By David Schmoll
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-951784.mp3
Murray, KY – Graduate student Li Yao sat at his computer in China attempting to find news and information from across the ocean. Although not as easy as finding information here in the US, Yao is able to eventually find what he's looking for, after jumping through various holes in internet security and hopping over what he and his friends call "the great firewall."
"Still, when we think about the great firewall' I think we have a choice to access to this information if you want. Like me, if I want I can search online to find a way to get this news."
The Chinese government has placed blocks on many popular websites. The issue gained international attention this summer after Google left the country because of its censorship of various websites. Popular American social media networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are blocked by the Chinese government, although there are versions of both sites on a Chinese server.
The Google incident is one of the latest events showcasing China's desire to eliminate any possibility its citizenry has to open and free information. But Li Yao says this is not necessarily doing much to change China in the long run.
"The technique for jumping over the wall is increasing and the technique for blocking the information by the government is increasing. I don't know if it's easier or harder, but I think more people, if they want or if they're willing, they can get the information if they want."
The reason for this resides within the stark differences between the United States and China's political systems. The United States has a society based upon the free press and democracy, but as Dr. Choong-nam Kang, assistant professor of Government, Law and International Affairs at Murray State University explains, American ideals of representation and democracy have no place in Chinese government.
"The Chinese government does not have those kinds of elements. The power is very centralized to the central government without public participation."
Although it is widely reported in many local areas elections are held to hold the local officials accountable as corruption is rampant, Yao says he's never seen a local Chinese election.
"I'm 23 years old, but I've never seen anyone vote for any government officials. I think in the constitution we have that sort of thing, but in practice we don't really do that."
The lack of representation within any aspect of Chinese government leaves people without any link to the government. As the government maintains a centralized control over what they can and will release to the public, some information is neglected.
"A lot of information is screened and a lot of information is censored. So, the Chinese government is very sensitive about the kind of information their people have."
Li Yau agrees. When describing what goes into newspaper headlines and the differences between American newspapers and the Chinese, he says the Chinese do not often publish news praising the United States, only showing the US in a negative light, while here he reads articles about President Obama praising China's new trade policies among other things. But when discussing China, it's a bit different.
"During some natural disasters, when they reported it they tried to tell how good the government is and how they tried to help the people. In a way, it's kind of propaganda."
This includes information regarding both information about democracy and information about events within China. One such instance is the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre in where Chinese troops massacred hundreds of protesting students in the Beijing square. But even when students hear about such instances, Dr. Kang isn't sure students accept the information like Westerners may.
"I think they treat those incidents as a past incident or a past event. They are proud of their country and even though their government's current policy is not currently satisfactory, they believe it will be getting better and better."
It's this kind of attitude that may keep students from experiencing a political culture shock when coming to America. In Murray State's International Student Studies office, Student Advisor Misty Lenim says although Murray State has 250 Chinese students, she has never had a student approach her regarding any kind of political problem involving this kind of issue. She says the students may endure a culture shock, but discussing politics is not a hot topic. As they come to America, although adapting to the American way of life may be difficult, the discussion of politics remains a topic not many wish to engage.