China.

The largest population in the world, the second largest economy, a double digit growth figure since the 80s, record foreign investment and a contender for world superpower. But is that Chinas real identity? Good afternoon, dear judges, audience and fellow contestants. I, Naomi Raphael, will be speaking against the topic. I believe that the dissemination of news via the internet is not dangerous, but instead, a massive boon to society, nations and the world at large. One of the worlds oldest civilizations, China has been waiting for its moment to shine, but what do journalists and economists reveal about the secretive country that keeps its glory at bay? A communist nation with gross human rights violations, a peasant population that has remained constant for centuries, a forced struggle for every worker to earn their bread, the internal ethics stain and corruption of its elite and governing body and the largest internet police network in the world. And the reason China is yet to awaken to a new world order? The simple but brutal lack of dissemination of news via the internet. Across the world, we have seen the awakening of nations and people fighting for what is theirs, the Arab spring, the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Occupy London movement, all of which has seen its birth and life amidst the single largest audience in the world, the internet. From a Facebook post to a web address that saw millions come together, it is the dissipation of news on the World Wide Web that is changing the face of this earth and the lives of people who trod upon it. Would China remain a communist nation if her public was allowed the same freedom on the internet? Would their plight remain hidden and suppressed if light could be shed on the real state of affairs? Amnesty International has noted that China has the largest number of imprisoned journalists and cyber dissidents in the world. Their offences range from communicating with online groups and signing online petitions, to calling for reform and an end to corruption. Take the rare example of Foxconn, a manufacturing plant in China that produces the iPhone. Workers are paid lower than minimum wage, work 12 hour shifts, arent allowed to leave, quit or take breaks, and are stuffed in dorms like sardines. And yet, we proudly turn our iPhones around to a sleek statement that says, Assembled in China. The only reason the world knows about such a place is because of now-imprisoned journalists who spread it through the web, but for a moment in time, light had been cast on such a dark place. Would china be the china it proclaims itself to be, if the propagation of news was allowed on the internet? Entwined with these revolutions, is the inherent dissatisfaction of citizens with their ruling bodies, governments inabilities to fulfill their promises and be transparent in the administration of their nations. And one particular source that has played an integral role in the revelation of these misdeeds is the internet, WikiLeaks being a prime example. WikiLeaks, like a number of news centers, has used the internet to reveal ground breaking facts and figures because it cleverly identified the numerous advantages of being an online news service-

In this new electronic environment, flat, paper-based articles can become multi-layered, crossreferenced, live resources with integral audio and visual material and links. The internet is the quickest and easiest way to grab attention, with the largest target audience reach among all media. With most of us constantly relying on our smart phones to get us through the day, it is a broadcasting tool that fits in perfectly with this technology dependent age. With live interviews, investigative stories, raw pictures, this casual approach makes news content relevant to a whole new generation of Net browsers who disdain the tie and serious high-brow news delivery. A number of news organizations increasingly are turning to social networking tools in their efforts to compete in a challenging and fast-changing media landscape. Today, journalists romance new communities by blogging, posting updates and stories onTwitter, YouTube and Facebook. Members of Twitter have even used Twitter to break stories before the mainstream media did; the first reports of China's Sichuan earthquake in May came from Twitter subscribers. The extraordinary impact of online news is not limited to worldly things alone. This fall, NASA's Veronica McGregor, the news manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, invented an anthropomorphized Twitter "personality" for the Mars/Phoenix Lander, providing regular mission updates and disclosing that Phoenix had actually discovered water and snow on Mars. "There were tears in people's eyes when they found out," McGregor says. It is this speed and flexibility of information exchange that represents probably the single most important benefit of news dissemination via the Internet. While this form of broadcasting does have some pitfalls, it is by and large, a tool for justice, awareness and growth. It is this innumerous body of possibilities that helps make news every day. And it is this hope and faith upon which the lives of people depend- a young Chinese boy who waits for the liberation of his peasant family, an Arab woman who is fighting for her rights, and a blue collar worker who wishes simply for his due. Thank you.