China: July 7, 2002

Archives

China now has some 35 million people using the Internet and this is making the government very nervous. Most people access the net via Internet cafes.. There are some 200,000 of these in the country, of which 77 percent are not registered (making them vulnerable to police demands for bribes to avoid closure.) The government is now demanding that all the legal cafes re-register and install filtering software that will block user access to over 500,000 foreign websites considered politically incorrect for Chinese citizens. ISPs are being pressured to engage in more self-censorship, meaning they are expected to watch carefully what goes on in chat rooms and web sites hosted by the ISP. The government is particularly upset at the speed with which news spreads on the Internet and the successful use of the net by dissident groups. The government feels it has nothing to lose and something to gain by at least trying to censor the web. China realizes that it cannot suppress the web, as the Internet has become essential for keeping Chinese technical experts up to date, and more businesses, and even government agencies, are using the web to conduct their affairs.

 

Article Archive

China: Current 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 


X

ad
0
20

Help Keep Us Soaring

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage. A contribution is not a donation that you can deduct at tax time, but a form of crowdfunding. We store none of your information when you contribute..
Subscribe   Contribute   Close