Candidate:

Andrew Goh
Professor: Mark Chong
Master of Science in Communication Management
Singapore Management University

An informed assessment of key political, social and economic issues
that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have to contend with in China


With many widely publicized attempts at bonding with China, it is clear that Mark
Zuckerberg has huge ambitions for the largest (and growing) demographic of internet users
in 2016.1 But what does he stand to gain and at what cost will it take for Facebook to
operate in a country that is known for tightly controlled media publishing, rigid censorship
laws, and draconian political control?

Why China?
Besides having the largest demographic of internet users globally, China represents nearly
22% of the total amount of internet users worldwide and has more users than the next
three countries combined (United States, India, and Japan).2 Tapping into a market as large
as China would be a massive accomplishment to Facebooks ambitions of Connecting The
World3 in a philanthropic sense, but would also allow for a massive increase in advertising
revenue through its function as a social platform. With articles suggesting that more than
2/3 of Internet Users in China preferred to surf on their smartphones,4 and data findings that

1
Elaboration of data by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Population Division,
Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), World Bank. (2016, June 10). Internet Users By Country (2016).
Retrieved from http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users-by-country/

2
(2016, June 10). Internet Users. Retrieved from http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/
3
Zuckerberg, M. (2013, August 21). Is Connectivity a Human Right?. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10100933624710391

4
Lee, M. (2016, January 25). Chinas Nearly 700 Million Internet Users Are Hot For Online Finance. Retrieved
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/melanieleest/2016/01/25/chinas-nearly-700-million-internet-users-are-hot-for-
online-finance/

mobile advertising makes up 80% of advertising revenue for Facebook,5 the message is clear
operating in China would be a huge addition to Facebooks global growth.

Not quite simple
On the other side of the conversation is China, whom has not only acquired a reputation for
being inhospitable towards western companies operating freely within their country, but
have also been known to develop adaptations of the very same western systems and
technology for use within their local markets.6 An example of this phenomenon was
Googles attempt to establish themselves in the country.

Launching in 2006, Google only managed to receive an official license to operate in
September 2007 due to a lengthy approval process that required the company to adhere to
Chinas censorship laws and practices.7 Googles only real competitor since their launch was
Chinas home-grown search engine Baidu, which had already occupied more than half of
Chinas online search market before the formers launch8 and was coincidentally established
by two Chinese nationals who were both educated and spent time working overseas.

Between Google and Baidu, the two main search engines dominated the Chinese market
with over 90% of combined searches in 2008, with Google making significant progress in
2009 before being plagued by problems such as a suspension by Chinese regulators over
pornography, a copyright dispute regarding their online library, and eventually, cyber attacks
against the Gmail service that targeted Chinese human rights activists. These complications
ensured Googles departure from Mainland China in early 2010 and pushed existing users
towards rivals, Baidu.9

Googles experience with China isnt just a lesson to learn for businesses hoping to tap into
Chinas large lucrative market, but also serves as a good study for Facebooks ambitions by

5
King, H. (2016, January 27). Facebook is making more money off you than ever before. Retrieved from
http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/27/technology/facebook-earnings/

6
Tatlow, DK. (2013, June 12). Adopting Technology, But not The Freedoms, of the West . Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/world/asia/13iht-letter13.html

7
Yin, Fang, Compeau (2010). Google in China. Google in China (B), 9B10E011, 1-3.
8
Yin, Fang, Compeau (2010). Google in China. Google in China (B), 9B10E011, 4.
9
Yin, Fang, Compeau (2010). Google in China. Google in China (B), 9B10E011, 3-6.
predicting expectations of cultural, political and operational requirements needed to be
successful within the country.

What Does China Want?
Chinas ideologies and cultural values stem from its deep roots with Confucianism and still
does to this very day. The aptly titled book The Governance of China, published in 2014 by
none other than Chinese President Xi Jinping himself, illustrates the strong homage paid to
Confucian teachings that inspired President Xis political and social philosophies.10

It is not surprising then, that Chinas view of Safeguarding peace under Heaven also
translates into what some might deem as an authoritarian control of the country in the
interest of peace. With views going as far as referring to the Internet as an ideological
battleground by the Chinese military11 and President Xi himself announcing that The
Chinese news media exists to serve as a propaganda tool for the Communist Party.12
It is evident that stable politics and governance are important to Chinas way of life and that
the countrys leaders will go to great lengths to protect it.

A Conflict of Interests?
This puts Facebook whose primary service acts as a social platform in a tricky situation
within the eyes of China. Specifically since multiple political uprisings and demonstrations,
such as the Arab Spring in Egypt, have credited their success to Facebooks connectivity,
privacy and broadcasting abilities.13

Facebook as an organization is also known to encourage political debate through services
such as Facebook Elections, which aim to help campaigners reach potential voters on the
social platform. From organizing supporters and raising money to persuading and turning
out key voters, its never too early to start using Facebook to connect with the people who

10
Kaplan, R. (2015, February 6). Asias Rise Is Rooted in Confucian Values. Retrieved from
http://www.wsj.com/articles/asias-rise-is-rooted-in-confucian-values-1423254759

11
Tiezzi, S. (2015, May 21). Chinese Military Declares the Internet an Ideological Battleground. Retrieved from
http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/chinese-military-declares-the-internet-an-ideological-battleground/

12
Wong, E. (2016, February 22). Xi Jinpings News Alert: Chinese Media Must Serve the Party. Retrieved from
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/22/xi-jinpings-news-alert-chinese-media-must-serve-the-party.html

13
Vargas, J. (2012, February 17). Spring Awakening: How an Egyptian Revolution Began on Facebook
. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/books/review/how-an-egyptian-revolution-began-on-
facebook.html
matter most to your campaign. Reach, Rally, Results.14 The service further promises an easy
experience to reach any desired demographic that one may choose.

With the memory of Hong Kongs Umbrella Movement a pro-democracy political
movement spearheaded by youth in 2014 still fresh in Chinas mind, it is not hard to
predict that China will take a cautious approach in dealing with platforms that allow
orchestration of mass discourse combined with the support of insistent user privacy.15

Does China need Facebook?
Home-grown social platform WeChat, has already been dominating the user market since
launching in China in 2011 and have also received praises from international media experts
such as CEO of Havas, Yannick Bollor, who endorsed the mobile social application as the
best social platform in the world for me in terms of user experience and much better than
the Facebook. Yannick Bollor also added that the Chinese werent just good at copying,
but had also started creating hybrid products that could realize and eventually compete with
the rest of the world, reminding everyone to be very, very cautious regarding stiff global
competition.16

With positive feedback from critics, a major following of users and strong political
compliance with the Chinese Government, home-grown Chinese social platforms are here to
stay and would unlikely be replaced by a western one with western values. So where would
Facebooks services come into play and how can the company contribute to Chinas
booming digital landscape? There are two immediate possibilities.

Firstly, besides offering the global version of Facebook to China, which would be impossible
due to Chinas censorship laws, Facebooks options are to follow what other companies have
attempted before and launch localized, China-specific versions of their products like

14
Facebook Elections. (2016, June 10). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/business/a/politics-industry

15
Wong, E. (2016, February 22). The role of social media in Occupy protests, on the ground and around the world.
Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1628305/role-social-media-occupy-protests-
ground-and-around-world

16
CNBC. (2016, February 22). CNBC Transcript: Interview with CEO of Havas, Yannick Bollor. Retrieved from
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/18/cnbc-transcript-interview-with-ceo-of-havas-yannick-bollore.html
LinkedIn did successfully.17 This would give Facebook a license to operate but would come at
a price of being heavily censored and controlled by the Chinese Government. A China-
specific Facebook would not only prohibit connections to the outside world but could also
potentially compromise information of its users.18 This scenario would not only see
Facebook competing in a market that has already been developed, but may also affect its
operations on a local and potentially global scale, should Chinese hackers attempt to access
or influence the network to their advantage.

The second option for Facebook, is to reinvent itself as a tech consultant that specializes in
partnering with the Chinese Government to create new products that align with Chinas
needs and interests. Since the widely publicized China Development Forum in Beijing with
Jack Ma, Mark Zuckerberg has shown value to China through the collaboration of ideas,
which was demonstrated when he and the Alibaba Group Chief traded beliefs over topics
such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Tech Innovation.19 This strategy would be
the better option of the two, as Mark Zuckergberg would be allowed to operate Facebook
independently while being given the authority to influence future projects with China as a
partner.

Is it worth it?
With strong opposing topics such as Cultural Censorship, tight Media Control and strong
Political Views threatening to limit Facebooks license to operate in China, it is in my
personal view that launching Facebook as a China-specific social platform would do the
company more harm than good. Instead, Mark Zuckerberg has a lot more to gain by focusing
his efforts in becoming an ally of China, and work towards contributing to the development
of the Chinese technology landscape through other means.

After all, becoming a A son-in-law of China is no easy feat!

17
Mozure, Goel. (2016, February 22). To Reach China, LinkedIn Plays by Local Rules. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/technology/to-reach-china-linkedin-plays-by-local-rules.html

18
Horwitz, J. (2016, March 23). The only way Facebook enters China is as a tool of the government. Retrieved
from http://qz.com/644588/the-only-way-facebook-enters-china-is-as-a-tool-of-the-government/

19
Ma, S. (2016, April 9). Tech titans talk about machines, men and virtual reality.Retrieved from
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/ceo-talks/2016/04/09/462995/p2/Tech-titans.htm

References:

Elaboration of data by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Population Division,
Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), World Bank. (2016, June 10). Internet Users By Country (2016).
Retrieved from http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users-by-country/

(2016, June 10). Internet Users. Retrieved from http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/

Zuckerberg, M. (2013, August 21). Is Connectivity a Human Right?. Retrieved from

https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10100933624710391

Lee, M. (2016, January 25). Chinas Nearly 700 Million Internet Users Are Hot For Online Finance. Retrieved
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/melanieleest/2016/01/25/chinas-nearly-700-million-internet-users-are-hot-for-
online-finance/

King, H. (2016, January 27). Facebook is making more money off you than ever before. Retrieved from
http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/27/technology/facebook-earnings/

Tatlow, DK. (2013, June 12). Adopting Technology, But not The Freedoms, of the West . Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/world/asia/13iht-letter13.html

Yin, Fang, Compeau (2010). Google in China. Google in China (B), 9B10E011, 1-3.

Yin, Fang, Compeau (2010). Google in China. Google in China (B), 9B10E011, 4.

Yin, Fang, Compeau (2010). Google in China. Google in China (B), 9B10E011, 3-6.

Kaplan, R. (2015, February 6). Asias Rise Is Rooted in Confucian Values. Retrieved from
http://www.wsj.com/articles/asias-rise-is-rooted-in-confucian-values-1423254759

Tiezzi, S. (2015, May 21). Chinese Military Declares the Internet an Ideological Battleground. Retrieved from
http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/chinese-military-declares-the-internet-an-ideological-battleground/

Wong, E. (2016, February 22). Xi Jinpings News Alert: Chinese Media Must Serve the Party. Retrieved from
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/22/xi-jinpings-news-alert-chinese-media-must-serve-the-party.html

Vargas, J. (2012, February 17). Spring Awakening: How an Egyptian Revolution Began on Facebook
. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/books/review/how-an-egyptian-revolution-began-on-
facebook.html
Facebook Elections. (2016, June 10). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/business/a/politics-industry

Wong, E. (2016, February 22). The role of social media in Occupy protests, on the ground and around the world.
Retrieved from http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1628305/role-social-media-occupy-protests-
ground-and-around-world

CNBC. (2016, February 22). CNBC Transcript: Interview with CEO of Havas, Yannick Bollor. Retrieved from
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/18/cnbc-transcript-interview-with-ceo-of-havas-yannick-bollore.html

Mozure, Goel. (2016, February 22). To Reach China, LinkedIn Plays by Local Rules. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/technology/to-reach-china-linkedin-plays-by-local-rules.html

Horwitz, J. (2016, March 23). The only way Facebook enters China is as a tool of the government. Retrieved
from http://qz.com/644588/the-only-way-facebook-enters-china-is-as-a-tool-of-the-government/

Ma, S. (2016, April 9). Tech titans talk about machines, men and virtual reality.Retrieved from
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/ceo-talks/2016/04/09/462995/p2/Tech-titans.htm