2011 Theses Master's

Internet Facilitated Civic Engagement in China's Context: A Case Study of the Internet Event of Wenzhou High-speed Train Accident

Xu, Xiaowen

The Internet events in China have attracted a lot of attention in studying the impact of new communication techniques on civic engagement and development of online public sphere. By analyzing the case of the Wenzhou high-speed train accident in July, 2011, this thesis explores a broad scenario where netizens apply the Internet in different ways and for different goals, including information flow, online activism, charity, and rumor refutation. The thesis attempts to show how netizens' use of the Internet affects the state-society dynamics and their relationship with other social actors, in what way it suggests improvement in China's civil society, and why these characteristics and functions of the Internet have come into being.