The Internet in Asia

Blogging in the gulf

Blogs are giving those in the Middle East a new way to express themselves, thereby creating a new breed of on-line activists who choose to blog on politics to the social situation there.  According to Haitham Sabbah, a Bahrain-based blogger and Middle East editor for Global Voices, a program launched last year by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, there are now about 1,000 Gulf Arab bloggers-- up five times from 2004.

Saudi Arabia has one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the area, and is also home to  the Gulf's biggest blogging community with about 300 bloggers, more than half of them women according to Omran.  Many women here also regularly post to their blogs on topics such as the social expectations of women there. As a result, some blogs such as Saudi Eve have been blocked by the government for immoral content.

Blogger investigated under Sedition Act in Singapore

Singaporean blogger Char was brought in for questioning after under the Sedition Act publishing pictures on his blog that were thought to depict Jesus Christ in an offensive manner after finding the cartoons on-line in January. The cartoon depicted Jesus as a zombie biting a boy's head in January.  One month after first posting this cartoon on-line, he received complaints from readers but instead of removing it, he chose to irk the reader further by posting other similar cartoons.

He was called in for questioning in March after police received complaints. After being brought in for questioning, Char announced it via email to around 300 Singaporeans himself, and then removed the cartoon from his blog. When contacted by the press, he said that he made an unwise decision, and he did not think that anyone would lodge a police complaint. He also  requested to keep his identity secret as he is afraid of losing his job that he would like to keep before he enters a local university in August.

On a slightly different note, Singaporean Station Inspector Mohamed Zulnizan Mohamed Arsis  received an award for tracking down the blogger who posted racist remarks against Malays in October last year. The blogger was sentenced to a two-year probation sentence, to go for counselling, to get a psychological evaluation and perform 180 hours of community service at a Malay voluntary welfare organisation under a volunteer Malay probation officer.

Singapore: Bloggers voice opinion that government should engage with and not regulate new media

Singaporean bloggers and journalists have suggested that the government should engage with new media , instead of regulating it- as the blogosphere can regulate itself - for example, websites that feature wild, baseless accusations or irresponsible content will soon lose their readership and credibility, as readers move to other websites and that unfair criticisms will likely draw counter-arguments, sparing the original writer the need to respond to every comment.  However, they also acknowledged the importance of bloggers being mindful of existing laws, and not breaking them. Popular bloggers Mr Brown and Mr Miyagi provided an example - the use of their slogan "prison got no broadband " as an effort to educate bloggers on the importance of following existing rules.

Mr Peter Lim, 67, a former editor-in-chief of The Straits Times,  suggested that the government engage with new media (for example through maintaining their own blogs and participating in on-line-forums) with the aim of eventually leaving the Internet to self-regulate.

Minister for Communication, Information and the Arts, Lee Boon Yang countered the argument by stating that irresponsible comments on race or faith-related issues in multi-racial Singapore could be horrendous and so the matter should be approached with delicacy and sensitivity and be given the importance that it calls for.  On the bright side, he also mentioned the possibility of blogs and other on-line forums being given more leeway during the next Singapore General Elections (politically oriented postings and pod-casts were banned during the most recent one).

Blogging boom in China

According to a recent report released by Chinese search engine Baidu.com there may be up to 60 million bloggers in China by the end of this year-- up from the 16 million Chinese bloggers currently on-line.  The number is expected to increase to 100 million by the end of next year.

Zhang Xiaorong, strategy development director of "Bokee," which was set up in 2002 and claims the biggest share of China's blogging market, said his company adds about 100,000 blogs a day.

Egyptian blogger arrested

23 year old Alaa Seif Al Islam, Cairo's most famous blogger has been sentenced to two weeks in prison over politically oriented comments on his blog Manal and Alaa's bit bucket which he publishes with his wife.  However, he is not the first Egyptian blogger arrested for similar reasons - 6 months ago, Abdel Karim was arrested and detained for 18 days.

Earlier this year, Alaa he received an international blogging award for his blog which attracts over 2000 visitors a day.

Blogging becomes more part of life

Xu Jinglei, widely thought of as China's most intellectual actress has started blogging, and her blog has attracted over 10 million clicks in just 4 months!  However, she rarely writes about her professional life, choosing instead to blog about her everyday life, stating that she doesn't want to make a distinction between the on-line diaries of celebrities and ordinary people. 

Each post of hers receives thousands of comments. She says that she loves to read these comments, not because they are all positive - but because she thinks they keep her in touch with reality.

The Internet and politics in Singapore

The PAP's ban on online discussions (including politically oriented podcasting, vodcasting, blogging and even posting photos of opposition rallies on public websites)  during the campaign period disgruntled many younger Singaporeans, especially since many are aware that this would have been the best way for the opposition party to get their message across.  According to Tan Tarn How, a media analyst with the Institute of Policy Studies, between 12 and 30 posts with tags such as "singapore elections" were posted on the blogosphere daily. Others are merely unhappy as their freedom of speech has been curbed. 

Will Singapore's ban on political blogs work?

According to Asst Prof Cherian George at the School of Communication and Information, NTU one of the big questions to be answered in the upcoming Singapore General Elections is the role of new media technologies in the elections. As TV, radio and other print media is highly regulated here, observers were interested in seeing the role of blogs in these elections. However, these hopes were dashed when Singapore banned political discussions on blogs and podcasts during the election period.

Cherian thinks that most Singaporeans will continue with political discourse on-line, and only those who had any plans of doing something more organized will be more cautious. He also said that since Singapore is a small country, It's partly a numbers game. If only a very small number of readily identifiable individuals flout the rule, then it would be easy for the government to crack down on them and make an example of them," George said, adding this would have a "chilling effect" for the future.

Thus, even 20 bloggers are likely to make an impact. He added that the government is not likely to try and convict them as they would lose much "moral standing" if they were to do so, and this is not the way they have operated in the past.

For other posts on this blog on the same topic, see here and here.

Online censorship increases as elections draw near

Mr Balaji Sadasivan, Minister for Information, Communications and Arts  in Singapore announced three days ago, the strict rules that have been in force since 2001 on Internet postings during the election period will continue to be enforced in the coming election period. This time, the rules will be extended to the blogosphere as well. According to Singapore laws, bloggers who want to openly defined a particular political line need to registered with the Media Development Authority. During the election period, they cannot express their political opinions, and neither can they openly support a particular candidate. Website managers are subjected to the same rules. He also specified that podcasting will be banned if it carries political content (in November 2001 - the last election period, opposition party, Singapore Democratic Party made use of podcasting).

He also said that there are no plans to change existing laws on campaigning and elections despite the rise in popularity of new technologies. Finally, he stressed that while the government does not deny the right to individual views, at the same time, individuals should not hide behind the anonymity provided by the Internet to manipulate public opinion.

Click here to see a previous post on the same topic.

Singapore: Ban on politics on blogs and podcasts

Singaporean bloggers and podcasters have had mixed reactions to the governments ban on political discussions on blogs and podcasts. This ban comes at a time when the Singaporean General Elections are drawing near.   Some believe that they will have to be extra careful with their on-line discussions while others think that they can still push boundaries as the rules are not yet clearly drawn.

Associate Professor Ben Detenber, a faculty member at the School of Communication and Information, NTU and an associate of the Singapore Internet Research Center says that the ban can act as a warning to netizens that laws exist here to 'punish' them if they are violated.