Category Archives: journalism

the coming colonization of hong kong cyberspace

my latest article covers the government response to the use of the internet by the umbrella movement. it is titled “the coming colonization of hong kong cyberspace” (pdf) and published in the chinese journal of communication.

here’s the abstract:

Governments are increasingly playing catch-up and sometimes even leapfrogging ahead of social movements in the use of digital tactics; government responses to new technologies include surveillance, censorship and demonization of foreign influence. This development has implications for the emancipatory potential of new technologies, in particular for the anonymous, decentralized and autonomous character of the Internet.

‘One country, two internets’, and why we need to protect it

Late on Tuesday, a small group of people charged the Legislative Council building and broke a glass panel. Reports indicate they did so because they feared the passing of “Internet Article 23”. The original Article 23 is of course the controversial national security bill that provoked half a million Hong Kong people to protest in the streets in 2003. So what exactly is “Internet Article 23”, and should we be concerned?

“Internet Article 23” is actually more than one bill. Lawmakers and advocacy groups use it to refer to at least two different regulations, both with the potential to seriously undermine the free and open internet we enjoy in Hong Kong.

One is the Copyright Amendment bill, a much needed update to the otherwise outdated copyright bill. But many fear that it will punish citizens for remixing original content with social or political commentary as parody or satire. To understand why people are concerned, you only need to take one quick lookonline or walk by the Occupy areas: among the many art pieces, one of the most popular is a life-size cutout of president Xi Jinping holding a yellow umbrella that many people take selfies with.

The other regulation in question is the Computer Crimes Ordinance. Originally intended to battle computer fraud and hacking, it has been drafted in such a way that it has serious potential for abuse. The most recent case involves the arrest of a citizen for “inciting” others to commit an offence. His crime? Posting a message on an online forum asking others to join him in the pro-democracy protests; the original post has been removed and the police have so far declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

Let’s not forget what is at stake. We only need to look across the border to see a tightly monitored, closely controlled internet where citizens have to watch what they say to each other, even on seemingly private messenger apps such as WeChat. Then they might find themselves at a dead end if they try to find out what is going on; Sina Weibo and Baidu have been filtering search results for “Hong Kong students”, “Hong Kong tear gas” and “true universal suffrage”. And because people started sharing yellow umbrella pictures, Instagram is now the latest member to the club of global internet platforms that are blocked in China, joining Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, amongst others.

In contrast, we have a free and open internet in Hong Kong. Anyone can share their story and decide for themselves what is meaningful or not; no longer does a small and powerful elite determine this for the rest of society. Let’s be clear: a free and open internet doesn’t mean that people can say whatever they want without any consequences; all countries regulate speech to some extent. But it does mean that the conversation is open and inclusive: whether you are a yellow, blue or red ribbon supporter, you don’t have to ask anyone for permission to speak.

Whether you agree with the protesters or not, it is undeniable that they have breathed new life into a conversation that most people had given up on, a conversation about the future of Hong Kong and the status of “one country, two systems”. Sometimes we disagree or even yell at each other, but that’s what it means to have a honest, frank and real conversation, warts and all.

To my knowledge, the Hong Kong government hasn’t censored anything related to the protests. This is surely a good thing. But if the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is that our “one country, two systems” setup isn’t sacrosanct or set in stone. That is why I am asking all of us to keep a close eye on “one country, two internets” and to make sure we preserve and protect the free and open internet in Hong Kong.

The author is an assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

新媒體中的言論自由 徐洛文教授專訪

特約記者：徐梓傑 （本科四年級生）



今年八月，他重返校園，加入中大新傳學院，就遇上罷課和佔領運動，這名回流香港的助理教授以「Surprise」形容。「香港社會累積了好多年不滿，好似好易就『撻着火』，但在很多人已經放棄的時刻，見到學生一直『頂』住」。他這年執教本科一年級生的Development of Mass Communication課，九月下旬，學生罷課，他才剛剛開課三星期，還未趕得及認識學生。但看見學生們對佔領運動的熱情，已令他留下深刻印象。「下一代這麼有心，學生很有理想，我很榮幸當上他們的老師。」


他憶述最深刻的一次，要處理「Innocence of Muslims」影片惹起回教人不滿的投訴。影片反伊斯蘭教的主題激發不少回教徒於各國示威，最嚴重的包括利比亞及埃及。面對亞洲大部分伊斯蘭教國家的投訴，他的工作是要應對當地政府。當時，巴基斯坦政府要求影片下架，是否下架他需要考慮兩個主要問題：一、法律問題；二、影片是否違反Google內部的政策（例如不容許有三級片）。就着這段影片，因為其內容並無違反Google政策，因此，公司決定這段影片不用下架，而巴基斯坦政府結果封鎖了Youtube。

他形容，大學教學研究與擔任Google公司的前線工作，猶如「識食」同「識煮」的關係。不論在大學任教，還是較早時在美國修讀博士課程期間，他主要研究互聯網、新媒體的全球化政策，當時的論文大多從批判角度入手，是「評價菜式」。但加入Google工作，他便要「親自下廚」，通過游說工作，改變一國政策。因為政府有關資訊傳播的政策如何推行，皆直接影響Google 公司的工作。離開Google，他放棄了高薪厚職、公司股份，還有每年豐厚的聖誕禮物（通常是智能手機）。為的是甚麼？



慢慢地，互聯網普及，他跟表姐也改以電郵聯繫，上網也能收看港台節目，不用再等幾星期從香港寄來的影碟。他感受到互聯網的力量，相信互聯網能打開他的世界，能改變世界。他着迷於互聯網和新媒體的發展，後來考上荷蘭的萊頓大學 (Leiden University)，雖然本科和碩士並非修讀傳播學相關學科，但他的碩士論文題目是Internet in China。輾轉他往美國賓夕凡尼亞大學修讀媒體傳播相關的博士學位，2010年學成回流香港，展開其教學及工作生涯。





the Gene Burd Urban Journalism Research Prize (Best Dissertation in Journalism Studies)

I’m incredibly honored that my dissertation has recently been awarded the Gene Burd Urban Journalism Research Prize for the Best Dissertation in Journalism Studies. I will receive this award on Friday May 27, at the ICA (International Communication Association) conference, held in Boston this year. If you happen to be around, do drop by and say hi!

my dissertation lives

On July 29, 2010 I defended my dissertation, passed with revisions. The next day I took the plane to Hong Kong, the following Monday I reported duty at the City University of Hong Kong, and in the meantime I was working on those revisions, while trying to adapt to a new life.

But they’re done now, and the dissertation has been deposited and put online.

A big thank you to a lot of people, but to my advisor, Barbie Zelizer, and the incredible folks at Global Voices in particular.

Here is the abstract:

A Journalism of Hospitality

How would a newsroom look if we could build it from scratch, current technologies in hand? My project answers this question through a comparative study of legacy mainstream professional newsrooms that have migrated online, what I call “adaptive newsrooms”, and two “transformative” newsrooms, Indymedia and Global Voices. In particular, it takes up the challenge of rethinking journalism in the face of new technologies, by analyzing the cultures, practices and people of a new kind of news production environment: Global Voices, an international project that collects and translates blogs and citizen media from around the world in order to “aggregate, curate, and amplify the global conversation online – to shine light on places and people other media often ignore.”

An ethnographic study of Global Voices spanning four years reveals that the internet enables a radical shift in several key facets of news production: its political economy, its sociology and its culture. The Global Voices newsroom, for example, demonstrates how the internet allows for different kinds of newsroom routines that are designed to bring attention to underrepresented voices, whereas it was previously thought routines determined the news to be biased towards institutional and authoritative voices. I argue that these changes in news production challenge us to judge journalistic excellence not only in terms of objectivity or intersubjectivity, but increasingly also in terms of hospitality. Roger Silverstone defined hospitality as the “ethical obligation to listen.” Understanding journalism through the lens of hospitality, the internet presents a unique opportunity as well as poses a radical challenge: in a world where everybody can speak, who will listen? I suggest that in a globally networked world, there continues to be a need for journalism to occupy an important position, but that it will require a process of rethinking and renewal, one where journalism transforms itself to an institution for democracy where listening, conversation and hospitality are central values.

You can also download the entire PDF. (300+ pages, 2+ MB)