The Future of Mobile Social Media in China: Empower or Control

Abstract

This project explores the battle on social media platforms between the Chinese government and ordinary Chinese people regarding individual interests. I use Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, to study the political power of social media in this country. I choose a specific case to learn how a common Chinese family applied Sina Weibo to fight against the local Chinese government in urbanization, and conclude that mobile social media do empower the Chinese citizens and make the Chinese society more transparent. However, the non-functioning jury system in China is a serious concern in this case and how the Chinese government reacts to social media in long run needed to be further explored.