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The View | China must embrace the global internet if it wants to reclaim its narrative
- With a lack of Chinese voices to balance the narrative, anti-China rhetoric has gradually permeated Western-dominated digital spaces
- China must venture out of its own digital ecosystem and into the global online sphere to offer a fresh perspective
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In the early 1960s, Canadian media theorist Marshal McLuhan coined the term “global village” to describe how advances in communications technology bring people around the world closer together, enabling them to interact with each other more easily and experience the same events in real-time.
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Six decades later, the internet has helped to realise this vision to a degree that would have surprised even McLuhan. But today’s digital global village is not always a harmonious one.
The internet helps human beings transcend physical barriers, connect, and build communities that would have never been possible otherwise. However, as shown by renewed concerns about online polarisation and hate speech in the wake of Elon Musk’s tumultuous takeover of Twitter, the internet can also be a weapon to spread disinformation and division. That is especially true when it comes to contentious topics like China.
The lack of a healthy, balanced online discussion about China can be attributed to many factors. Geopolitical tensions, existing prejudice, and the dominance of Western media play a part, as does the phenomenon of “filter bubbles” that tend to expose people to information aligned with their existing beliefs and biases. However, the lack of Chinese voices on the global internet and the dearth of interaction between the Sinophone online sphere and the rest of the world also adds to the problem.
We are now entering an age when emerging technologies such as the metaverse, virtual and augmented reality, and the internet of things mean that the digital global village will become more immersive and pervasive with every passing year. As geopolitical tensions and transnational challenges continue to rise, it is more important than ever that Chinese organisations and individuals make their voices heard and interact online to promote dialogue and mutual understanding between China and other countries.
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China has a thriving digital ecosystem and culture of its own, and while there are obvious regulatory and linguistic obstacles to deeper engagement with the rest of the online world, there are some practical ways this can be achieved.
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