NPOs in China: Some issues concerning internet communication

Abstract

The characteristics of Internet communication enable political, social, and cultural participation from the grassroots not only because the platforms provided by the Internet are open to all and inherently interactive but also because users are able to maintain their anonymity. Although, in theory, Internet communication is well suited to the purposes of nonprofit organization(s) (NPO(s)), in practice, Chinese NPOs do not to take full advantages of the Internet because of their bureaucratic and elitist approach. However, many Chinese who were once passive observers have been transformed into active participants as a result of Internet communication. This is significant because a civil society in China can only be achieved by the efforts of agents, not observers. Internet users have been actively learning the goals of civil society and participating in civil and political activities on the Internet, while Chinese NPOs rarely use the medium for advocacy.