Final Project:The Internet Chanllenge for Democrcy in Asia
The advent of the internet has been supposed to bring about political freedom and democracy everywhere in the world. Many scholars insisted that the birth of internet will be a cause new world wide democracy and irresistible threat against authorized political power. Then is it true in reality? It is difficult for Asians to answer like this question. In fact there is different structure in Asia from western style in the historical side of democracy and aspect of acceptance of technology, the internet.
The elements of the reason why the internet lower political effect
It is difficult for Asian countries to explain how to tie the concept ‘internet and politics’.
At first, the effect is not still remarkable because the internet is new technology relatively in Asia.
Secondly it is hard to predict generally because there is big disparity among nations. Actually Asian countries have been seen difference very much among nations in the extension rate of the internet and personal computer. The personal computer is just spreading in the Bangladeshi, Laos and Cambodia whereas in the South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Hongkong, the spreading rate of an info-communications is over or similar with that of western developed nations. Also nowadays there are China and India that is just coming to the surface as an internet nation. In these countries, the internet was used politically and drastically with the rapid growth of the city.
Thirdly, there is an opinion that it is difficult to consider Asia as an analysis unit because they have different experience as an independent country, the history of democracy, the political system and the characteristic of government. As a matter of fact, the flow of democracy has swept away Asia since 1950 but these countries were not developed as the democratic governance like western developed countries. The political, social and economical situations were different. Above all, most of Asian countries were not a modern nation-state. During a lot of centuries they were colonized. Before colonization, these countries were divided by several monarchies. In some case, they were formed of empire. It is against from the range of nation that we know these days. Moreover for twenty century and until now, some of Asian countries have been generally the feudal system. Therefore they were governed by some of elite groups based on land and landlord. It means that the political power was concentrated on minority of landlord and religious leaders in most of Asian countries.
In that way, it is important not to exist the experience and unified concept about democracy in Asia.
They share various experience in Asia, then how can you estimate the democratic potential power? The starting concept is the right of access on the internet because it is the prior requirement of democracy that the public have the right of approximation about information. Wherever the majority of people can approach on the internet, the internet can be the important political influencing power. Therefore the universal access right is the prior term to be a democratic device. During the last centuries, some of Asian countries’ internet popularization was outstanding but the rate of usage of the internet is still very low to be a effective political means. The series of recent statistics research shows well the low diffusion of the internet and personal computer in Asia.
Asian countries have showed up the drastic difference in the usage of the internet. In South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and Hong kong as well as Malaysia where they are a little bit behind the leading group, the propagation of the internet is comparable with that of western. While in Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, India and even China, the increase of internet is still low to be a means with political meaning. Though the total number of the internet users is estimated at about 45 millions that is substantial number in terms of the absolute value. However the internet utility rate per gross population is nothing but 3.58%. First of all, the internet should be spread to become a important political means distributed democracy. Many developing countries are endeavoring to increase the usage of internet through tuning the policy, reforming the regulations, establishing necessary social basis facilities. If these efforts are succeeded, after ten years, we can see the rapid growth of the usage and diffusion of internet in Asia. Through this course, the internet will make a basis role on the politics.
To access on the internet is necessary to equip some important device like PC, modem and so on as well as regular level of technology. The lack of computer and high illiteracy rate are the serious problem in the usage of internet. If these problems are not solved, the access on the internet can not be a cause of change. Moreover the usage and diffusion of internet reveals its limit because the social basis facilities including electricity are still in short supply in many regions of Asia.
Besides while only minority of people can use in English, various regional dialects are spread through gross population in Asia. So when users deal with the internet, language can be a big barrier. Many languages including Chinese, partly Hindi is used on the internet. But still a lot of people are excluded because their languages are not adjusted technologically on the internet. As a result, if we don’t consider these various changeable elements of the access of internet, it is difficult to discuss the internet as a media that mature citizen society.
The increase of regulations and censorship about the internet.
The other important elements that decrease the power of influence and the political usage of internet in Asia is the regulations and censorship about the internet. Though many of countries acknowledged the difficulty of regulations and censorship about the internet, another countries are seeking for the various means to control the free usage of internet as a media that express their political alternative opinions and against the government. Maybe Singapore can be the most representative example of national systematic regulations and censorship about the internet. Singapore government provides the internet for broadcasting media to keep their control about the media. That is to say, the regulations on the off-line are applied on the on-line, too. And the internet is lied on strong control system as well as another electric media. The people who violate their rule will be punished. The punishment is applied variously into news production, giving the contents including internet service and the provision about the producer of information.
The regulation law about the register of political site passed in July 20,2001. The Singapore Broadcasting Authority: SBA doesn’t act pre-publication censorship about political site. But according to SBA all the information for their contents on their website. Besides political discussion or propaganda related to Singapore should be registered officially on the website. The purpose of registering political site is to let them be responsible for their information that is given by web site owner about domestic political issue. According to the revised election law of the parliament, the advertisement publicity on the internet relating to the election is prohibited. It is an illegal act to publish unverifiable election advertisement. So publisher, editor and the object of advertisement should be opened on the internet. In addition to that, the announcement of public opinion survey about election was also prohibited. If someone violate this rule, he has to pay $1000 and twelve months in jail.
Meanwhile, in October 17,2001 the new regulation about election activity on the internet was announced due to the treaty of parliament election that is revised on August. In that regulation, they allow party to spread election activity through the internet.
However the new rules include e-mail and SMS messages. So during the election, email including the contents related to the election campaign, parties or candidates sending SMS messages and the related institute for election should reveal who send the message, for what they are sending their messages. Moreover the spread mail like a ‘lucky letter’ that senders send mail with the same message to another recipients is prohibited.
According to the new regulations website on party cannot reveal their poll survey about election and the contents about election money. Besides they cannot publish any devices that visitor on their website cannot find their prohibited election advertisement.
More important thing is that party should assign arbitrator on managing their bulletin board and discussion section during the election period. Besides all the messages should be recorded on the computer. The arbitrator ought to do their best to let messages published on the bulletin board and discussion sections follow the rules. They have to omit the contents like that somebody evaluate that an election judge is against the public profit order, national harmony and dignity.
This way of regulating can be found only in Singapore. But other countries also have a possibility to use this way because they want to limit the opinion against the government and political opinion. For example China use technological regulation means to restrict the political usage of internet. Besides China has controlled systematically as prohibiting particular site and censoring the materials.
The recent phenomena in Malaysia have also represented the intensity of government regulations about the internet. In January 2003, the anti-government online newspaper, ‘Malaysiakini’ was investigated and confiscated their computers by Malaysian police officers. Malayyiakini organized large scale of online demonstration against excessive regulation of government. The website named ‘Reformasi’ was spread into the nation through the link.
The police did a spot check on Malaysiakini’s office. After investigation government took away Malaysiakini’s computers with suspicion that they led anti-government demonstration. In spite of repeating remark of Malaysian government, the recent happenings show that government moves to control and regulate internet more actively.
South Korea is model for Asian countries
When the U.S. invented the Internet in the 1960s, South Korea was still in the early 20th century in terms of development. Their financial system and heavy manufacturing base were hard hit in the Asian flu currency crisis of 1997-1998. Only about 5 % of the country had Internet access.
But President Kim Dae-Jung decided to ramake the country as a knowledge superpower. He deregulated the telecom business, where SK Telecom had a monopoly like AT&T before its 1982 breakup-with the predictable consequences of high prices and slow technology improvements. He also mandated CDMA as the cellular technology to be deployed, even though Qualcomm was the only supplier of handsets. Qualcomm initially charged close to $1000 a handset for a collection of parts that sold for $200 elsewhere in the world, but had to agree to eventually transfer technology and build phones in Korea.
The government also spent enormous amounts of money, billions in U.S. dollar terms, installing a broadband infrastructure to government offices and every school, and offered another billion to subsidize broadband to homes. Their job was made easier by the population density in big cities like Seoul and Busan, where most people live in easily-wired high-rise apartments.
In order to get people to pay for broadband and wireless connections, the Korean government followed a saints and sinner strategy. Koreans are fanatics for education, with even the elderly expected to continue to study and learn. The government followed the Japanese lead and convinced parents that their children would do better in school with a broadband connection at home. In fact, if they didn’t get broadband, other parents’ kids would pull ahead. Samsung and LG Electronics backed this message, only in part because they make broadband equipment, and in many cases subsidized employees’ broadband connections.
On the sinners side, Koreans also are fanatics for online games. Over 50% of them play online games, versus 6% in the U.S. I think the availability of true broadband could push that 6% figure to 30% or more in the U.S., especially after money and large prizes get into the act, as they will. In any case, Korean games involve teams of players called clans, some of whom have joined professional gaming leagues. Last summer, the finals of the Starcraft professional gaming league drew 100,000 spectators to a park on the same night the Korean baseball all-star game drew just over 16000. Three television channels show nothing but people playing computer games, 24/7. There’s a combination Internet café/game room called a PC room-spelled ‘baang’- on every other street corner. The baangs quickly became the social center for under-25s. Demand for the same fast connections at home, combined with deregulation, resulted in rapidly falling prices.
In eighty years, Korea went from 5 % to 75% connected to the Internet, almost all over high-speed broadband or 3G cellular. The opportunity now is to offer online services. While U.S. users get excited about downloading ringtones, screensavers and iPod music, Koreans have unlimited movie and TV-on-demand subscriptions, traffic services, games and more. They already spend more on downloaded music than they do on CDs. Broadband makes it easy to shop online, and almost 20% of all retail transactions are online from computers or cell phones, with close to 100% of all banking and stock trades online.
LG Electronics-a Korean company not traded on U.S. exchanges- sells Internet-enabled air conditioners, microwave ovens, rice cookers, washing machines, robot vacuums and refrigerators with video camera and 13 inch LCD displays in the door. LG expects to have 13,000 smart apartments functions by the end of 2004, and the Korean government wants 10 million completely networked smart homes by 2007. LG has some far-out products in their research labs, including an Internet toilet seat that takes your weight, plus rate and temperature as you sit on it in the morning and sends them plus a urinalysis, to your doctor’s computer for monitoring. Another project is a smart treadmill that tracks your speed and pulse rate, stores the data and gives you an updated exercise program for your next session. Needless to say, they plan to export these smart-home products to the U.S., banking on their experience and lengthy lead to stay ahead of Chinese and Japanese competion.
The government is pressing on to the next levels of technology. Satellite broadband will start in 2006 to send glitch-free digital video and movies to cars at freeway speeds. The current 20 megabit per second backbone will be pushed to 50 megabits next year, and to 100 megabits by 2012 or sooner. Distance education and telemedicine are two of the explosive applications just around the corner, and no one can really guess what new and amazing service will be available at 100 megabits.
As a side note, Roh Moo Hyun, the president of South Koreath-is a the largest beneficiary. Roh is called upset winner in South Korea’s 2002 presidential election by the computer and cellular phone.
On Election Day, after the early returns showed Roh was losing, young voters launched an Instant Messaging campaign on cell phones and computers that got out his vote and gave him the election in a few hours.
It made me realize that the so-called “netizens” were growing into a significant force during the elections, because online media enabled people, who had not been involved in politics the past, to voice their opinions.
Online media also played a major role in leading public opinion during this election, but traditional print media did not take this threat seriously. In the end, Roh Moo Hyun, the younger and more radical candidate who had had strong netizen support, went to win over Lee Hwoi Chang, who had been the more popular and conservative candidate. It proved the power the Internet held.
And Roh is concentrated on backing up new technology industry after his inauguration and he can program in HTML-maybe that will become a qualification in U.S. politics.
What it comes down to is that the South Korean government has built their country on broadband and is now making it the basis of its new industrial policy. They expect it to add 20% to 40% to per capita GDP by increasing internal efficiency, developing high-value tech jobs and increasing exports. This is certainly a model that the U.S. would be foolish to ignore.
Since Korea was able to make the transition from unplugged to completely connected in only eight years that the U.S. could do it in far less time. That may or may not be the case.
During the presidential campaign, President Bush and Senator Kerry agreed that universal broadband access is vital to the future of the U.S. Korea made the transition possible because of billions of dollars in government spending and regulation. They are bypassing the high-speed copper phase, deregulating the businessed and providing incentives for wireless investment.
Social engineering, self censorship and de-politicization
The advent of internet has provided the possibility of promoting participation in politics. To be an active participation, each user should send and receive their messages. Therefore the real political influence of internet depends on the motive and willingness of the users in many parts. In many Asian countries, the political indifference, self-censorship and restricted opportunity of participation are due to be confined motive and willingness of users. The political possibility of internet has decreased severely as a result of spreading continuous fear and indifference among general citizen in the course of democratization. The media effect of internet can be showed up when user’s drive is reflected in their politics and political contents. However it is hard for us to expect that internet users with indifference and fear can make good use of internet as a means of coming true their democratic idea and participation of their politics because the internet users already know that the ideological and oppressive power effect on the internet.
With the advent of information technology, it is often hard to unilateral control about mass communication. However absolute and direct control will not be the only effective way to restrict the internet as a means of democratization. Mass media can be only used as a tool of democracy. The active, strong and responsible people are just able to influence and change mass media. It is obvious that the result will be changed according to social willingness that fulfills the democracy,.
In conclusion, the advent of internet was caused to promote participation on politics by the publics. And the other effect of internet is to accomplish equalitarianism for filtering particular ruling power. To promote participation and gain the more information through the internet, the publics should be more active than now.
posted by JR Lee @ 3:45 PM
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