Profile of Prof. BI Yantao

BI Yantao (Mr.) is an independent observer, nonpartisan freelancer and communication professor based in mainland China. Born in Shandong Province in eastern China, Yantao received education in China, UK and Ireland. His major research areas are strategic  communication, political communication and discourse analysis.

Born into a farmer family, BI Yantao holds the firm belief that China needs a stronger civil society to ensure an improved relationship between the government and the people, to combat bureaucracy and corruption. That is why in recent years Yantao has been making every effort to help empower the grassroots organizations in China.

BI Yantao deems that political communication studies can benefit both the elites and the grassroots. To impart the knowledge and techniques he has accumulated these years, Yantao has been working as Director of Center for Communication Studies, Hainan University, China, since he founded the Center December 2004.

To promote exchange and cooperation among communication researchers, BI Yantao established Daizong Meditation Room at the foot of Mt. Taishan in 2008. As the first non-profit research center of its kind in China, Daizong Meditation Room is designed to promote the political communication studies in China and advance the democratization of the socialist country. It is open to all interested researchers over the world, free of charge.

To verify and enahnce his expertise, Yantao has been active in different kinds of social movement. Prof. BI is now Director for Asian Affairs, Global Unification International (GUI), an NGO headquartered in Australia. In the meantime, he works as a consultant for several other entities.

As a consistent advocate of freedom of expression in China, Yantao is a diligent writer. He is a contributing author of Global Voices Online. Meanwhile, he writes for dozens of influential Chinese websites and journals. As of Februrary 2013 he has published 10 books and more than 500 articles in print media of mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, UK, USA, Canada and Germany.

"Mastery of effective communication techinues is a prerequisite to realize our targets at lower costs.”

Truth About China's Civil Society

by BI Yantao, China

China is at a critical intersection. As a communication researcher, I am sure it is the high time to stand up and take whatever responsibility I can.

To a great extent, China's future will be shaped by its civil society. But what is the true situations China's civil society is trapped in? What are their hardships and expectations? What roles and functions should the civil society perform in China's development? How should China's current policies regarding the civil society be redesigned to ensure China's sustainable development?

To answer these questions, I am planning an independent research project from the perspective of political communication. My hypothesis is that China's civil society will grow at a greater pace in the near future, and that a stronger civil society will definitely speed up China's transition. I was hoping to travel around China to interview activists, academics, newsworkers and politicians, focusing on China's policies regarding NGOs, religion, minorities, news media, etc. , and on the interactions between the political society and the civil society in China.

If everything goes well, my project will start before this Chinese New Year. I am ready to take any unavoidable risk.

If you are interested in this project, if you are hoping to join us in any possible form , if you are willing to offer me any kind of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me via bytaishan@sina.com.