Are traders really traitors? Respecting and reconciling the roles of traders and guardians.

Security and prosperity are sometimes conflicting goals … Loyalty … is demanded for a sense of security. However, exchange with other information systems, cities and nation-states is also required for prosperity and growth. Traders can be considered as traitors. This is the essay where I connect three works in a way to provide one consistent framework to look at both the Chinese and American online political discussion environment. Continue reading

Exposing “Special Speech Zones” (SSZs)

Rebecca MacKinnon’s empirical research on Chinese Blog Service Providers’ censorship pattern is arguably the first systematic attempt to map what I call “special speech zones”(SSZs). By special speech zones I mean areas (virtual or physical) set aside by authorities or … Continue reading