DATE=8/6/98
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-41093
TITLE=CHINA / INTERNET
BYLINE=GRACE CUTLER
DATELINE=HONG KONG
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: IN CHINA, THE WORLD-WIDE WEB IS AN INCREASINGLY POWERFUL
INFORMATION TOOL, THAT HAS BECOME ESPECIALLY USEFUL FOR
DISSIDENTS. BUT AS GRACE CUTLER REPORTS FROM HONG KONG, HUMAN
RIGHTS GROUPS SAY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS IMPLEMENTED WAYS TO
CONTROL THE FLOW OF BANNED NEWS AND INFORMATION INTO THE COUNTRY.
TEXT: THE INTERNET IN CHINA MAY BE ONLY THREE-YEARS OLD, BUT
ALREADY IT IS BEING WIDELY USED FOR NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND
TO CONDUCT BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS. ONE-POINT-FOUR-MILLION PEOPLE
USE THE INTERNET, AND BY THE YEAR 2002 ITS IS ESTIMATED
11-POINT-FIVE-MILLION USERS WILL BE LOGGING ONTO THE NET.
IN THE COUNTRY WITH THE WORLD'S LARGEST POPULATION, THE BEIJING
GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESSES ARE SEEING AN AWESOME POTENTIAL AND ARE
CULTIVATING THIS BURGEONING INDUSTRY .
AS TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES MAKE COMPUTERS CHEAPER AND FASTER,
THE ABILITY TO CONTROL THE FLOW OF INCOMING INFORMATION HAS
BECOME HARDER. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CANNOT EASILY BLOCK
PRO-DEMOCRACY WRITINGS OR UNFAVORABLE NEWS.
FRANK LU OF THE HONG KONG BASED INFORMATION CENTER OF HUMAN
RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT IN CHINA, SAYS MANY DISSIDENTS
RELY ON THE INTERNET TO GET DAILY INFORMATION NOT ACCESSIBLE
THROUGH OTHER MEANS.
// LU ACT //
IT IS VERY COMMON FOR DISSIDENTS IN THE MAINLAND TO USE
THE INTERNET TO GET INFORMATION, SUCH AS VERY FAMOUS
DISSIDENTS, XU WEN-LI, REN WAN-DIN, AND QIN YUNG-MIN AND
EVERYDAY E-MAIL AND THEY GET MANY, MANY UPDATES AND VERY
IMPORTANT NEWS.
// END ACT //
MR. LU SAYS THE GOVERNMENT IS DETERMINED TO PREVENT THE USE OF
THE INTERNET AS A TOOL TO CHALLENGE COMMUNIST PARTY AUTHORITY.
AS AN EXAMPLE, HE NOTES THE CASE OF LIN HAI, A COMPUTER SOFTWARE
COMPANY MANAGER IN SHANGHAI, WHO WAS ARRESTED FOR PROVIDING
30-THOUSAND CHINESE E-MAIL ADDRESSES TO A U-S BASED INTERNET
DEMOCRACY MAGAZINE. NEXT MONTH, MR. LIN WILL FACE CHARGES OF
INCITING THE OVERTHROW OF STATE POWER. SIMILAR CHARGES WERE
LODGED AGAINST FORMERLY IMPRISONED PRO-DEMOCRACY LEADERS, WAN DAN
AND WEI JING SHENG.
THE INTERNET IS HIGHLY REGULATED IN CHINA. THE GOVERNMENT HAS
SET STRICT GUIDELINES FOR INTERNET SERVICE AND ACCESS PROVIDERS.
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION COMING INTO THE COUNTRY IS FUNNELED
THROUGH INFORMATION CHANNELS CALLED GATEWAYS, WHICH ALLOW IT TO
BE MONITORED OR BLOCKED.
BUT A SENIOR ANALYST AT INTERNATIONAL DATA CORPORATION, PETE
HITCHEN, SAYS THERE ARE MANY MORE WAYS TO GET AROUND THE SYSTEM
THAN THERE ARE TO BLOCK CONTENT.
SOMETIMES METHODS FOR BYPASSING THE GATEWAYS ARE EVEN HUMOROUS,
SUCH AS DESIGNATING AN INTERNET SITE BY PICKING UP ON THE HABIT
OF SOME CANADIANS TO SPRINKLE THE SYLLABLE "EH" THROUGHOUT THEIR
CONVERSATION FOR EMPHASIS.
// HITCHEN ACT //
ONE WAY THAT IS COMMONLY KNOWN AS CANADIANIZING CONTENT.
THIS IS, FOR INSTANCE, IF THERE IS A SITE CALLED
DEMOCRACY.COM. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SEES IT, THEY SAY
ALL RIGHT WE ARE BLACK LISTING THAT SITE. BUT WHAT THE
PROVIDERS DO IS THAT THEY PUT DEMOCRACY 'EH' DEMOCRACY
E-H.COM AND OF COURSE THAT DOES NOT GET BLACKLISTED AND
THE PEOPLE WITHIN CHINA CAN QUITE EASILY PICK UP THESE
SITES.
// END ACT //
TO STEM THE FLOW OF PRO-DEMOCRACY MATERIALS AND OTHER SENSITIVE
SUBJECT MATTER, SUCH AS PORNOGRAPHY, THE CHINA-WIDE WEB HAS BEEN
INTRODUCED. OFFICIALS ARE PROMOTING THE SYSTEM FOR USERS IN
CHINA.
MR. HITCHEN SAYS THE DATA ON THE CHINA-WIDE WEB VARIES FROM
MATERIAL FOUND ON THE WORLD-WIDE WEB.
// HITCHEN ACT //
THE TYPE OF INFORMATION AND RANGE OF INFORMATION FLOWING
AROUND WITHIN THE CHINA-WIDE WEB WOULD BE VERY WHOLESOME
VERY GOVERNMENT ORIENTATED SORT OF PROMOTING INDUSTRY
ETC. AND OBVIOUSLY THAT DIFFERS WILDLY FROM WHAT
CONTENT YOU CAN SEE ON THE COMMERCIAL WORLD-WIDE WEB.
// END ACT //
WHILE OFFICIALS SEE THE CHINA-WIDE WEB AS SUPPORTING GOVERNMENT
POLICIES AND HELPING TO INSURE STABILITY. BUT CRITICS OF SUCH AN
INSULATED SYSTEM SAY IT NOT ONLY STEMS THE FREE FLOW OF
INFORMATION, BUT COULD ALSO HURT CHINA ECONOMICALLY, PUTTING
USERS AT A DISADVANTAGE BY BARRING DATA THAT COULD HELP PROMOTE
BUSINESS. (SIGNED)
NEB/GC/FC/RAE
06-Aug-98 7:15 AM EDT (1115 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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