Annual Report on the Development of New Media

　　Earlier this week, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released the 2013 Annual Report on the Development of New Media.

 

　　As one of China's most popular social media platforms, the findings on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, has aroused the most discussion.

 

　　A) About Weibo Users:

 

　　The report concludes that Weibo users have 3 "lows" - low age, low level of education and low income.

 

　　Details:

 

　　90 million of Weibo's users are in their 20s, accounting¹ for 29 percent of total, making it the largest age group. 26 percent of users are in their teens while 25 percent are in their 30s. This means that 80 percent of all Weibo users are under the age of 40.

 

　　CASS also found that 75 percent of Weibo users have only reached the highest education level of high school study, or even lower.

 

　　The report also points out that the Weibo users aren't making much money. 92 percent of them earn less than 5000 Yuan a month, and the majority of them are not making any money. This is not surprising, since 94 million of the Weibo users are students.

 

　　Before any analysis is given to the actual meaning behind the figures in the report, there's already some criticism, mostly from Weibo users themselves, about the accuracy of the report.

 

　　Bloggers:

 

　　"Weibo has just become popular in China for a few years, so of course the majority of the users are students or graduates. The data can't prove anything."

 

　　"Even if 92 percent of users earn less than 5000 Yuan, it doesn't mean they have a low income. According to the National Statistic² Bureau, in 2012, the average monthly income for urban residents was around 2200 Yuan. In some cities, 5000 Yuan means white-collar work."

 

　　B) About rumors³

 

　　Details:

 

　　More than a third of online rumors are spread on Weibo, with those spread on Sina Weibo possessing a far wider reach than those on other Weibo platforms.

 

　　Entertainment rumors accounted for the highest percentage (17 percent) of total Internet rumors, followed by rumors about public security (16 percent) and people's livelihoods⁴ (11 percent).

 

　　On average 1.8 rumors are reported by the media daily.

 

　　Of the 100 hot issues on Weibo, one-third had been targeted by rumormongers. Last March, the onslaught of rumors about the Bo Xilai case meant that Sina and Tencent had to shut down the Weibo comment function for 3 days.

 

　　Although Sina Weibo has set up a channel to refute false rumors, only 32 rumors were refuted in 2012.

 

　　C) About anti-corruption⁵

 

　　Details:

 

　　According to the report, the contribution of China's new media in revealing corruption has far exceeded that of traditional newspapers and television, practically doubling it.

 

　　In 2011, 50 incidences of corruption were exposed on Weibo first. In last November and December, 8 officials were investigated in relation to these cases.

 

　　Most of the cases concerned officials, regarding abuses of power, violations⁶ on regulations and protocol⁷, infidelity and other ethical⁸ issues.

1 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

2 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

3 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

7 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

8 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。