Web mobs play judge and jury

gzlaser

IT all began three weeks ago with a cry of frustration on Tianya.cn, one of China's most popular websites. A netizen, \"Amazon Mermaid\", posted the story of her female friend, whose ex-husband was stolen by another woman. Immediately, hundreds responded and condemned the adulterous woman and man.

\"The woman is so nasty,\" wrote one netizen. \"We should dig out her identity and shame her. I believe justice should triumph over evil.\"

What is the netizens' idea of justice? First, they published the couple's personal information. Later, they demanded that the man's employer fire him. Most recently, they tried to confronted the man at the airport and shame him.

This is just the latest example in China of online mobs, or \"virtual vigilantes\", punishing people for immoral behavior by shaming them on the Internet. Experts say such behavior is rooted in the past, but say it's not fit for the future.

\"Mocking and beating people who are thought immoral has been common in Chinese history,\" said Zhu Dake, a sociologist and cultural critic at Tongji University in Shanghai. \"It's not difficult to find stories of adulterers being paraded through the streets, or even lynched.\"

A person's private information should be protected unless publishing it helps the public interest, according to Chinese laws (see the sidebar).

However, many young people still have a strong sense of morality, said Zhu. A man named Qiao'er, 28, told 21st Century that he did the right thing when he posted a lengthy attack on the woman and her affair.

\"We are not coming to the aid of just one person; we are setting a moral standard for the whole of society,\" he said. \"What we Internet users are doing is fulfilling our social obligations.\"

Asked how he would react if people began publishing online allegations about his private life, he answered: \"I believe strongly in the traditional saying that if you've done nothing wrong, you don't have to fear a knock on your door at midnight.\"

Privacy and tolerance

Qiao'er's remark shows the typical Chinese mentality when it comes to privacy, a relatively new concept. Some Chinese experts believe netizens need to embrace Western values of privacy and tolerance as China moves into the future.

\"Collectivism has been the favorable political theory in Chinese society. Many Chinese do not have much familiarity with ideas of privacy,\" said Lü Bowang, an Internet analyst. \"In Western countries, however, privacy and freedom are just two sides of the same coin – they cannot be divided.\"

Zhou Qing'an, a lecturer with the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University, called for tolerance. \"The Chinese Internet is more barbaric than elsewhere; this says something about our culture,\" said Zhou.

\"For thousands of years, we have not really listened to enough different voices. People with different opinions and lifestyles are 'wrong' and often ostracized.

\"Now people are trying to impose their standards on others by means that are unacceptable in a civilized society.\"

Past incidents that show the power of Internet users

1. February 2006

A photo showing a woman crushing a cat's head with her high heels angers netizens. They hunt her down after locating her ID number, mailbox and mobile number. They call the hospital where she is employed and demand that she be punished. And the hospital fines her by withholding a month's salary.

2. April 2006

A man releases information about an affair his wife is having with an online gamer. This arouses the sympathy of netizens. They decide to expose the identity of the gamer to shame him. They learn that he's a university student and ask the university to expel him. The university refuses their request, though the boy's privacy is compromised.

3. August 2006

A so-called foreigner blogs about his sexual experiences with Chinese women and mocks Chinese people. These posts stir up nationalist feelings and netizens try to uncover his identity. The campaign eventually dies down when netizens learn that, in fact, the blog's a fake. However, once again, the controversy shows the power of the public online.

21st century