II-8 Question: Some international organizations have accused China of conducting strict information censorship on the Internet and taking harsh steps to crack down on cyber-dissidents.” Are these accusations true? How will China manage online publishing?

A: These accusations are groundless. In fact, over the past years, the Chinese Government has enacted a series of regulations on the administration of Internet information service, with an aim to establish a comprehensive Internet administration framework. It contributes to the country's Internet service development and maintenance of order. According to statistics, by the end of 2006, China had a netizen population of 137 million, accounting for 10.5 percent of the total population, and there were about 1.3 million online forums. Thus, besides collecting information from the Internet, Chinese Internet surfers enjoy the freedom of expressing their opinions on blogs or through cyber chatting, while being able to read different opinions on these online forums.

Despite conveniences, the Internet has also brought about side effects like the easy spread of harmful information. In many countries parents have strongly urged their governments to take measures to ensure a clean cyber environment. China is no exception in this aspect. The Chinese Government has banned online contents involving pornography, violence and information disturbing to social stability within its legal framework. The Chinese Government's effort in developing, managing and using the Internet according to law gives little cause for criticism, as other governments, including those in Western countries, also have Internet-related censoring measures.

As Internet technologies develop at an amazing speed, government supervision measures and tools also face new challenges. Since online publishing is newly emerging, the Chinese Government is studying and formulating regulations on Internet publishing operations to maintain a healthy and dynamic cyber publishing environment.

(China.org.cn)