Chinese internet users have devised an array of creative ways to navigate around government censorship of China's cyberspace, CNN correspondent Kristie Lu Stout told a Stanford audience.

Please click here to listen to the podcast of Kristie Lu Stout's talk.

STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS — Chinese internet users have devised an array of creative ways to navigate around government censorship of China's cyberspace, a leading Hong Kong-based CNN journalist told a Stanford audience.

In a November 21 talk at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Kristie Lu Stout, BA '96, MA '97, an anchor and correspondent for CNN International, discussed the burgeoning internet and social media scene in China. The Stanford graduate described a fast-changing country where daily life increasingly takes place online and where social networking has created new ways for Chinese citizens to interact and express themselves, even as their online activities are strictly monitored for offensive or politically sensitive content.

China has a "vibrant community of netizens and entrepreneurs who are actively challenging the boundaries," Stout said. "They're able to come up with creative ways to bypass [restrictions]. It's a story of expression, control, and innovation."

China has the world's largest internet population, about 500 million users, and it has experienced an explosion in the popularity of social networking.

Based for a decade at CNN's Asia headquarters in Hong Kong, Stout has been at the forefront of covering China's online community. She anchors a daily news show for CNN International, which broadcasts globally (outside the United States). Her talk was hosted by the Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE), part of the GSB.

Stout said that Chinese government controls have tightened over the past year or so, ahead of a transition of power expected in 2012-2013 for China's top leadership. Officials recently have ordered Chinese media outlets to "strengthen information management," "crack down on false rumors," and "enforce real-name registration" on social media sites, she said.

"The rules are broad and vague. There's a blanket ban on anything that would harm state security and social stability."

She listed some keywords that were blocked from online searches in China over the past year: protest, sex, Hillary Clinton, occupy, empty chair, jasmine. In addition, leading Western sites, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, are blocked.

The CNN journalist discussed her coverage and interviews of two leading figures at opposite extremes of the Chinese internet. The "establishment" figure was Charles Chao, CEO of Sina.com, the online media giant that abides by Chinese censorship rules while also operating Sina Weibo, a microblogging and social networking site that is a popular venue for public discourse. The "anti-establishment" figure was Ai Weiwei, a dissident artist and political activist who recently was detained by Chinese authorities and whose name is banned from the Chinese internet. "Both represent the different story lines that we, as journalists, look into," said Stout.

Stout highlighted the tactics Chinese netizens use to circumvent the "Great Firewall" of China. Individuals and businesses have used virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access forbidden sites. It's estimated that more than 100,000 Chinese are on the Google+ social network and 20,000 on Twitter, Stout said.

A new lexicon has emerged on the Chinese internet, consisting of code words, homonyms, and vocabulary laced with mockery, satire, or sarcasm. The words "empty chair" refer to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize but was barred by Chinese authorities from going to Oslo to accept it. Being "harmonized" means being censored, a reference to top leaders' frequent calls for creating a harmonious society. Chinese netizens invented the "grass mud horse," or "cao ni ma," a mythical creature whose name sounds like a Chinese profanity. The alpaca-like creature emerged online as a symbol of resistance to censorship, setting blogs, and social sites abuzz with images, songs, and poems about it.

Despite China's strict controls, the internet has become a far-reaching venue for venting public frustration and anger over government corruption and incompetence. When two high-speed trains near Wenzhou crashed in July, killing 39 people and injuring many more, there was an outpouring of anger online against officials for their handling of the disaster, Stout said. Similarly, a photo of Gary Locke, the new U.S. ambassador to China, carrying his own backpack and buying his own coffee at a Starbucks in the Seattle airport in August, went viral on the Chinese internet, where netizens noted the contrast with Chinese officials who often travel with large entourages and expense accounts. The photo sparked "a huge online debate about corruption and values," Stout said.

In response to a question, the CNN journalist said it's impossible to estimate how many people are involved in China's censorship apparatus. However, she said, "the most powerful way to control the internet is through self-censorship." By "creating a climate of fear," Chinese authorities can put much of the responsibility onto media organizations themselves.

Stout acknowledged that many Chinese believe the internet has introduced a level of freedom previously unknown in China. She suggested that it is in China's best interests to further ease controls. "If you want to be a truly innovative country, you can't censor the internet," Stout said.

At the conclusion of the 2011 ASEAN Summit, Donald K. Emmerson says that President Barack Obama's participation in the summit and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Myanmar signal a brighter future for U.S.-Southeast Asia relations.

Two Stanford graduates with close ties to FSI’s centers have been named 2012 Rhodes Scholars. A third was selected as a Mitchell Scholar.

Anand Habib was a graduate of the 2011 CISAC honors program in international security studies and a 2010 Dachs undergraduate intern. Habib and Katherine Niehaus – who is now a research assistant for a CHP/PCOR project evaluating whether HIV medication increases the risk of cardiovascular disease – will study at the University of Oxford in England under the Rhodes program. 

Philippe de Koning, who will study in Ireland as a Mitchell fellow, wrote a manuscript about Japan’s defense and financial crisis with Shorenstein APARC faculty member Phillip Lipscy. Lipscy, a political scientist, was de Koning’s advisor through his undergraduate career and also advised him on his senior thesis. De Koning was also a 2010 CISAC honors student.

More about the scholars:

Anand R. Habib, 22, of Houston, Texas, is a 2011 graduate of Stanford, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology, with honors in international security studies. He plans to pursue a master's degree in public policy and in medical anthropology at Oxford.

Habib is working on community health programs at St. Joseph's Clinic in Thomassique, Haiti, under a one-year global health fellowship awarded by Medical Missionaries. The nonprofit organization is a volunteer group of more than 200 doctors, nurses, dentists, and others who work to improve the health of the poor in the United States and throughout the world.

In 2011, he won a Deans' Award for Academic Accomplishment, which honors extraordinary undergraduate students for "exceptional, tangible" intellectual achievements. One of the professors who nominated him for the award described him as a "superb critical thinker" whose work is characterized by "creative genius" and "mature insights," adding that he "exemplifies exactly the kind of deeply informed, pragmatic and caring leadership that the world needs and Stanford enables."

As a Stanford student, Habib worked on behalf of politically and medically disenfranchised people in India, Mexico and Guatemala. His field research internship in Guatemala’s indigenous region during summer 2010 was carried out under the supervision of Paul Wise, professor of pediatrics and FSI senior fellow, as part of FSI’s Dachs mentored undergraduate research program.  On campus, he turned the Stanford tradition of the annual Dance Marathon into a vehicle dedicated to addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic by engaging not only Stanford students but also local communities and corporations, raising more than $100,000. His exceptional work was recognized by his participation in the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference in April, 2011.

Katherine "Kate" Niehaus, 23, of Columbia, S.C., earned a bachelor's degree in biomechanical engineering in 2010 and a master's degree in bioengineering in 2011 – both at  Stanford. Her class and research work focused on biomechanics and her interests lie in its applications to high technology entrepreneurship.

She plans to pursue a doctorate of philosophy in systems approaches to biomedical science at Oxford.

At Stanford, Niehaus captained Stanford's varsity track and cross country teams, won the Pac-10 5,000 meters, and won Academic-All American status. She also served as a mentor and tutor for students in low-income families.

Working with faculty in the Center for Health Policy, Kate led a project to evaluate how well newer HIV antiretroviral drugs work compared with older drugs.  Her work was among the first to evaluate comprehensively all of the trials of new drugs in treatment of experienced patients, and showed that these drugs have substantial benefits.

Philippe de Koning, 22, of Paris, France, earned a bachelor's degree in international relations at Stanford in 2010. He plans to pursue a master's degree in international security and conflict resolution at Dublin City University.

He is a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow at the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington, D.C. The nongovernmental organization works to prevent nuclear, chemical, and biological threats from materializing. De Koning is researching nuclear materials security and the U.S.-China dialogue on nuclear issues.

De Koning, who earlier was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, spent the 2010-2011 academic year at Hiroshima University in Japan. He examined various components of Japanese security policy, with emphasis on current evolution of Japanese Self-Defense Forces, policies on nuclear issues and approaches toward peacekeeping.

In 2009, he was a member of the Stanford delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Scholars and policymakers from around the world gathered at Stanford in October for a two-day conference that examined, from a comparative perspective, issues in violence, crime, and governance in Mexico. An executive summary of the program and a series of papers presented there highlight the causes of these challenges and explore some potential solutions.

Congratulations to Anand Habib, selected this weekend for a Rhodes Scholarship. Habib, 22, of Houston, Texas, is a 2011 graduate of Stanford, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology, with honors in international security studies. He plans to pursue a master's degree in public policy and in medical anthropology at Oxford.

Habib is currently working on community health programs at St. Joseph's Clinic in Thomassique, Haiti, under a one-year global health fellowship awarded by Medical Missionaries. The nonprofit organization is a volunteer group of more than 200 doctors, nurses, dentists, and others who work to improve the health of the poorest of the poor in the United States and throughout the world.

In 2011, he won a Deans' Award for Academic Accomplishment which honors extraordinary undergraduate students for "exceptional, tangible" intellectual achievements. One of the professors who nominated him for the award described him as a "superb critical thinker" whose work is characterized by "creative genius" and "mature insights," adding that he "exemplifies exactly the kind of deeply informed, pragmatic and caring leadership that the world needs and Stanford enables."

As a Stanford student, Habib worked on behalf of politically and medically disenfranchised people in India, Mexico and Guatemala. On campus, he turned the Stanford tradition of the annual Dance Marathon into a vehicle dedicated to addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic by engaging not only Stanford students but also local communities and corporations, raising more than $100,000. His exceptional work was recognized by his participation in the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference in April, 2011.

From Haiti, Habib discussed his current position, his plans in Oxford, and how his CISAC thesis relates to his work. 

What are you currently working on? 

I am currently working on a global health fellowship with an NGO that operates a clinic in Haiti's Central Plateau. As part of the fellowship I am helping to manage a number of community and public health projects including fortified salt (to counter iodine deficiency and filariasis), a point-of-use potable water system, a malnutrition intervention program, and a small system of community health committees and community health workers. For the past two months, I've taken on a number of administrative functions along with my co-fellow, who is also a recent college graduate. I started the fellowship shortly after graduation at the end of June 2011 and I am slated to be in Haiti until the end of June 2012.

What will you do at Oxford?

I proposed two one-year Masters programs: a masters in public policy from Oxford's new Blavatnik School of Government, and an M.Sc. in medical anthropology. As of now, I'm thinking of sticking with my proposed programs -- probably pursuing the medical anthropology degree first as it is a bit more theoretical. I think it would be better to have the more "academic" experience first before gaining the practical tools that an MPP will hopefully afford me. After a short send-off in Washington, D.C., at the end of September 2012, I will fly with the other American Rhodes Scholars-elect to Oxford the first week of October with term beginning shortly thereafter.

How does your work in the CISAC Honors program relate to what you are currently doing, your plans for Oxford, or what you'll be doing afterward? 

My honors thesis has allowed me to contextualize my experiences in Haiti in some fairly amazing ways. Two very persistent issues in Haiti are that of poor governance -- e.g. lack of strong regulatory structures, lack of government effectiveness, etc. -- and ineffective aid modalities, or the ways in which aid is delivered. My thesis was situated exactly at this nexus: how to deliver aid more effectively in order to improve governance. Ninety-nine percent of relief aid after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti was funneled to non-state organizations and only 12 percent of recovery aid went toward supporting government activities. In Haiti, I've witnessed how detrimental a patchwork system of NGO activity can be with little coordination between NGOs and little harmonization of NGO activities with government objectives. It becomes very frustrating at times, because, if my thesis is any indication, things need not be this way if both NGOs and states were engaged in collaborative partnerships -- along the lines of what Dr. Paul Farmer, deputy U.N. special envoy to Haiti, calls "accompaniment."

My initial interest in the topic of global health financing was spurred by work out of Oxford's Global Economic Governance Project. The director of the project, Dr. Ngaire Woods, was actually named the Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government through which the MPP is offered. I'd love to continue exploring the issues broached in my thesis at Oxford -- especially issues of aid effectiveness and sustainable systems of delivering development aid for health. In the future, I hope to become a physician-policymaker, helping to not only deliver care to individuals in difficult conditions around the world, but also in fostering more robust global health governance.

- Interview by Michael Freedman