still, growing nationalism in China is a double-edged sword. The Communist
Party and government enjoy unprecedented popular support boosted by the
Olympics and the Sichuan earthquake relief. This makes it easier to tackle
domestic problems. However, zealous nationalism may become an obstacle for the
Chinese government if it attempts to adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach to
foreign relations.
In early 1999, then-Chinese premier Zhu Rongji made a visit to the United
States to "pacify" the Americans. Eager to strike a deal with the US on China's
accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Zhu made concessions in
opening China's agricultural and financial markets. But he still failed to
reach an agreement. After he returned home, the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia
was bombed by a US air strike. Zhu was called a "national traitor" by angry
nationalists and conservatives in the party. As a result, China had to prolong
the process of its WTO entry.
Chinese society is much more open today, as witnessed by Hu's chatroom visit
and the government's acknowledgement of bloggers. With such momentum, it is
hoped public protests in the country will be taken into account. In this case,
however, the vociferous views of Internet users should not be allowed to force
the government to delay the implementation of the Each China Sea deal with
Japan.
(Copyright 2008 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact us about
sales, syndication and
republishing.)
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
