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14 Sep 08

LiteraryMinded: Join the Revolution! An interview with Antony Loewenstein on <i>The Blogging Revolution</i>

literaryminded.blogspot.com/...ion-interview-with-antony.html - Preview

Blogosphere Revolution IsaacMao

The bloggers and dissidents that Antony Loewenstein meets up with in The Blogging Revolution are from repressive regimes Iran, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and China. Some face torture and imprisonment for speaking out - not just about political issues, but on details of their social or personal lives and beliefs. Some use the medium to garner an audience beyond their own country - to express frustration of their situation, and give others better opportunities for understanding their culture and the individuals within it. Some bloggers utilise the medium to educate others in their own area - on topics like women's rights and sexual health.
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- The internet is not in itself a revolutionary force, though it certainly has allowed countless new voices to be heard across the world. I like the description by leading Chinese blogger, Isaac Mao, who said in early August: 'Blogs encourage young people to become more individual'. That is incendiary in many places around the world.
- Take China. The biggest online population in the world, 250 million and growing, and study after study appears to show a high level of satisfaction with the regime’s authoritarian stance. The vast majority of people apparently support extensive web filtering. Economic freedom has revolutionised the country, while maintaining a lid on political change. Is this the kind of 'change' that many of us would like, when human rights abuses are still rampant in the Communist land? No, but lecturing China about its obligations is not the way forward. Engagement is essential and talking to Chinese bloggers about their attitude that Western media hates their country for challenging American hegemony.