In China today there are 618 million Internet users. 500 million use the internet on there mobile phone. WeChat is the most popular form of social media in China. Weibo is the Chinese form of Twitter. Weibo has had to delete many posts for being two controversial or critical.
Weibo has been an important force in changing Chinese society. Ordinary citizens can launch a public debate or shame the government and corporate officials by posting photos, videos and comments according to the lecturer professor Zhang Yanqui. China's leaders are torn between appreciating Weibos capability to gauge public opinion and resisting public scrutiny. It is a new battleground among Chinese authorities, internet companies and citizens all testing the others boundaries. Weibo has become the voice of millions of Chinese citizens.
Reren is the most popular social media site in China. It is the equivalent of Facebook in the United States. Most political conversations are kept private in China between family and friends. Not so much in the public. More young people however are beginning to voice political opinions on Reren. Many users create inspiring or funny topics to attract each other's attention. Key words or creative wording is used to avoid having comments deleted when criticizing. Some celebrities have been put in prison over comments on Weibo or other sites. Ordinary people report others for "spreading rumors ". Taboo subjects include challenging the one party system, Tianammen Square protests, past Nobel Peace Prize winners that challenged China and the free Tibet movement.
The next meeting we went to was the World Wildlife Fund. The World Wildlife Fund was created in 1961. The panda was chosen as the symbol for the animal is loved all around the world and is recognizable. There are now 7 offices for the World Wildlife Fund in China. Some of the major initiatives include the cleaning of the Yangtze River, preserving and increasing the tiger population in China (only 20 remain), climate and energy issues, making China more environmentally friendly, sustainable production and consumption and stopping the wildlife trade.
The conventional wisdom in China is that coal is indispensable. 65% of China's energy comes from Coal. The energy consumption of fossil fuels is obviously leading to pollution. Interestingly for four years China has invested more in renewable energy than any other country. Solar panel installation has increased 7 fold from the goal set in place a couple of years ago.
70% of energy consumption and emissions in China comes from large corporations. Shockingly hundreds of thousands of people die each year due to pollution. Not surprisingly the issue of the environment has increasingly become a bigger issue among Chinese people, especially the youth. The problem in China is that legislation is created but there is no effective enforcement of the legislation or corruption disrupts the enforcement. The Chinese version of the Environmental Protection Agency is not able to effectively enforce. Environmental protection is not a top priority among the Chinese government. As things change and more people suffer from environmental issues this issue should keep gaining more and more prominence in China.
After the WWF meeting we checked out the ancestral temple which is located in the Forbidden City. The emperors would worship in the temple five times a year. This was the main worship area for the emperors. The wooden columns in the temple are over 600 years of age. The trees came from SE China and now don't exist. The temple obviously holds an important place in Chinese history. Ancestral worship is an important component of several Chinese religions.
In the evening we had an awesome experience attending an acrobatic performance.
Tomorrow is a big day for we get to attend an important conference between US and Chinese officials. The United States government will be represented by Secretary of State John Kerry. We are hoping that we will have the opportunity to meet Secretary Kerry.
No comments:
Post a Comment