China Blogs

Blogging in China is like a rising tide and shows no signs of receding. In two separately conducted e-mail interviews with Xiao Qiang, the evangelic director of the China Internet Project  at the University of California at Berkeley and Edwyn Chan,the optimistic entrepreneur blog developer, I invite you to learn more about the present ebb and flow of blogs in China.

Wired reported when the wave of anti-Japanese sentiment in China was at its peak about how blog entrepreneur, Edwyn Chan  chose to inform Chinese citizens deprived of news coverage about those unfolding events.

Only a few days after launching kangri.blogku.com, the intrepid Chan drew more than  10,000 politically active netizens and the attention of the Chinese internet police, who dutifully informed him he had their permission to continue as long as he kept it tame.

In sharp contrast to Chan's site, my friend, Kevin Wen reported on his blog that " Kantianxia first launched their service on last April, which provided a web-based RSS news aggregator and RSS news reader software in Chinese language. It had been ordered to shut down by Chinese officials on this February (2005). The company, urPOS Technology didn’t declare the shut down related to official’s censorship but it was widely believed that the closure is due to some sensitive content had been aggregated in their service."

Chan's media network already has three blogs up and running, including Dianziren, which covers consumer electronics; a humor blog, Shuanga; and Jiaexp, a gaming site. His ambitious plans include  two more: one for women that would be about beauty and cosmetics, the other he hopes could be modeled after the successful Gawker.

In my continued interviews with bloggers here are recent comments from Chan on his plans. His expanded business set up under the corporate umbrella, Concept ideas.com include newshots, a Chinese content aggregator website, Blogku media network, publishing the niche sites mentioned earlier and blogku feeds, a consultation service to media companies on the benefits of RSS/Atom feeds.

JB: What are the challenges in being a blogger in China now?

Chan: Depends on whether you are blogging personally or running a blog business.  If you are blogging for yourself, you should stay clear of sensitive topics, however its controversial topics that gets
attention.  Even if you are not blogging about the government, writing about controversial stuff usually leads to one offending someone.  In a society that is all about guanxi, that's not too cool to
offend someone as you might lose out.  One of my new blogging friends is one of China's most popular bloggers, keso - (as he is known in the Internet world) is able to write controversial stuff because he
doesn't have to worry about a salary. If you are doing it as a business, then you got to learn how to balance the reality/business and your vision.  It might be your vision to empower the regular person to have the power and tools of the media, but in reality that's not feasible, if you want to keep your ICP and other bad stuff.

JB: What is the background of kangri.blokku.com and what has been the response today? How many bloggers are there in China?

Chan: Kangri.blogku started out as a experient to test the waters to see how a hot topic would spead on the blog medium before I put out my blog media network.  Traffic to kangri.blogku.com has tailed off in
relation to anti-japanese protests. this was expected as  the blog started off as a way for readers to find out about protests. There is a rough estimation of bloggers in china at http://www.cnblog.org/index.html  cnblog.org and it is the most authoritative site on the blogosphere in china.

JB: Are there any bloggers covering Chinese media?

Chan: Yes, there are bloggers that blog about the media but the most well known
bloggers blog about blogs and IT in a global view.  This is probably because most bloggers in China are are early adopters and are interested about blogs in general as its still something new.  I
predict as blogs are better known there will be a shift to blogs on the media.

JB: Why do you think Gong An, China's Internet police, chose not shut your blogs
down during the earlier cited anti-Japanese protests?

Chan: Honestly,  the anti-Japanese ( sentiment) editor's clarification, is so strong in the inner parts of China.  I never knew this until I moved here.  It's common practice here for 8 or 10 people to actively to try not to buy Japanese products.  Therefore, as long as we didn't give them a hard time explaining to their superiors, like organizing a protests, they let us have some slack.

JB: You have gone on record with other media as stating that you would like to become  the next Nick Denton of Gawker fame in China. Please comment on your entrepreneurial aspirations?

Chan: The next Nick Denton? That's definitely one of my personal goals but
not my only one.  I see blogs as a springboard to more internet ventures.  Becoming the next Barry Diller of IAC/InterActiveCorp would be nice!

JB: Do you wish to comment on China's use of undercover bloggers to try to sway public opinion on controversial issues through the use of the Internet?

Chan: Propaganda?  I think every government trys to influence the public through the media one way or the other.

JB: You are a previous entrepreneur, tell me about  your experience in graduate school in New York as a young computer programer and the development of an Internet Chinese-celebrity stock-exchange website?

Chan:  I was an undergraduate  at NYU and will be doing an MBA at Tsinghua University starting in September 2005. I setup the stock website from 2000 to 2001 and  sold it off to the former Stareastnet.com. I remember working on the project during the night while at NYU as the time difference was 12 hours.  It took a toll on my grades, but it was a great learning experience which I believe led to this second venture.

JB: Any views on the news KanTianxia.com, news aggregator site?

Chan: Kantianxia provides a much needed tool to the Chinese blogosphere.  RSS is the way to go in distributing content as it makes keeping up with multiple sources manageable.  I am in the midst of
launching my own web based RSS aggregator too.  I am not worried about kantianxia as the market is big enough for a few players. After all, the US has at least 5 big ones.

JB:  What's the future of blogs?

Chan:  I believe blogs will be a substantial source of news in the future as it enables many niche feeds of the topics of your choice. There is too much content on the web already, blog feeds let you choose a
personal editor to tailor news for the reader. I am also trying to create more awareness for blogs in the local Hong Kong market and Chinese blogosphere for the global market.

More on blogs with the editor-in-chief of Digital China Times

My focus and discussion on China's blog industry continues today with a recently completed interview with Xiao Qiang of the China Internet Project  at the University of California at Berkeley . This is direct redaction of that recent e-mail correspondence.

JB:What are your views on China's endorsement of wang shang yi zheng, is this really  a new trend sweeping China?  On the surface many pundits claim it appears to be a blanket endorsement of blogging.

Qiang: It is a rising tide in China. Wang Shang yi Zheng can be translated as "discussing politics online."

JB: Western pundits have proclaimed that the blogosphere  has finally arrived in China and it's catching on with over 4 million weblogs, although this figure seems quite inflated to many blog pundits in the Middle Kingdom. Do you attribute this dramatic rise to a combination of heightened control of chat rooms, publishing censorship, and the desire to express one's individual thoughts and feelings?

Qiang: No. The same censorship applies to blogosphere as well. The rise of  bloggers is just that Chinese netizens have found a new way to use the Internet, much like people in other parts of the world.

JB: Are blogs emerging as expression zones and is this a trend allowing the West a better glimpse of China's genuine attitudes and social change?

Qiang: It has real potential. But one needs lots of knowledge and understanding of the political, social and cultural context in order to read Chinese blogosphere correctly.

JB: What do you think of the increasing collision or rather clear and present danger between the Internet and Chinese authorities. It appears to be one of the grand wrestling matches of history, visible in part at www.yuluncn.com.

Qiang: Hard to say what's is the "clear and present danger". The use of SMS to organize street demonstrations by anti-Jpanese activists were a surprise to many people, including the government. "Increasing collision"? Yes, definitely. The emerging public opinion vs propanganda machine on public
affairs is where the power struggle currently based. The Chinese cyberspace is certainly a very dynamic place, so does the Chinese society in general.

JB: As you know, Li Xinde's website is www.yuluncn.com and he regards himself as a self-appointed watchdog journalist . What is the impact of the Chinese Public Opinion Surveillance Net - now reputed by some to be one of four million blogs in China? 

Qiang: Li is one of those people wants to use the Net to set up a alternative media. His effort is not alone and he is not the most politically risky one, since anti-corruption is the offical policy from the central
government. There are no four million Li Xinde online either, since most of bloggers are blogging for their personal interets, not public.

Expect to read more here on China blogs.

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