On November 5, EAI held a roundtable discussion under the title of “Regulating the Internet in China in the Name of Civility.” Professor Yang Guobin of University of Pennsylvania argued that the discourse of civility has been used in place of more coercive forms of censorship to control speech on the internet in China. After looking at several methods used by the Chinese central government to promote the internet civility, Yang emphasized that recent changes observed on the Chinese websites are due to the Chinese central government’s new approach of labeling the discourse of civility as a new form of censorship enacted in part by non-state actors.

Following the presentation, participants discussed the differences between the enforcement of civility in China versus democratic countries, the way the concept of civility is used toward minorities and marginalized groups, and the comparison of the civility discourse between during the Mao era and today.

Topic
“Regulating the Internet in China in the Name of Civility”

Presenter
Yang Guobin, University of Pennsylvania

Moderator
Jaeyoun Won, Yonsei University

Discussants
Sei Jeong Chin, Ewha Womans University
Eun Kyong Choi, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Jihyeon Jeong, Ewha Womans University
Joo-Youn Jung, Korea University
Joo Young Kwak, Yonsei University