JUNE 25 — “Writers should not be serving the government; they should be serving their own ideals.” — Han Han
It is fascinating that China’s cyberculture is growing at a tremendous rate although the regime not only blocks website content but also monitors Internet access of individuals through a broad range of laws and regulations. In its White Paper on the Internet policy released on Tuesday, ironically it highlights citizens’ freedom of Internet speech and the contribution made to the economic development.
We have heard enough of the imprisonment of the human rights activists in China.
Breaking the barrier
Twitter is blocked in China although you can still sign on by paying a service that costs around US$60 (RM192) a year while video-sharing site YouTube and Facebook, the popular social networking site, remain inaccessible to the public.
Left with little choice, the Chinese people indulge in blogging. Blogging has thus become one
Meet Han Han, the heart-throb
Han Han is arguably the most popular blogger in China who, at the same time, wears a lot of other hats: best-selling author of 14 books, professional rally driver, singer and music producer. He has released a debut album with all lyrics self-composed and owns an online bookstore. In 2009, he mooted the idea of setting up a magazine. However, it faced numerous restrictions from the authorities. After much delay, he announced in his blog on June 10 that his first bi-monthly magazine entitled “Solo Choir” will be available in the market very soon at the price of 16 yuans.
His popularity has spread not only in the country but also all over the world. He ranks No. 2 in the TIME 100 poll this year, while the Vice-Premier Wang Qishan failed to make the top 100, coming in only at No. 138.
He has also made appearances in the New York Times, CNN’s Talk Asia, and was recently included in China’s first-ever Soul Rich List, compiled by China Social Sciences Press in Beijing together with some other big names in China. This list honours people who have made contributions to the world based on their wealth of compassion and selflessness without taking into account their net worth.
The 27-year-old shot to fame when his first novel, “Triple Door”, based on his own experience as a high school dropout in Shanghai sold over two million copies, making it China’s bestselling literary work in the last 20 years. Furthermore the novel sparked a debate about the quality of the country’s rigid education system.
In his blogs that mainly concentrate on current affairs, Han uses his humour and wit to laugh at the injustices he observes. He is a sharp critic of the government, yet his simple, quick and unmodified language that is so easy to understand has successfully captured the hearts of many readers and netizens.
Ai Weiwei, China’s most notorious anti-establishment figure, predicted that he would be the “gravedigger” for the older generation of writers and artists.
Walking on a thin wire
Debates and controversies seem to play a major part in his life. His writings and his fame have sparked arguments among public intellectuals and literary critics such as Bai Ye. His writing is criticised as being not well-thought, and not qualified to be good literature.
The world is watching China not only from the political leaders’ perspective, but also from people like Han. He has had clashes with the censors as well. Quite a number of his articles, published on Sina Blogs, have been either heavily edited or taken down. CNN’s Talk Asia quotes Han as saying that he is walking a very thin wire and could probably end up arrested one day because there are no associated laws dictating how a person can write a “safe” or “dangerous” article.
China’s blog regulations require the registration of all non-commercial and personal websites and blogs to enable the government to monitor content and to delete “illegal” and “bad” information. At this point, the Chinese blogosphere has very limited value as an avenue for the freedom of expression, due to the strong fear of arrest and imprisonment.
Amidst the difficulties, censorship and challenges faced by the bloggers in China, they continue to speak and disseminate information.
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