Weibo, China's most popular microblogging platform, has seen burning topics follow one after another almost daily since New Year's Day. Starting from the new traffic rule that outlaws driving through yellow lights, each time a new topic causes outcry, some people seem determined to overthrow certain decisions made by authorities.
Weibo is a platform for the public to express their views. It has been pushing forward the freedom of speech more than ever before.
However, the new technology has brought sparkling positive results as well as thorny problems. Chinese society has been adapting to the changes this new platform has created.
The healthy development of Weibo will ensure a stable opinion channel for the progress of democracy. To achieve this goal, people must jointly try to foster rationality while supporting microblogs. Mainstream opinions should be close to the truth instead of being manipulated by extreme sentiment.
There are irrational actions on Weibo, such as massive verbal attacks, or rumor-mongering. Yet first of all we want to discuss how some Weibo activists should respect the public.
Weibo gives everyone the right to speak out, and has helped some people become famous overnight. Some of these people have formed circles, often acting jointly to ensure an explosive impact on the topics of their choice. Some Weibo stars enjoy millions of followers, which makes them even more powerful than traditional media outlets in agenda setting.
Although there exists a certain degree of management of Weibo posts, the power in the hands of Weibo celebrities is less restricted than other aspects of social life.
Some of these are humble and show self-restraint. But others are quite the opposite. They consider themselves to be opinion leaders, and believe their voices represent a broad spectrum of society. They ask the government to accept whatever request they care to make. If the request is ignored, the authorities are termed as being anti-democracy.
Actually, Weibo is only a platform for a small part of the Chinese public to express their opinions. Views on Weibo often appear to be sharp and furious, but they do not necessarily reflect the common opinions of the general public.
On the one hand, authorities need to pay close attention to public opinions, including those on Weibo. On the other hand, Weibo activists should not overestimate their representation of public views, especially when using their voices to try and push the country forward.
Like government officials, all people who have power should cherish it, making sure they use it to really benefit society and not just to bolster their own image.