Interview: Xu Jing, China

Today we interviewed XU Jing, a PhD & Associate professor for Peking University. Most of all, she prefers to communicate to us as a friend and a student, who took the IGCBP10 (Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme 2010).

XU Jing is Associate Professor at the Peking University, China

Diplo IGCBP: Jing, please introduce yourself explaining why you decided to take the time to pursue Internet governance training.

XU Jing: The first time I knew of Internet Governance was from Ginger Pague in Hong Kong last year. I was introduced by my friend to attend a workshop on Internet Governance sponsored by Freedom House and lectured by Ginger Pague. I was absorbed by Ginger's teaching and her personal experience.

At that time, I also made acquainted with many people, such as Isaac Mao, Anti and Zola. They are famous bloggers but I didn't know them before. When I talked with them, I suddenly found that people really lived so differently but could be connected through Internet as a miracle.

In the workshop, people with different background and different ages could sit together and communicate with each other on issues of Internet Governance. It was very interesting for me. At that time, Ginger told me about the United Nations Internet Governance Forum and GigaNet's call for papers. I submitted an abstract and finally got accepted. So I got the chance to Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Diplo IGCBP: Was this the first time you attended a UN event?

Jing: It was the second time I attended a UN event. The first time was in the year of 1998 when I was sent by my university to Braga, Portugal to attend the UN Youth Forum there. At that time, I was proud of being a representative of my country and tried to do something for my country. But this time, as a scholar, I began to think about contributions of other social powers( called stakeholders) besides national state government. It was so exciting.

presentation made by XU Jing

Diplo IGCBP: Please tell us how was yout IGCBP experience.

Jing: With Ginger's help, I applied for this online course with success. It was very exciting for many reasons.

First, I could come back to the classroom again as a online student which reminded me of my past days.

Second, the way of study was very fresh for me. When I tried all the study tools, it was a kind of computer games for me, exciting with justification( I am studying while playing).

Third, it was wonderful to have so many foreign classmates to study together. They are all energetic and knowledgeable. Some of them tried to dedicate to great causes with idealism, which moved me a lot.

Fourth, I got used to study English everyday so my English reading and writing improved a lot.

Fifth, as a teacher, the online course inspiried me of effective teaching strategies. Of course there are more reasons than I can outline here. Although I was busy, I never gave up this course, due to its importance and its fun.

Diplo IGCBP: Which elements did you most enjoy?

Jing: I liked the online chat very much. Since I was busy and had very little knowledge of IG, I often chose to listen to others. I still remembered that once once of the colleagues was absent because the electricity in her city was stopped so she couldn't access the internet. Just a few days ago there was an explosion in her city. We all concerned about her and her family. Finally she came and we all felt relaxed. It was the first time I really worried about a strange person far away from me and the first time I had the sense of global village or community.

Diplo IGCBP: What are your next goals?

Jing: Of course i want to be a full professor. Internet Governance is still a new issue in China. I may be the first Chinese scholar in GigaNet.

I think that's why my abstracts attracted some attentions because people really interested in China. So I will try to push study of IG in China not only among academic scholars but in the Society. Through this online course, I really found the successful actions of civil societies even in developing country such as Pakistan, India.

You can download XU Jing's presentation HERE: xujingpku2010.ppt

But in China, civil society is not yet developed. Totalitarianism is the main principle. But in IG field, government is second to other stakeholders. It needs to listen to other voices and adapt to new media times. So in my abstract to Montreal workshop on this weekend, I use Green Dam case to reflect China's situation of Internet Governance. I will take an oral presentation on the workshop. I ahve attached my PPT for your reference since I may not have enough time to explain it to you.

Diplo IGCBP: Any final message?

Jing: I don't know what to say to express my appreciations to Ginger, to my tutor Priyanthi who is very considerate, attentive, and of help and to DiploFoundation. I want to say, " Because of you, the world becomes much better. So let me just follow you."