118 Janice Hua Xu
However, as noted above, individuals sometimes bypass state agencies and
conduct alternative grassroots environmental monitoring by posting information
online and sharing their monitoring data with other netizens. Though restricted
by government censorship, the Internet has been instrumental in “not-in-my-
backyard” activism in China for public participation in environmental matters,
which often involve contentious tactics that exert considerable pressure on local
officials to open participatory channels and adopt more inclusive decision-making
processes (Johnson 2010). Through case studies among homeowners in different
southern cities such as Xiamen, Huang and Yip (2012) describe the functional
significance of the Internet to collective action as an information-disclosure
platform and a discussion platform, serving also as a mobilization structure and a
facilitator in locating external allies. Microblogging provides an important online
platform because it can conveniently and inexpensively foster public online issue-
networks beyond geographical boundaries (Yang 2013; Huang^ and Sun 2014).
It is also found among Chinese citizens that extensive use of smartphones and
mobile tweeting were positive predictors of engagement in online civic discourse
(Wei 2014). With its low cost, popularity among young people, and flexibility,
microblogging has been used by many local environmental activists to publicize
their agendas and gain supporters for their work.
While the levels of environmental awareness among citizens are uneven,
there has been increasing attention paid to the public voice in city environmental
management, though Chinese government officials and researchers are still
struggling with the concept of the public’s right to participate and the processes
this might involve (Moore and Warren 2006). In particular, Martens (2006) sees
opportunities and potentials for involvement by Chinese citizens and consumers
in environmental management in five key environmental issues: protection of
nature and bio-diversity; local control of environmental pollution; construction
of green company images; establishment of sustainable household practices;
and participation in international conventions and treaties. Individuals could
participate through various groups that are semi-formal or informal in nature,
such as consumer groups, homeowner committees, student organizations, local
automobile clubs, or hobby groups such as hiking clubs, which can be formed
online. They can also get involved through activities organized by their work
units, environmental NGOs, or other grassroots groups.
As environmental activism emerges as one of the earliest and most active areas
of civil society in modern China, grassroots organizations have become capable
of “effectively mobilizing resources, appealing to citizens’ newly perceived or
desired identities, and building up a modest level of counter-expertise against state-
dominated information” (Ho 2007, p. 189). As demonstrated in the campaigns to
preserve snub-nosed monkeys in Yunnan province and Tibetan antelope (Hildebrandt
and Turner 2009; Matsuzawa 2012), there has been increasing networking between
grassroots NGOs and journalists, government-sponsored NGOs, international
NGOs, and local people affected by developmental projects. The activists have
also been using rights-based discourses that emphasize individual property rights
and consumer rights to raise environmental awareness among the public.