Mobiles Eroding Spin Contol in China

The prevalence of mobile phones are making it increasingly difficult for authorities in China to positively spin manage the news.  According to a story in China Daily, "It has been repeatedly proved that information blocking is like walking into a dead end," the state-run China Daily newspaper quoted Wang Guoqing, a vice minister with the State Council Information Office, as saying.

Wang says local governments need to be more transparent, describing some as being "too naive" in thinking they can simply hide damaging information.
Wang reportedly revealed that some local government representatives used to believe that 90% of bad news could be concealed, and only 10% would be unluckily exposed by the media. He cited the recent case of a slavery scandal surrounding brick manufacturing emerged in China's Shanxi and Henan provinces as proving that bad news needs to be managed, rather than covered up.

It was revealed that the use of mobile phones, SMS, and handy access to the Internet via a mobile phone as opposed to the traditional desk bound pc, facilitated and accelerated the distribution of the information, which outpaced the government's eventual ability to shape and spin the story. Chinese authorities refused to acknowledge any problem until relatives of victims posted information about the scandal on the Internet. Wang said that the central government's commitment to transparency, as well as new information technologies such as the Internet and cellphones, were making it more and more difficult for local authorities to hide bad news.

China's "Great Firewall" has existed for some time with the Chinese government utilizing increasingly sophisticated techniques to routinely filter and block certain content from being viewed in China. Including ironically, this blog which my many friends in China have advised they Cannot reach in China. Not certain why I am blocked since I love the country, it's people, it's culture. Beyond loving doing business there I've had the privilege from my days in government to have met many dedicated and extremely effective representatives of the Chinese government. I've even encouraged my "family minder" a bright Chinese university student majoring in English to join the Communist Party of China, given the access and prestige it conveys to its members. As Chinese capitalism expands, China's confidence in itself will grow and deepen, and in turn it's openness to the "market place of ideas." It is inevitable. The Chinese government, through statements like Wang Guoqing's reflects that growing maturity, and lessening authoritarian approaches to the management of information.