The Changing World: China Considers Lifting Ban on Social Media

The world is a global village and the trend if not properly handled could consume a nation with the spread of social media. The precarious situation and vulnerability could 'destabilize' any nation who is not a member of the game being played by the powers who control the media; mainstream and social. The various revelations of Edward Snowden as well as Wikileaks have shown that nowhere is really fully safe from espionage activities.

An example of such fears in a country like China is the New York Times op-ed on Premier Wen Jiabao's family in 2012 which was greeted by massive ill-feelings from Chinese officials after the paper reported that several of Mr. Wen's close relatives had control over vast, secret assets worth at least $2.7bn. Beyond blocking websites Chinese authorities also monitor internet activity by individuals.

Investments and businesses are two formidable determinants of nations' behaviours as regards media freedom; mainstream or social. Investors want a relatively stable country with good records of press and people's freedom. Russia despite being known for its clampdown on dissenting voices is also dancing to the tune of change. Moscow is realising that the voice of the people is crucial in the scheme of things in a nation. Protests are now organised with little or no police intervention.

With the changes in the world, China seems to be considering lifting a ban on social media and major foreign news websites in a bid to provide comfortable living for western investors. The sites will be open only in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ), covering 28 square kilometers of the Pudong district. It is set to open for business on September 29. It is hoped to attract foreign investment and business, increase economic activity and inflows into China, as well as to boost massive economic reform.

The rest of Mainland China will not be given such an access. In many places on Mainland China, access to Facebook and Twitter have been blocked and both banned since 2009 due to mass-scale riots in the western city of Urumqi in Xinjiang province. Dozens of major news websites are also inaccessible as China’s government censors and blocks websites it considers inappropriate or politically sensitive.

Earlier in September, China's top court adopted a judicial interpretation allowing any internet user engaged in disseminating "false information" or "slanderous comments" to face up to three years in prison. Those found guilty of using "false online information" to provoke "serious public disorder" could face a prison sentence of 10 years. More recently, prosecutors are now obliged to open investigations if "defamatory" comments were "viewed by at least 5,000 internet users or have a re-tweet up to 500 or more times."

With the continuous efforts to draw in business experts and investments, things might be changing gradually for the Chinese and in China. The need  to make living conducive and convenient and move in line with globalisation and global demands led to the opening up of China initially in the late 70s. The current trend could begin to have impacts on its political spectrum and outlook as more and more Chinese demand reforms at home.

Thinking: The American-Nigerian Presidents and Their Styles

It bemused me when African leaders openly proclaim their incapacity and incapability by beckoning on foreign bodies to help them and the continent as if Africa can and will never stand on its own. Criticising every government's policy should not always be a leit motif because at times, one would repeatedly sound trite but then one cannot be quiet. Nigerian Presidents over the years especially since the emergence of democracy in 1999 can at best be termed American-Nigerian Presidents.

This is because the leaders seem to be responsive to the White House than to Nigerians. During the heated debate of the third term agenda of President Obasanjo, he was extremely relatively quiet when the whole internal politics was so hot and the hullabaloo overshadowed the entire polity, the President never said anything. Despite the noises at home for him to declare his intention, he never did, only for Nigerians to hear as an aside when their President visited Washington that he discussed his third term agenda there, which George W. Bush vehemently opposed.

That bolstered the Nigerian Senate in a way and the structure was successfully dismantled. As if that was not enough, President Umar Yar'Adua came into office amid ill-feelings and bad reactions among Nigerians on the election that brought him into office which Nigerians described as being massively rigged and flawed. Nigerians called the elections 'daylight robbery' yet the President said nothing about it. Rather, he was more concerned with the relative snub President Obama gave his regime by going to Ghana.

The Yar'Adua administration handled the issue as if without Obama coming to Nigeria, Nigeria would collapse and refused to be a country again. Later, Hilary Clinton visited and to the utmost surprise of Nigerians, their President confessed to the erstwhile American Secretary of States that the elections that brought him into office were widely flawed. This was another slap.

One unique thing to note is that this present dispensation combined all the situations described above. Can anyone remember that President Goodluck Jonathan declared his intention to run for office in 2010 after he had an encounter with President Obama at the Nuclear Energy Summit? That was when and where his inspiration came from. He came back renewed and reinvigorated.

Quite recently, President Obama refused to visit Nigeria and rather than learn from the past the Jonathan-led administration took it so centrally as if without the visit, Nigeria would seize to function efficiently. Anyway, he acted like an 'independent' sovereign much to the chagrin of Washington by allowing Omar al Bashar of Sudan who is wanted by the ICC into Nigeria for the special AU summit. Next, he went to China.

Nigerians have been worried about the whole political jamboree, brouhaha and pandemonium as regards the President's intention to contest in 2015. So much tension and at best uncertainty has been generated in the land. Words from the horse's mouth are the best. The President has remained calm and refused to say anything only to attend the 68th UN summit in New York and Nigerians wake to hear that their President has diplomatically declared his intention to run for the election in 2015.

Then one is poised to ask, are they Nigerian Presidents or Nigerian-American Presidents? They find it hard to discuss and talk to their own people but always so easy and convenient for them to visit or see White House officials first before owing up to the responsibilities they owe Nigerians not Americans. In order words, it means Nigerians are not unique to them since they are not the ones who will get them into office. Once Washington has endorsed it, they can come back home with zeal and perfect the rigging.

GOD bless the People of Nigeria
GOD bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria
GOD bless Africa