傳統媒體被控 網民辟信息新渠道

對於埃及的局勢，在中國國內，政府持續嚴密控制和引導媒體報導，生怕非洲大陸上要求民主的呼聲會引起中國人的響應。另一方面，中國Facebook的用戶在過去一個月裡激增一倍。

民眾要求民主和政府獨裁的對抗，在埃及是現在進行式，而在中國大陸，也並不是過去式。更何況，埃及的局勢太容易讓中國人聯想到1989年那被槍和坦克鎮壓了的民主呼聲。

阿拉伯《先軀報》說，全世界民眾密切關注埃及人民反政府抗議之際，中國官媒對事件要麼報導很少，要麼試圖誤導。因為假如中國民眾也效仿埃及人民，因痛恨官員貪污腐敗而走上街頭，中共將難以控制。

不過，中共官媒大量突出報導，政府接出困在埃及的1800多名中國公民的新聞。

美國《時代週刊》的文章說，埃及事件正值中國農曆新年，被困埃及的中國公民及時返家，正好與民眾希望闔家歡樂的願望相吻合，中共媒體很好利用了這個心理和時機。

雖然傳統形式的媒體遭到嚴密控制和引導，但關心時事的人們還是通過海外媒體的視頻和廣播，瞭解埃及事件的細節。

而作為網路新興媒體的Facebook，儘管在中國受到封鎖，需要突破防火牆才能註冊，但在過去一個月裡，Facebook的中國用戶激增一倍。

事實上，在埃及目前的「倒穆」示威中，Facebook也凸顯出它的衝擊力。

谷歌（Google）中東及北非市場部主管威爾．戈寧( Wael Ghonim)，在Facebook上面設立了名為「我們都是賽義德」（We are all Khaled Said）的專頁，紀念被警方打死的埃及男子賽義德( Khaled Said)。這個網頁最終成為籌組示威，以及批評埃及政府的平臺。

而戈寧被捕後，Facebook上面有一個活動群組，名為「我授權戈寧以埃及革命者之名為我們發聲」，群組已經有13萬人加入，形成「倒穆」呼聲中不可小看的力量。

儘管中共官方對網路的封鎖步步升級，但Facebook等新興網路媒體難以抵擋的魅力不斷吸引著中國國內的網民加入，成為信息流通和交流的新渠道。

Chinese Netizens Pursue New Media Channels amidst Censorship

As the Egyptian situation progresses, the Chinese authorities continue its tight control on media reports, fearing for the cascade effect of the democratic ovements in Africa to spread to China. On the other hand, Chinese Facebook users
doubled in number over the past month.

The Arabic Herald reported, as the entire world closely watch the anti-government struggle in Egypt, China』s official media either have little coverage on the event or attempt to mislead the public, in fear that the Chinese would learn from Egyptians to take to the streets to protest against corruption. The CCP will possibly lose control.

However, Chinese official media focused on the rescue efforts of 1800 Chinese citizens from Egypt. Time magazine reported that the Egyptian protests
broke out around the Chinese New Year. The repatriation coincided with the people』s wish for family reunion, which was taken advantage of
by Chinese government controlled media.

With conventional media forms tightly censored, many Chinese people resorted to overseas media for news development by breaking internet blockage.

As a new media, Facebook is blocked in China and requires the user to break the firewalls to gain access. Nevertheless, the number of Chinese Facebook users
doubled in the past month.

In fact, Facebook already showed its impact. Wael Ghonim, Google』s Head of Marketing for Middle East & North Africa set up a Facebook website 「We are all Khaled Said」 to commemorate the Egyptian Said beaten to death by the police.
This website finally became a platform for organizing demonstrations and criticizing Egypt』s government. After Ghonim』s arrest, another Facebook group
was formed in the name of Ghonim, which was soon joined by 130,000 people,
forming a strong force in bring Mubarak down.

Despite the ever-escalating internet blockage by the Chinese authorities, Facebook, among other new media, has constantly attracted Chinese netizens with its irresistible charm, becoming a new channel for information exchange.