Power To The People

No one can deny that internet has revolutionized the way people communicate and socialize with each other all over the world, and recent news have showed the momentum it is gaining through playing a vital part in the fight for freedom in reactionary countries.

This week, the IHT has reported on how a Chinese waitress got public support, after being arrested for defending herself with a knife from an official who tried to rape her, killing him. Several other cases of power abuse in China are being reported online, despite all the control the government has on internet content.

The news inform that:

...Ms. Deng’s case eclipsed them all, racking up four million posts and counting, he aid. Her story resonates with millions of Chinese who not only are fed up with low-level corruption but also prize chastity in young women, causes that transcend politics.

“Deng Yujiao is a metaphor for someone who fights back against officials, and of course the officials are those who spend the taxpayers’ money, who are so abusive to ordinary citizens and so corrupt,” he said. “It’s almost a stereotype of the online image of officials. That’s why this case becomes so big.”

The methods used by the local police to stop the spread of information were heavy-handed:

On May 22, Beijing censors ordered Web sites to stop reporting on the case. Four days later, television and the Internet were cut off in Yesanguan, the town where the attack occurred. The official explanation for the shutdown was as a “precaution” against lightning strikes.

Spurred by the Internet frenzy, Chinese journalists had converged on Badong County. But after censorship was imposed, local officials began screening outsiders, and some journalists seeking to report there were beaten. Mr. Wu’s blog was shut down by censors.

As for the officials:

The two surviving local officials who were involved in the assault have been fired, but no charges were brought against them.

So much for their "good policing".

Still, people are reacting:

Last month, a group of young people abruptly appeared in the middle of downtown Beijing, carrying on their shoulders a woman wearing a mask and wrapped in white cloth. They laid her on the ground and arranged signs around her, then took pictures.

The signs read, “Anyone could be Deng Yujiao.”

The photos immediately appeared on the Internet.

Go nonconformists!

The IHT also reported on how Twitter was used by the US government to give a slight push in the exchange of information in the country. Should they be meddling with the elections there? Maybe, maybe not, however it seems that the people there are struggling to keep the little freedom of communication they have, so maybe this meddling is not bad at all, as it's shown in the article:

An account called StopAhmadi wrote on Tuesday evening, “We need ppl around world helping to raise the issues put pressure on Iranian gvmt.” It posted links to pictures from Tehran, including one that showed a man bleeding profusely from his chest, surrounded by protesters.

Even the politicians have been using Facebook and such for their own promotion, so if they didn't have anything to hide or fear, they wouldn't be worrying so much about what people are talking about in the internet now, would they?

A BBC journalist said:

“We’ve been struck by the amount of video and eyewitness testimony. The days when regimes can control the flow of information are over.”

So we hope!