Alice Liu writes her opinion for Asia Times:
Despite having a reputation in the West as trailblazing citizen journalists, many of China’s young bloggers are seen by Chinese as egocentric, showy and self-serving. Most come from the “me generation”, a derisive term for youths born after the nation began its strictly enforced one-child policy in 1979.
[…]Many bloggers from the “me generation” are just like Zola. They may appear rebellious, and committed to exposing scandals, but they do this mainly for self-satisfaction or fame. The majority of these bloggers are not politically adventurous, and most, like Zola, won’t criticize the communist authorities. In short, they are apolitical.
[…] A new craze among young Chinese bloggers is T-Shirts with “democracy” written across the top in bold red and white letters, but it is only for fun. These digital boys and girls are not really serious about their pursuit of so-called “democracy” in China. Otherwise, they might have thought of some better way of doing it. Some, probably from the slightly older generation, stay low key on the Internet, so it is meaningful when they do stand up and say something. But none of the “me generation” has experienced any of the recent traumas in Chinese history, so perhaps it is difficult for them to understand the feelings of people who have gone through those tragic events.
