International Media and Democracy in China - Essay Example

In what respects if at all can the international media contribute to more Democracy in China While considering China on the cross roads to transition one cannot ignore the sequence of events in China's democratic history. From 'Tiananmen Square massacre - 1989' to '2008 Beijing Olympics' one thing is common, "the contribution of International media and coverage to outcry Chinese public and democracy". Today, International media is playing its part in awakening one of those significant moments that signal the arrival of a new, long-term era. However analysing changing media structures in context with laws and policies provide guidance to those citizens who are involved in transitions in overarching processes of media reform and democratisation. As Chinese 'media' and 'democracy' are interlinked in a single framework, people expects from media to wake up democracy in China, not the vice versa. It is through the wide contribution of picky media that today has made it possible to at least speak in favour of self-contained civil societies and public spheres in China. With these issues unresolved, and with market economics and representative democracy only partially institutionalised, Chinese Government has detected that socialism and fascism in today's era would not be taken as alternative models for modern society. A society which is media driven and can be scanned as long as it is 'Chinese local media'. But to the extent where Chinese Government enters the boundaries of International scrutiny, capitalist democracy in both the economic and political spheres is unable to acquire superiority. However, the efforts on part of the Government could be on its way showing fascism along with its military failure and all the inefficiencies of state socialism and authoritarian tendencies can be put in the court of Chinese Government. Media currently is playing hide and seek with the Chinese democracy where on seeking any possibility of democratic revival, International media would consider it a genius. International media could help in emerging a brand new 'Democratic China' and for this it has to emerge as an instrument to political control in China (Hwang, September 2004). Social Construction for Reality: With a small proportion of opportunity which has opened some new ways for building up a better image of democracy among the International media relations, International Media can help in protesting to social inequalities. Since this issue is the main obstruction in reviving a democratic China, therefore media can juxtapose 'social construction' in awakening democracy. These inequalities require a foreign body to predict reality on the basis of racial differences (Vhang et al, 1998). The foreign media can utilise this little opportunity from behalf of the Chinese government to make the Chinese public understand the responsibility to deliver a 'new' generation. A generation free from social inequalities and injustice. This would serve as the first step towards a democratic Government. International media can turn Chinese educational centers into 'revolutionary centers' as long as differences exists between yellow race and Koreans and Chinese who pour into schools from deprived and shabby homes quickly amaze with their high IQ scores. Such a social construction would serve as an injection at the ground root level where media would not only infuse equality among the public which would ultimately lead to democratise China but also would be helpful to develop a society where there would be no hard and fast social class differences among the citizenry. This message of equality from the international media would change the thinking of at least the younger generation, and on the basis of such equality democracy would be strengthened in China. From the local community 'town meetings', to the media of discussion and questioning, when all the racial and social differences would be alleviated the outcome would be finally into the great halls of the legislatures, the courts, the executive departments for prudent application of this will of the people (Itzkoff, 1992, p. 125). Active Participation: The democratic pattern can be sharpened by media in the form of creating awareness of decision making among the Chinese public. However, the commitment of all the people to active participation, to self-discipline in thinking and behaving using one's highly developed cortex and not one's viscera, must remain the essence of democratic life. When the media would raise the intelligence levels and stimulate the educational structures to make the young aware of their powers and their ability to make decisions that will have an impact on their own lives and those of their descendants, the media would create conditions that will make people equal to the task of self-governance. The Chinese public cannot be merely excoriated for not going out to vote. The fault may not be in them but in the political leaders' failure to present the issues seriously. A circular set of causes and effects are operating here, which the media could expose but indirectly without breaking Chinese government policies. The leadership groups, having little to offer in terms of real policy-level choices, attempt to manipulate the electorate through emotional, show-biz media tricks. It works for a short time, but the people eventually get wise to most of the gimmicks. The long-term result is that gradually the people are turned off. Media along with the democratic elections can provide partial solutions to each problem. Either in the form of newspapers or television, media helps the citizens to clearly see the true picture and legitimacy of unelected governments, this scenario is widely challenged today. This is because the citizens are more likely to accept a government as legitimate if they perceive it as democratic. This legitimacy gain brought about by elections should improve governmental effectiveness, especially if the elections do not otherwise seriously interfere with governance by elites and all the process is dependant upon International media coverage. The most crucial problems affecting democracy in our own time involve factual issues that no political group is ready to confront. International media has the opportunity to uncover the truth and facts that revolve around Chinese feudalism. Thus, we play ideological games, skimming over peripheral redistributive and ethnic preference issues. The nation is distracted from confronting the bitter truth; it cannot take legislative and policy steps to deal with such problems. Therefore media in this case could reveal the truth, indirectly. Increasing pressure to Democratise: International media could play a definite role in pressurising Chinese Government and policies to follow democracy in the regime. In this regard, media should play a lenient part being antagonistic towards the 'democracy' issue and must tackle Chinese public accordingly. It should avail the opportunity of pressurising the Government but without showing harsh or aggressive attitude. The Chinese Government must then realise that a country's media needs require various governmental interventions that share the concern about a loss or gain of press independence. The major flaw behind Chinese political parties is that they never allow media critics, thereby imposing sanctions. These democrats look for policies that, to the extent possible, reduce the danger of their 'feudalism' problem. Often when the government provides benefits to individual units of the press, courts require procedures that limit their allocation discretion. In this regard, maintaining discretion to make decisions to improve the media realm would seem centrally important. Entering into international agreements that result in this authority being abandoned should be problematic (Baker, 2001, p. 246). Free Market Processes: Foreign media contributes with regard to practicing the communication policies that democracy requires. These policies are those that are most likely generated by unrestricted market processes, therefore an international free-trade regime could be utilised by the mass media appropriately. Foreign media also provides a glimpse of different democratic theories that expose characteristically different problems with the market. For example, a serious danger exists that the market will generate, from the republican perspective, too much segmentation or, from the liberal pluralist perspective, too little diversity and partisanship. These alternative perspectives are also likely to find that the market corrupts either the common discourses or segmentation that the theory favours. Thus, the complex democrat would find maintenance of deliberative discretion in respect to media policy especially important. All these theories would provide reason to resist automatic reliance on the market. Democratic theory's view of the difference between the media and other industries points to another reason to resist treating the media as part of a typical trade agreement. International Media and Beijing Olympics: What the Beijing Olympics turn out to be about will depend upon how the media would focus it. Therefore we could say that a sports event has given the International media this opportunity to contribute towards some little more democracy in China. Every instance of the Olympics, summer or winter, is a crucible not only of emotional dedication, bio-mechanical excellence, and athletic attainment, but also of cultural assertion, political proclamation, economic maneuvering, and, of course, mediated spectacle (Lee, 2003, p. 57). It is the media that for the first time has been chosen by the Chinese 'feudalism', this is the reason for why Chinese Government has been so kind to 'local' or 'foreign' media with little legal provisions on the other side. Olympic illustrations are termed as "mega event" and "media event" (Roche, 2000) as said by Roche (2000). Each Beijing Olympics both reaffirm its own typicality and provides a new set of cultural manifestations illuminating specifics of its context. This is the best example of presenting at least some democracy on various international TV channels. Therefore Media event in Beijing is becoming the latest extreme case of ideological bombast, commercial conniving, and television extravaganza, all in the guise of a purportedly idyllic and ostensibly shared global story. At the same time, in specific terms, each Olympics is uniquely revealing about host cultures, participant nations, media producers, immediate and dispersed audiences, transnational agents, and the character of human action and exchange particular to the locale and the times. Therefore by showing Beijing Olympics, the government expects from the International media to help them out in 'presenting' 'democratic government' at least to some extent! Who knows this might be a way of contributing towards some more democracy References Baker, C. Edwin, (2001) Media, Markets and Democracy: Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England. Hwang Kathy, (Sept 2004) "Media and Democracy in China" In: Magazine Title: World and I. Volume: 19. Issue: 9. Itzkoff W. Seymour, (1992) The Road to Equality: Evolution and Social Reality: Praeger Publishers: Westport, CT. Lee Chin-Chuan, (2003) Chinese Media, Global Contexts: Routledge: New York. Liew H. Leong & Wang Shaoguang, (2004) Nationalism, Democracy and National Integration in China: Routledge Curzon: New York. Roche, Maurice (2000), Mega-Events and Modernity: Olympics and Expositions in the Growth of Global Culture. London: Routledge Vhang Tsan- Kuo, Wang Jian & Chen Chih-Hsien, (1998) "The Social Construction of International Imagery in the Post-Cold War Era: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. and Chinese National TV News" In: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Volume: 42. Issue: 3. Read More