Can the blogosphere help China find its way to a more open society?
Alexander Brenner, SAIS ’03, is writing a book about contemporary Chinese society. Asked via e-mail if he’d describe a particularly striking aspect of youth culture in the new China, the Beijing resident, who earned his master’s in China studies, replied with this: “Over the past two years, blogging has exploded among China’s urban youth. The total number of blogs in China — estimates vary, but at least 30 million have been created — is now second only to the United States…. “Is blogging in China just another youth trend? Some observers think the development of the blogosphere is potentially much more significant. . . . Liu Jin of the China Youth University of Political Science, one of the first scholars conducting research on the Chinese blogosphere, believes that blogs elicit self-expression that is ‘more rational, mature, and honest,’ and asserts that for the first time they are creating in China a true ‘public sphere.’ Naturally, this public sphere is circumscribed by government
