Michael Anti 安 替 at CNBloggerCon 2008 in Guangzhou

The 4th Chinese Blogger Conference is underway!  David Feng is liveblogging and livetweeting like mad in the back of the room.  Elliott is helping to edit and clean up the posts.  Here we go!

Michael Anti (安 替) is starting off things.  He said that this is first time at the blogger conference.  In his work, he does night shifts all the time.  He learnt different languages while doing reception at a hotel.  He met Wang Xiaobo. Thought of Wang as an idol.  When Wang Xiaobo passed away in 1997, this was a huge negative blow to Michael Anti.

The Chinese Internet first started in 1998.  Opportunity: also how this links into education. Everyone made an effort.  Mao himself also had just a basic education but seized opportunities.  Cultural Revolution resulted in a massive setback with many lost opportunities all gone.  But since 1978 education came back.  People that graduated especially since 1978 got many opportunities in Chinese society today.

However, 1989 turned things around.  There was distrust.

Wang Xiaobo passed away in 1997.  The Internet came only a year later.

There are some problems with the way mainstream media works in China.  Xinhua has a major role in shaping opinion.  And as long as you can express yourself well in the media, you get chances.  You work your way up the ladder, media-step-wise.

Since 2000, especially on the Web, there has been tremendous media liberalization in China.  There is indeed hope for the Chinese blogosphere.  A key question is: will blogs have professionalism or not?  Blogs could be considered as part of a free extension to the media.

In 2005 the blogwave hit China.  In 2006 forums flourished and can be considered an extension to blogs.

Note: comments on Zuosa Stream (ZSS):  “People search” (negative): if they find enough info about you, you will be hunted for (人肉).

Pluralism and sensible discussion is crucial.  Anti speaks out against censorship.  If we cannot express ourselves, and we still want to do a citizen society… something must give.

Two sites of note: www.yeeyan.com is one of them.

Another development is group blogs; no longer just one person doing the blogging

ZSS (Zuosa Stream): Anti’s speech a tad boring; will this speech get harmonized?

Lots of foreigners are translating Chinese things; Anti: we need to translate CN->EN. More liberals from CN.

(Appears that there is a question from @zuola. Talks about Taiwan’s econ growth in 1960s, 70s.)

Anti: if CN media develops in the same way it has in Taiwan, Anti won’t do media.  The media is too partisan in Taiwan.

ZSS: We’re on to media freedom. This is getting un-harmonious…

Anti is calling for the US-fication, now TW-nization, of the media.

Screen to the left has Zuosa stream, feed to the right is from FriendFeed.