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Business in Vancouver June 3-9, 2008; issue 971 Internet technology to grapple with the Great Firewall of China Beijing Olympic Games will test the host country’s ability to control information gathering and distribution Jonathon Narvey The Great Firewall of China looms large. But B.C.-based web technology experts have learned to operate in one of the world’s most cyber-policed countries, and they have high hopes for the future of Web 2.0 in what has become one of the planet’s most wired nations. “Web 2.0 is exploding in China,” said Raincity Studios president Kris Krug. “The Chinese are totally wired, totally online, using web phones and all the mobile technology we use here. “There’s a growing middle class wanting to use all these open-source tools, in part because that means they don’t have to worry about using proprietary software and pay licensing fees to western companies.” Web 2.0 refers to a global trend to democratize the Internet and harness its technology to increase creativity and promote collaboration and information sharing. Having attended open source software and blogger symposiums in Beijing and Shanghai, Krug has seen China’s Web 2.0 dynamism up close. With a team of 13 employees in Shanghai, mostly open-source online publishing software developers, and their CEO Robert Scales, Raincity now has an established beachhead in the country. Meanwhile, Richmond-based IAS Energy’s Hong Kong venture, Video1314.com, is already reaping the benefit of China’s Web 2.0 frenzy. Video1314.com is a video-sharing site that combines YouTube-style functions with a virtual marketplace and educational gaming tools. The site has attracted millions of users since launching in early 2007. Samuel Kam, IAS’ vice-president of Internet development, described a virtual gold rush in China involving foreign web developers potentially having access to more than 200 million Internet users in China in 2009, a market that’s bigger than in the U.S.A. But the flip side for all these Chinese Web 2.0 enthusiasts is how online communities and new media will be allowed to operate when it comes to the Beijing Olympic Games. “Last time I was in Shanghai, the Chinese government announced they had just hired 100,000 new cyber-police,” Krug said. “That’s on top of however many they had to begin with.” Companies hosting and operating new-media sites in China the same way they would in North America risk having their sites shut down, getting fined or having their licences to operate in China revoked. Kam said Video1314.com has full-time moderators to ensure user content that violates the rules gets taken down within 24 hours. Ignoring restrictions on free speech that would be beyond the pale in North America is not an option for companies wanting to do business in China. Krug has also learned how easy it can be to run afoul of vigilant Chinese cyber-regulators. “We were running a bar camp (an informal Web 2.0 drupal tutorial seminar), and our wiki was totally open. Anyone could register and write on it. “Within a couple of days, we received a letter [stating] that we had to change our site in accordance with the rules in China. Users had to be pre-approved, content had to be moderated and we had to make changes on the website. We scrambled to make the changes in 24 hours.” For local Chinese website developers, citizen journalists and bloggers, the penalties for defying the censors can be severe. According to Reporters Without Borders, about 50 Internet users have been detained in China. The same report says that the Chinese government blocks websites deemed to be subversive or defamatory or that divulge state secrets. And incidents reported in the international media, like the beating death of citizen journalist Wei Wenhua by government officials for taking pictures on his mobile phone in January, have shocked average Chinese and instilled fear in new-media adopters. Will Web 2.0 in China get a boost from citizen journalists covering the Beijing 2008 Olympics? Maurice Cardinal is the author of Leverage Olympic Momentum, a book about doing business in an Olympic region. He said the tough regulations of China and the International Olympic Committee make it a challenge. While athletes are allowed to write blogs, the IOC has a complex list of rules governing their content: •they should take the form of an online diary; •they shouldn’t contain interviews with any other athletes; and •audio or video clips of Olympic events are prohibited. Meanwhile, Cardinal said that IOC partnerships with a host city’s mainstream media include legal obligations to avoid coverage of negative aspects of the Olympics on the host city, whether it’s Beijing or Vancouver. But he added that the development of new media in Beijing and future Olympics host cities might force the IOC to change its business model. “Beijing 2008 will be the first time we’ve had enough of a critical mass to affect the IOC. The critical players here are the Olympic athletes. Some will be going strictly for the gold and won’t say anything, but some will feel an ethical responsibility [to use Web 2.0 tools to criticize human rights abuses and social problems associated with Olympic host countries].” Cardinal said that because sponsors can potentially generate profits from association with the Olympic brand, and the IOC survives solely on its reputation, it’s in its interests to reverse its policy of limiting use of Web 2.0 tools. “Coca Cola has already taken a broadside hit regarding Beijing and had to quickly defend [its] Olympic sponsorship affiliation.” For now, Web 2.0 companies still have to tread a fine line to operate successfully in China and maintain their reputations. • news@biv.com |
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