Foreign Policy blog
By Henry Hoyle
The failed effort to spark protests in China last week reflects the unique circumstances of the Middle East's Jasmine Revolution and the very different political and economic circumstances in China. But one lesson Beijing's decision-makers did apparently learn was this: their deep suspicion of social media and the Internet was justified -- and perhaps even insufficient. Indeed, calls for coordinated demonstrations on Sina Weibo, China's fastest-growing microblogging service, were answered with pre-emptive deployments of paramilitary forces, unusually harsh treatment of dissidents, and tightened internet controls. With plenty of security forces and foreign journalists but no apparent protestors, the demonstrations were more like "performance art," an English-language Party tabloid aptly opined. One likely outcome of the Arab spring for China is that Beijing will likely become even more assertive on Internet policy, inching China closer to a walled-off web.
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