New Freedom, and Peril, in Online Criticism of China

China has more internet users than any other country – and the government has no problem with an angry, rapid-response approach to any Chinese citizen who shows the slightest opposition to government policies. What the Washington Post calls an “internet mob” attacked a 20-year-old student attending Duke University in the US, after she attempted to mediate between campus protesters who pressed China on human rights in Tibet and counter-protesters who supported Chinese government actions. A YouTube video featured the Duke freshman who urged calm between the two groups, and not long afterward, personal information about her and her family in China appeared on the internet followed by harassment. Anonymous online attackers pull out all the stops online – releasing Google photos of homes, addresses and phone numbers, and the label of “traitor.” Vicious, massive and long-distance harassment of a young woman who calls for dialogue and tolerance will do little to attract international sympathy for Chinese government causes. – YaleGlobal