Mob Rule on China's Internet

Alien54 writes to mention an International Herald Tribune article about the growing phenomenon in China known as internet hunting; Using the web to track down individuals who have violated social more or broken the law. From the article: "In recent cases, people have scrutinized husbands suspected of cheating on their wives, fraud on Internet auction sites, the secret lives of celebrities and unsolved crimes. One case that drew a huge following involved the poisoning of a Tsinghua University student - an event that dates to 1994, but was revived by curious strangers after word spread on the Internet that the only suspect in the case had been questioned and released. Even a recent scandal involving a top Chinese computer scientist dismissed for copying an American processor design came to light in part because of Internet hunting, with scores of online commentators raising questions about the project and putting pressure on the scientist's sponsors to look into allegations about intellectual property theft."

Comments

You say Tomato I say...

[packetmon]

You say China... I say America. How is this different from what the NSA warrantless surveillance in the United States?

Re: I don't think so...

[vertinox]

It would sadden me if this is the case, but as the Chinese government lessens its control of its citizenry and with the majority having no clear religion, there has been a corresponding rise in what most consider immoral behavior, and thus the current backlash.

If you are implying that a Judeo-Christian religion would help them I would recommend taking a hard look at the past 2,000 years of our religion. It does nothing to stop crime nor prevents society as whole from doing horrible things to other people even with the anger of god and damnation hanging over their head. In some instances it may because people do to horrible things.

Burning people at the stake... inquisitions... Hanging suspected witches for devil worship... Holy Wars... Flying planes into buildings.... Blowing your self up in a crowded market in the name of your god.

Not to say religion can bring out the best in people on occasion, but it isn't required for it do so.

However, the Chinese are in luck... From what I've heard Buddhism is gaining in popularity and that tends to be the most non-violent of all religions (well if you don't count the Sri-Lanka violence) and from what I've studied of it has the best moral frame work of all religions and is more compatible with technology and science.

And as an aside, I think Christianity is frowned upon in China mostly because it caused one of the most bloody civil wars in its history in the Taiping Rebellion where Hong Xiuquan declared he was the new messiah back in the 1850's.