Master's Thesis

I've begun setting aside large blocks of my time to finally begin putting a dent into my Master's Thesis writing.  I am aiming to complete this project by the end of this spring semester so let's hope that I continue to stay on track and get some solid writing down as often as I can.

The topic for my Master's thesis is building upon my undergraduate work, again focusing on the growth of the Chinese Internet and how netizens are working to reshape the memory of the Cultural Revolution. 

Below is a short abstract for my work in progress:

Reshaping the Social Memory of the Cultural Revolution in the Digital Age

The growth of the internet in China has granted Chinese citizens a new outlet for having their voices heard, allowing Chinese to log onto the web and speak out against corruption, build movements, and rally against social injustices. Netizens, or internet users, are able to take advantage of internet anonymity to raise issues that could never been raised offline, such as environmental concerns, issues of local-level corruption, and anger at the rigorously competitive college entrance exam. With over 500 million users accessing the Chinese internet, it has become a place of political participation where social memory is discussed and transformed. This has become evident in online discussions of the Cultural Revolution, a social and political movement which took place in China between 1966 and 1976.

After four decades, memory of the Cultural Revolution is used on the Chinese internet to describe violent behaviors being shared online as a context for highlighting China’s social instability. Netizens are making comparisons between current violent acts of protest and extreme Red Guard behaviors, which evoke heavy emotions from the Cultural Revolution generation. This research argues that these tensions and reprisals among netizen groups arose from the disconnect between current uses of Cultural Revolution revivalism on the Chinese internet and the impact this has for individuals of the Cultural Revolution generation.
Specifically, this research engages with the implications and purposes of invoking memories of the Cultural Revolution on the Chinese Internet. 

Analyzing recent trends of how the internet is changing communication, this study proves that the post-1980s generation, in drawing from the Cultural Revolution, is not aware of the implications that making such connections on the internet has. Lack of education and public historiography of this decade of Chinese history is due to the government’s efforts to sweep it into the dustbin of history, having labeled the Cultural Revolution a “dark chapter” in Chinese modern history. Netizens making these comparisons are merely calling out current events as being the same as the Cultural Revolution without delving into the larger context of what that period of history means for the generations who lived through it. As such, this Cultural Revolution revivalism and re-characterization of its social memory as seen through Chinese social media has complex meanings for how China’s post-1980’s generation defines that decade of events.

NYC Times Hacked

How fitting that just after yesterday's post on the dangers of hacking, BBC News reveals that the NYTimes has been under hacking attacks from Chinese hackers since running their piece criticizing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's family fortunes.

Beijing has been accused by several governments, foreign companies and organisations of carrying out extensive cyber espionage for many years, seeking to gather information and to control China's image.

Online Hacking

Online hacking may appear to be larger than mere individuals, affecting corporate and government websites. Even the Chinese government's websites can't protect against global hackers. But what many readers may not know is that online hacking and personal attacks against individuals is rampant on today's internet. Netizens need to be aware of the dangers of online hacking and the threat hacking can have on their personal email, banking, and social accounts.

In today's digital environment, there is nothing more dangerous or scary than having your identity stolen on the internet.

To learn more about the danger of online hacking and the benefits of having a secure password, check out this great inforgraphic produced by OnlineCollegeCourses.com:


Some personal notes on hacking: I recall as far back as 2006 being an undergrad at UMass Amherst and receiving notices from the IT department to beware of email phishing scams and password theft. Similarly, I have received emails numerous times from Facebook and other social networking websites informing me that unsuccessful attempts were made at logging into my account and to ensure that I strengthen my password.

Hacking is a serious threat that deserves any netizen's full attention. A tip I learned from a friend to ensure a strong password is to create a nifty phrase, example: The quick brown fox jumps high (or one more personal to you) and create the password from the first letters of said phrase, example: tqbfjh. To ensure strength, add some numbers or symbols, example: tqbfjh90!.

I was amazed at the above infographic's statistics on how fast a hacker's computer software can ascertain your password. That's why it is essential to create a strong combination of letters, numbers, and symbols!

I'm not particularly well-versed in hacking occurring in mainland China, but I do recall news stories in the past year or so in which American government-run websites have been hacked and sources have placed Chinese hackers at the root of the hacking.

Scholarworks Update

Posting a huge thank-you to all the readers who have helped make my undergraduate thesis a well-read paper on the Scholarworks database! This past month had 39 new downloads, for a total of 318 since the paper was uploaded to the system late last spring. Last month, my paper was one of the top Asian Studies-related papers on the database.

Knowing that my research is attracting readers is helping me to chug along through my graduate thesis, which I'm currently in the process of writing.

Thanks everyone!

OLLI Course

I've posted my slideshow PowerPoint presentation slides from the OLLI course at UMass Boston which I recently finished teaching entitled "How the Internet has Changed Political Participation in China." The presentation includes the slides from all six lessons and discussions.

Chinese Internet Activists

After a sex tape went viral last week depicting Chongqing district party chief Lei Zhengfu having sex with an eighteen-year-old girl, the official was quickly fired from his position while Zhu Ruifeng, the netizen who shared the video on his website, was praised for his internet activism.

The incident has since been praised by Chinese media. Below are some snippets from this article by the Voice of America:

In an editorial published Tuesday, the state-run China Daily newspaper welcomed what it called the "prowess" of Zhu and other activists who use the Internet as a "tool against abusive officials."

It said Lei's case shows the effectiveness of social media in triggering government action, and it urged anti-corruption leaders to "embrace" Internet activists as a "close ally." China's main anti-corruption agency issued a statement Monday saying it recognizes a need for authorities to "seriously address" corruption problems "reported by the masses."

And some skepticism:

"For the central government, Internet activism ... that singles out a few 'bad apples' [corrupt officials] is fine, but political and social red lines remain," said Galperin, an international freedom of expression coordinator at the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Allowing [such] activism does not mean, for example, that Tibetan activists will see any increased tolerance."

Spelling Out Human Flesh Search

Sorry I've been absent the past few months. Not only have I been working tirelessly on my M.A. thesis focusing on aspects of Human Flesh Search (particularly it's context with recent Cultural Revolution-memory revivalism on the Chinese Internet), but I also finished up my OLLI course on the Chinese Internet and HFS, and the discussions that came out of that course were particularly insightful in how to present HFS and it's context to a western audience.

As such, I wanted to point out two great articles which seek to bring HFS to a western audience by both defining the term and explaining how HFS is structured and how it functions:

What a “Human Flesh Search” Is, And How It’s Changing China over at Tea Leaf Nation, and a follow-up to this piece delving deeper into some of HFS's mechanics over at 八八吧 :: 88 Bar, which specifically mentions the categories which my research has placed HFS cases into.