Description
Book SynopsisFrom the Occupy movement in the Western world to the Arab Spring and the role of Twitter in the Middle East, the internet and social media is changing the global landscape. China is next. Despite being a heavily-censored society, China has over 560 million active internet users, more than double that of the USA. In this book, social media expert and China-watcher Liz Carter tells the story of how the internet in China is leading to a coming together of activists, ordinary people and cultural trendsetters on a scale unknown in modern history. News about protests and natural disasters, or gossip and satirical jokes, are practically uncensorable and spread quickly through Weibo - the Chinese Twitter - and the Chinese internet underground. More than that, a grassroots, foundational shift of assumptions and expectations is taking place, as Chinese men and women cast off the communistera 'stability at all costs' mantra and find new forms of selfexpression, creativity and communication with the world.
Trade Review'[Carter's] book offers another valuable window onto these groups [Chinese youth]. She has a lot to say about the crucial role that cyberspace plays in China as the closest thing there is to a public sphere for debate [...]the author writes with the easy familiarity of someone who routinely watches the same programs, hangs out at the same social-media sites and uses the same digital devices as the young Chinese she is describing.' - Jeff Wasserstrom. Wall Street Journal;
