Protesters use Web 2.0 tools to show darker side to Olympics in Beijing

Computerworld - With the eyes of the world turned to Beijing, human rights protesters and even bloggers detained by the Chinese government have been using various Web 2.0 tools to evade the country's notorious censors and shed some shed light on the darker side of the Olympic Games.

Much of the Internet has been buzzing with information touting the flamboyant opening ceremonies and updating the status of competition in popular sports such as gymnastics and swimming. But a deeper look online shows that Chinese bloggers and some foreigners who traveled to Beijing to protest human right violations are using various Web 2.0 methods to get their message out.

For example, citizen reporter and Chinese blogger Zhou "Zuola" Shuguang had many on the U.S.-based microblogging site Twitter riveted to his Tweets this week detailing his detainment by the Chinese government -- while he was being detained.

Online advocacy group Global Voices Advocacy translated his Twitter updates during the incident.

According to the translation, he wrote: "Head of security at Meitanba Mining Group Director Liu w/ 3 others taking me now back to Meitanba Village, scared my parents." About 10 minutes later, the blogger added, "I've been made to get into their car. I want my parents to confirm what has happened today, what time and place and w/ who, the license plate number of the car I was taken away in. I'm fine. In their car, it feels a bit like I'm being intercepted."

Zuola was released in his hometown later the same day, according to his subsequent Tweets.

U.S.-based protester Eddie Romaro has been posting Twitter updates from within Beijing since arriving before the Olympics opening ceremony. He has also been updating his MySpace profile and posting videos to YouTube about his cause.

Romaro painted protest messages on the walls of a hotel room earlier in his stay and has since been hiding from Chinese police, he said on his MySpace page. He said he plans to turn himself over to Chinese authorities for arrest on Aug. 24, the day of the closing ceremonies.

Anne Donohue, a professor of journalism at Boston University currently working at the People's University of China in Beijing, said that despite the heavy use of Twitter and live streaming site Qik by protesters, the total number of online protesters has so far been "tiny," far less than what was expected.

"The Chinese set up three parks for protests, but the permitting process was so cumbersome, no permits were issued that I am aware of," she noted in an e-mail. "It has been very quiet, with the occasional Tibetan banner/flag. I have a VPN that allows me to see anything I want, but I have not heard of any new, more aggressive censorship. It's just the same old 'whack-a-mole' approach they've consistently employed."