"Circumvention tools designed to bypass online censorship such as simple web proxies, virtual private network service, and so on are frequently used in countries whose governments impose heavy Internet censorship. Around 18 million Internet users in China are currently using those tools to bypass th ... e Great Firewall and access unblocked online content. In a pioneering empirical investigation of unblocked information seeking in China's censored online environment, the present study systematically examines a wide range of macro-social and micro-individual factors which affect the use of circumvention tools to bypass Internet censorship under the guidance of the interactive communication technology adoption model. The results reveal that, with the exception of social trust, macro-social factors have only a modest influence on the use of circumvention tools. In contrast, micro-individual-level variables-including perceived technology fluidity, gratifications, and selected demographic variables-play a much larger role in our multivariate model. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed." (Abstract) more

"Contrary to the optimistic view that the Internet would promote democracy in authoritarian countries like China, the pervasive political apathy among younger generations calls for a closer examination of micro-level individual political participation. This study contributes to the nascent body of e ... mpirical literature probing Chinese Internet users' political participation online by examining related behavioral and attitudinal factors. We argue that Chinese netizens' online participatory behaviors are determined by their political attitudes, trust in the media, and, chiefly, trust in the social system. Importantly, the current political and social environment in China seems to truncate any liberalizing potential of the Internet, as evidenced by the limited online political discussion and strong presence of government regulation. This dynamic implies that any utopian predictions concerning political participation online need to be reformulated in light of these external contextual factors." (Abstract) more