Cyber vigilantes take on corrupt officials in China
Updated
Lawmakers in China's Xuzou city have passed a regulation making internet 'manhunts' illegal.
Internet 'manhunts' is a form of cyber vigilante activity. But in China, it's increasingly being used to expose corrupt government officials. A leading social commentator has called on the goverment legislation to draw a line between protecting people's privacy and helping fighting corruption.
Presenter: David Wang
Speaker: Professor Hu Xingdou, Social commentator from Beijing University of Technology; Zhang Yanfeng, lawyer from the King & Capital Law firm in Beijing
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WANG: It's a growing phenomenon in China, when an individual is suspected of doing something wrong, other people are increasingly posting photos and private information about them online and ask others to find out more. This 'name and shame' practice is known as an Internet 'manhunts'. Those whose details are made public in this way would often get bombarded with abusive messages or are harassed.
Some see it's an invasion of privacy, but others consider the practice as the most effective way to keep corrupt officials in check. Last month, a government official lost his job after one such manhunt.
But a new regulation has been passed in China's Xuzou city, to ban such online 'manhunts'. People involved in online 'manhunts' could be fined up to 5,000 yuan, or around 400 US dollars, and could be banned from using the Internet for six months.
Zhang Yanfong is a lawyer from the King & Capital Law firm in Beijing. He won the first ever case about online 'manhunts' in China. He says although the regulation is limited to Xuzou, it will be effective and he thinks the regulation could be introduced in other cities as well.
ZHANG: If people posting such information are in other cities, the regulation can't do anything about it. But for people in Xuzou, it's serious. The authorities could use any means to track people down and hand out punishments. I think other cities or provisional governments might follow the example and establish similar regulation to fight online 'manhunts' as well.
WANG: Social Commentator Professor Hu Xingdou from Beijing University of Technology says this regulation could have a big impact on China's effort to fight corruption.
HU: In China, it's hard to hold government officials to account legally through traditional media such as the press. The Internet provided a new means for ordinary people. There are already many cases now that people discovered and reported corrupt officials. In my view, government officials have limited privacy. Use protecting privacy as an excuse to limit the check on government officials, that's a backwards move for China's anti-corruption efforts.
WANG: Professor Hu says it's no coincidence that this regulation is first passed in Xuzou:
HU: Xuzou city has serious corruption problems. I know a university lecturer called Wang Pei Rong. He always exposes corruption in Xuzou city. Many of the cases aren't dealt with but there's one story he discovered, that drew attention of the central government. I think Xuzou's local government saw a lesson in that and decided to ban online 'manhunts.'
WANG: Xuzou government's move has been quite unpopular. According to an Internet poll conducted by well known Renmin website, 90 % of the respondents are against the ban, saying it will slow efforts to fight corruption.
But the Lawyer Zhang Yanfeng says there are talks about creating a new law to deal with Internet 'manhunts' nationally:
ZHANG: There is already draft law to protect personal privacy and that's been passed to the State Coucil , and will go to the People's Congress. If passed, there will be law rather than a regulation and that would apply to the whole country.
WANG: Social commentator Professor Hu Xingdou says the new national law should protect those who expose corrupt officials online.
HU: The new law should address the issue like this: For ordinary citizens, the law must protect their privacy. But the law should also have specific and different ways of dealing with government officials. It should protect ordinary citizens' right to expose corruption online.
WANG: But the Chinese government hasn't made its position clear yet about how to draw a line between protecting people's privacy and fighting corruption.
