Regional, language, and ethnic differences
also impact access to Internet services and ICT
infrastructure, and frequently reflect other disparities in national development priorities and
resource allocation. China’s longstanding policy
of extracting taxes and other resources from rural
areas to fund coastal development has resulted
not only in alarming rural-urban income disparities, but also has contributed to a growing digital
divide: while a quarter or more of residents in
major cities such as Tianjin are online, in poorer
and western provinces the rate is usually less
than 10 percent. 14 Access in India is gradually
expanding from the eight most heavily populated
urban centers, where 41 percent of users are
concentrated, to small cities and towns. 15 Since
71 percent of the population lives in rural areas,
and since the gap between rural and urban teledensity is increasing, the majority of Indians are
shut out of the Internet. 16 In Thailand and Vietnam
it is believed that Internet use will increase as
content (including search engines) becomes
available in local languages rather than English.
User-generated content and media, which
has ballooned in the scale and the scope of its
influence, continued to shape—and in many
cases redefine—the dissemination and generation of information in many Asian countries. In
media climates where news publications are frequently owned by the state or controlled by business interests with close ties to ruling parties,
bloggers and other independent content
providers are becoming an increasingly trusted
source of news, and in many cases have broken
stories that are picked up by mainstream media.
At the same time, the popularity of blogs and portals discussing political issues and reform in
countries such as Malaysia and China indicate
that citizen-generated content is filling an important information deficit in highly controlled media
environments.
For example, despite the government’s
requirement that “persistently” political blogs and
Web sites would be required to register and then
abstain from engaging in election campaigning
in the run-up to the 2006 general elections in
Singapore, “citizen media” uploaded footage of
opposition party rallies taken with handheld video
cameras and cell phones to media-sharing sites
such as YouTube and Google Video. This participation marks a departure from perceptions that
the vast majority of Singaporeans “do not consider the Internet to [sic] useful for political
engagement and civic participation.” 17 Although
very few Nepalis have access to the Internet, it
has nevertheless become an important source of
independent news in Nepal. 18 When King
Gyanendra assumed authoritarian control in
2005, Nepali bloggers became an important
political voice and source of information to the
world about the situation unfolding inside the
country, as traditional media were either shut
down or heavily censored. 19 In a study of MSN
users in Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore,
South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, 41 percent of
bloggers were “active” (spending three hours or
more each week blogging), and with the exceptions of India and South Korea, a majority of bloggers in these countries were women. 20 Online citizens’ media has played an important role in
South Korean politics and Internet culture in
recent years, led by ohmynews.com, a Seoulbased online newspaper that publishes articles
mostly written by 50,000 citizen journalists and is
considered the most influential news source in
South Korea. 21 OhmyNews has been widely
acknowledged as strongly influencing the 2002
election of Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. 22
Age is an essential demographic factor to
consider when tracking trends in Internet use and
growth in Asia. In Vietnam—which has an Internet
penetration rate of 17 percent, where more than
half of the population is under thirty, and where a
significant portion of individual users use cybercafés for online gaming and access to the
Internet—control over these venues is an important priority for the state. 23 In China, eighteen- to
twenty-four-year-olds comprise over 35 percent
Regional Overviews
157
also impact access to Internet services and ICT
infrastructure, and frequently reflect other disparities in national development priorities and
resource allocation. China’s longstanding policy
of extracting taxes and other resources from rural
areas to fund coastal development has resulted
not only in alarming rural-urban income disparities, but also has contributed to a growing digital
divide: while a quarter or more of residents in
major cities such as Tianjin are online, in poorer
and western provinces the rate is usually less
than 10 percent. 14 Access in India is gradually
expanding from the eight most heavily populated
urban centers, where 41 percent of users are
concentrated, to small cities and towns. 15 Since
71 percent of the population lives in rural areas,
and since the gap between rural and urban teledensity is increasing, the majority of Indians are
shut out of the Internet. 16 In Thailand and Vietnam
it is believed that Internet use will increase as
content (including search engines) becomes
available in local languages rather than English.
User-generated content and media, which
has ballooned in the scale and the scope of its
influence, continued to shape—and in many
cases redefine—the dissemination and generation of information in many Asian countries. In
media climates where news publications are frequently owned by the state or controlled by business interests with close ties to ruling parties,
bloggers and other independent content
providers are becoming an increasingly trusted
source of news, and in many cases have broken
stories that are picked up by mainstream media.
At the same time, the popularity of blogs and portals discussing political issues and reform in
countries such as Malaysia and China indicate
that citizen-generated content is filling an important information deficit in highly controlled media
environments.
For example, despite the government’s
requirement that “persistently” political blogs and
Web sites would be required to register and then
abstain from engaging in election campaigning
in the run-up to the 2006 general elections in
Singapore, “citizen media” uploaded footage of
opposition party rallies taken with handheld video
cameras and cell phones to media-sharing sites
such as YouTube and Google Video. This participation marks a departure from perceptions that
the vast majority of Singaporeans “do not consider the Internet to [sic] useful for political
engagement and civic participation.” 17 Although
very few Nepalis have access to the Internet, it
has nevertheless become an important source of
independent news in Nepal. 18 When King
Gyanendra assumed authoritarian control in
2005, Nepali bloggers became an important
political voice and source of information to the
world about the situation unfolding inside the
country, as traditional media were either shut
down or heavily censored. 19 In a study of MSN
users in Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore,
South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, 41 percent of
bloggers were “active” (spending three hours or
more each week blogging), and with the exceptions of India and South Korea, a majority of bloggers in these countries were women. 20 Online citizens’ media has played an important role in
South Korean politics and Internet culture in
recent years, led by ohmynews.com, a Seoulbased online newspaper that publishes articles
mostly written by 50,000 citizen journalists and is
considered the most influential news source in
South Korea. 21 OhmyNews has been widely
acknowledged as strongly influencing the 2002
election of Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. 22
Age is an essential demographic factor to
consider when tracking trends in Internet use and
growth in Asia. In Vietnam—which has an Internet
penetration rate of 17 percent, where more than
half of the population is under thirty, and where a
significant portion of individual users use cybercafés for online gaming and access to the
Internet—control over these venues is an important priority for the state. 23 In China, eighteen- to
twenty-four-year-olds comprise over 35 percent
Regional Overviews
157