12/27/2024
We are staying at my son's place while he and his family are in Hong Kong. On Christmas Day, my daughter came over, and we spent the afternoon walking and chatting along the Brooklyn waterfront. During our conversation, she shared some reflections from her recent trip to China.
One aspect she found challenging was adapting to China’s internet firewall, which blocks access to many websites Americans use daily, like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. "It’s like creating two separate worlds—one inside China and one outside," she remarked.
This led us to discuss the concept of 话语权 (huà yǔ quán), a term she was unfamiliar with. It translates to "discourse power" or "the power to shape narratives." It refers to the authority or influence a person, organization, or country has in defining discussions, shaping opinions, or controlling narratives.
Drawing from Michel Foucault’s theories, "discourse power" describes how power operates through language, story creation and knowledge production. Those in control of discourse shape what is accepted as "truth" in a society, influencing how people think—not through direct force, but through the creation and dissemination of knowledge, "facts," and narratives.
First, China does not have discourse power on the global stage. In an international media landscape dominated by Western outlets and the English language, Western countries hold a disproportionate influence over global opinions, cultural narratives, explanations, and perceptions. This imbalance places China at a disadvantage, making it challenging for the nation to defend its cultural, social, and political reality effectively.
Secondly, from the Chinese government’s perspective, the firewall is a response to this global imbalance. It aims to shield domestic narratives from being overwhelmed or distorted by the dominant Western discourse. By controlling information flows, the firewall protects and promotes Chinese perspectives within its borders, preserving the country’s sovereignty over information and fostering a sense of national identity.
Third, this actually acts, reacts and reenforces a vicious cycle. The Chinese government views platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter as vehicles for Western narratives. The overwhelmingly negative portrayal of China confirms this view, reinforcing the belief that Western media is biased and that a firewall is necessary to safeguard China's narrative independence.
This separation of information ecosystems, as my daughter aptly put it, results in "two separate worlds"—one shaped by Western media and the other curated by Chinese government policies.
Rather than criticizing the firewall solely as censorship, I hope my children—and others—can understand it as a respond to the global imbalance of narrative power. The firewall reflects China’s effort to assert and maintain its voice on the world stage and reclaim its place in shaping global discourse.