The Chinese Government's announcement on May 4 of the establishment of the State Internet Information Office drew widespread attention at home and abroad. Why has China set up this watchdog? What are its main responsibilities? People's Daily spoke to an official with the office about these questions. Excerpts from the interview follow:

Progress and problems

Since China gained access to the Internet in 1994, its Internet industry has undergone rapid development. The number of Internet users in China has approached 500 million, making China's Internet literacy rate higher than the world average. The Internet is widely used in China. It has become an important infrastructure for economic and social development as well as an influential new media outlet providing a wide range of information. It plays an increasingly greater role in ensuring people's rights to know, to participate in decision-making in public affairs, to express themselves and to supervise public administration. It also helps improve their cultural lives. The explosive growth of the Internet industry in China, the world's largest developing country, has shocked the world. Facts have shown the Chinese Government's policies on the Internet industry are correct, effective and conducive to the development and prosperity of the industry.

Despite remarkable progress, China is confronting new challenges in its Internet industry. The Internet has given impetus to China's economic and social development and provided convenience for people's work and life. But it has spawned serious problems as well. These include online dissemination of false information, malicious astroturfing, pornography, fraud, gambling and illegal public relations campaigns. The problems have not only adversely affected the healthy development of the Internet industry, but also jeopardized users' interests, sparking strong reactions from the public.

Efforts to strengthen the supervision of online information are indispensable to the sustainable development of the Internet industry. These efforts are welcomed by Internet users. Development and supervision are two sides of the same coin--development calls for supervision, while supervision aims to ensure sound and rapid development.

It has been a consistent policy of the Chinese Government that China should do a good job in building, using and managing the Internet. The establishment of the State Internet Information Office is an important measure designed to put this policy into practice. The office will facilitate China's efforts to develop and administer the Internet. By coordinating different government agencies, it will help the country shape an Internet governance system integrating law enforcement, administrative supervision, industry self-discipline, technical support, public supervision and education. With the help of this office, the government will be able to exercise governance over cyberspace more effectively.

Internet governance

The responsibilities of the State Internet Information Office include:

· Implementing government policies on Internet communication and promoting the development of a legal system governing Internet communication;

· Guiding, coordinating and supervising related government agencies' administration of online information;

· Licensing and supervising online news services and other related services;

· Guiding related government agencies' planning for online cultural industries such as online gaming, online video and audio businesses and online publication;

· Coordinating related government agencies' efforts to promote the healthy development of online culture;

· Making plans for the development of major news websites;

· Organizing and coordinating online government publicity programs;

· Investigating and disciplining websites that violate laws and regulations;

· Providing direction to relevant government agencies' efforts to urge telecom companies, Internet service providers, and domain name registration and service institutions to improve basic Internet services such as domain name registration, IP address distribution, website registration and Internet access; and

· Guiding the work of Internet information offices at local levels.

The State Council will not set up a new team for the State Internet Information Office, but will have staff from the State Council Information Office work for the newly established office. The office will perform its duties under public scrutiny, while doing its best to improve its performance.

China has been committed to the reform and opening-up policy since its adoption more than 30 years ago. It has created an open environment for the development of the Internet as well as an attractive investment climate for this industry. Since China's accession to the WTO in 2001, in particular, many foreign Internet companies have established a presence in China. China has taken an active part in international exchanges and cooperation on Internet development. By holding events such as the China-U.S. Internet Industry Forum and the China-UK Internet Roundtable, China has carried out in-depth exchanges with other countries and shared with them its latest technology developments.

Similar to most other countries, including developed ones, China administers the Internet according to law. China's laws in this regard are open and transparent, with the purpose of safeguarding information security, protecting people's interests and ensuring the development and prosperity of the industry. A fully open environment, administration according to law, and international exchanges and cooperation are the hallmarks of China's Internet industry.

China's administration of the Internet is legally justified and conforms to international norms. Many countries deal with illegal online information through legal and technical measures as well as industry self-discipline. In recent years, many countries have established Internet watchdog agencies to regulate the Internet. A few critics, however, have turned a blind eye to these facts and pointed a finger at China for its Internet administration. They have made groundless accusations with the ulterior motive of tainting China's image. China will continue to follow its opening-up policy, take part in international exchanges on the Internet industry and discuss strategies for the future development of the Internet with other countries.

The State Internet Information Office will uphold principles of making full use of the Internet, promoting its development in a scientific way, administering it according to law and ensuring cyber security. It will implement the government's policies on the Internet in keeping with China's economic and social development, while conducting research on the development of the Internet. It will also help promote the sustainable development of the Internet industry, thus allowing the Internet to play a bigger role in boosting economic development, disseminating information and improving people's cultural lives.