The Electronic-Mediated Public Sphere and Environmental Public Participation in China

Abstract

This chapter offers a critical analysis of the new pattern of public participation in the electronic-mediated public sphere. By reviewing the development of Chinese environmental activities that led to an active, electronic-mediated public discussion concerning environmental protection, the findings reveal that new Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have made the public sphere more easily seen and heard by everyone, including governmental departments in the bureaucratic system. Thus, the electronic-mediated public sphere is providing a third power that could help Non-Profit Organizations' (NPOs) development in relatively conservative societies such as China. The implications of using ICTs in the management of NPOs are also discussed.