The power of Chinese netizens

They are called many names: angry youth, Internet mobs, cyber nationalists, or Chinese loyalists.

Regardless, the power of Chinese netizens to influence government policies is to be reckoned with by the Chinese government, multinational corporations and foreign governments. In fact, they constitute the most influential voice in government policy-making, second only to the Chinese Communist Party itself.

Examples are plenty. In 2005, student protests in Shanghai and elsewhere made the Chinese government change two major decisions: openly oppose Japan's attempt to gain a perminant seat in the UN Security Council and abandon the use of Japanese high-speed train technology.

In 2008, Chinese students and youth organized counter-protests against the anti-Beijing Olympics protests in a number of Western countries. In particular, France was targeted in these counter-protests because its president Nicolas Sarkozy threathened boycotting the openning ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. France is now still in the doghouse in the eyes of the Chinese. These counter-protests saved the Games despite of the officials' clueless of international politics and pure incompetence. That was why Chinese president Hu Jintao had to give a nod to the netizens by chatting with them directly. It was a three-questions and five-minutes session whose significance was missed by all China analysts as well as Chinese commentators.