Web-control in China

[Maciamo]

China has an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 e-police watching over its 100,000,000 users. According to Newsweek, the Chinese government is more interested in preventing demonstrations than controlling information itself.

Newsweek : Big Brother Is Talking

Beijing's Web commissars have made a quantum leap in their efforts to tame the Internet. Much has been written already about Chinese censors' ability to monitor Net postings; to block or delete undesirable content, and to detain Netizens deemed to be troublemakers. The larger story is the degree to which China's e-police now proactively influence Web content in ways beneficial to the regime—and pre-empt people from organizing politically. The aim is not simply to stifle dissent or to control the free flow of information, but increasingly to shape public opinion in cyberspace. In fact, Chinese propagandists worry less about the Web as an information source than as a tool for mobilizing mass movements. "Most foreign analysts get it wrong," says Anne Stevenson-Yang, a Beijing-based Internet entrepreneur. "Political concern about the Internet is totally about social organization, not about information. It's how you act on the information you have."
...
That emphasis suggests authorities aim to avoid any repeat of last spring's unrest. Then, spontaneous bulletin-board postings and SMS text messages inspired thousands of youth to participate in anti-Japanese protests, catching riot police off-guard.
...
According to the OpenNet Initiative, a project involving researchers from Toronto, Harvard and Cambridge universities, China has "the most extensive and effective legal and technological systems for Internet censorship and surveillance in the world."

Much of that effort uses sophisticated "filtering." Chinese routers—most of them made by Cisco Systems—connect local area networks to ISPs and can be configured to block up to 750,000 Web sites. Keyword-filtering software installed on all Web-site hosting services automatically bar postings on Chinese online forums if the titles include certain buzzwords.

I am not sure how efficient automated filtering really is. Blocking websites by keywords would inevitably block much more than just the unwanted content.

[Ma Cherie]

Hmmm.......so what exactly is the Chinese government trying to censor? I mean what is their idea of unwanted content? Personally I don't know how they'll be able to accomplish this task.

[Index]

And what about the insidious cyber police who infiltrate chat sites and bulletin boards to spread Party propaganda and "win-over" possible dissidents...

[4321go]

There is something makes me uncomfortable~! I do not want to say more about it ~
It's about: I can not open "wiki" now !

[lexico]

Rome was not built overnight, but niether was it downfall. China was made over 32 millenia of recorded history; and the many jobs must be an employment project to temporarily deal with the national welfare as well as training its citizens to be more computer literate, comparable to the New Deal.

In the meantime, the Spring of Beijing is marching on !
China can only go up in economy, national defense, and liberalism under the new motto of "Return to Confucius !"

The reactionaries to revised, open communism can only excercise their last feeble struggle for a guarantee comparable to that of N.Korea, though of a less degree of intensity. The rest of the world could help by smoothing the transition; mindless attacks on the CCP is not wise imho. I wish the US would only step in with all-friendly intentions.

edit: Sorry about the type-o in 32 millenia; I had meant to say 3.2 millenia. In the meantime, I might add that looking at N.Korea's dilapidated state of general welfare of its citizenry, I think the PRC gov'l figures are well aware of the dangers of extreme information control. However putting Taiwan and Tibet issues at the forefront to undermine the aspirations of 1.3 billion Chinese individuals is not very helpful. According to Epoch Times more than 5 million CCP members have left the Party. I just think pushing and cornering the CCP might be a bad move. A steady flow of genuinely friendly messages towards China and its citizens would actually bring down the hightened guard as they have been unduely violated before. I hope the same would apply to N.Korea while at it.

[RockLee]

I think it has to do with the fact they want to keep China CHINESE, Chinese people have that nasty habit of clinging to traditions.(Don't know if this is good or bad though)Unless they are up to something, I don't see a reason why they should do all this and make a great effort to prevent the Chinese from getting access to the outsideworld and vice versa.In China I also noticed that people don't have that much privacy, if not at all.Even on the internet there is surveillance 24/7 The day I find out what China's agenda is, I'll be shot !

[bluubear]

*nod nod* totally agree here, lexico.

I believe quite a few countries (including US, Australia, etc. - I read somewhere) practice censorship in terms of Internet, but definitely no where near as extreme. Personally the thing I hate most about filtering is that it makes all the sites so slow to connect to... extremely frustrating -_-

Don't worry Rock =p you gotta be in China in the first place if that were to happen

As much as I disagree with internet censorship to such extreme... I must also say that I don't really want to see unrest erupt in China... but right now there are just so many organisations and individuals which may well contribute to that. There are many roads to Rome... I just hope for the safest one.

And quote again "Rome was not built overnight"~

[lastmagi]

It's very distressing, even to those who do not live in China but wish to see their residents able to enjoy actually being able to speak freely without being bullied (I hate bullies).

And- Here here lexico!

Hoping for the best for the Chinese. I think that the idea of political censorship is ultimately self-defeating, not matter how long it's gone on. Aldo Leopold, while admittedly speaking from a different context, said something along the lines that the role of a conqueror is self-defeating if he or she does not understand his nation. Thus, I find it regressive and for the worse to try to control other's thoughts.

[bossel]

According to Newsweek, the Chinese government is more interested in preventing demonstrations than controlling information itself.
[...]I am not sure how efficient automated filtering really is. Blocking websites by keywords would inevitably block much more than just the unwanted content.

That wouldn't explain why the block complete websites, like the news homepage of the BBC, unrelated to keywords. A bit stranger was that I could open the news homepage of CNN, but couldn't access a single news article. J-ref wasn't a problem, but I don't know if on any of the J-ref pages I opened was one of the un-Chinese keywords.

I think it has to do with the fact they want to keep China CHINESE, Chinese people have that nasty habit of clinging to traditions.

Don't think, that's the reason. It's simply a matter of clinging to power & controlling the masses.

[Dutch Baka]

Isnt China, that have the most Hackers in the world? okay, seeing how many people live in China, you could understand, but if you see how strickt they are with the i-net. how is it possible that there are so many Hackers?

Compairing to N-korea, China shouldn't be that bad with it.

[4321go]

Rome was not built overnight, but niether was it downfall. China was made over 32 millenia of recorded history; and the many jobs must be an employment project to temporarily deal with the national welfare as well as training its citizens to be more computer literate, comparable to the New Deal.

In the meantime, the Spring of Beijing is marching on !
China can only go up in economy, national defense, and liberalism under the new motto of "Return to Confucius !"

The reactionaries to revised, open communism can only excercise their last feeble struggle for a guarantee comparable to that of N.Korea, though of a less degree of intensity. The rest of the world could help by smoothing the transition; mindless attacks on the CCP is not wise imho. I wish the US would only step in with all-friendly intentions.

edit: Sorry about the type-o in 32 millenia; I had meant to say 3.2 millenia. In the meantime, I might add that looking at N.Korea's dilapidated state of general welfare of its citizenry, I think the PRC gov'l figures are well aware of the dangers of extreme information control. However putting Taiwan and Tibet issues at the forefront to undermine the aspirations of 1.3 billion Chinese individuals is not very helpful. According to Epoch Times more than 5 million CCP members have left the Party. I just think pushing and cornering the CCP might be a bad move. A steady flow of genuinely friendly messages towards China and its citizens would actually bring down the hightened guard as they have been unduely violated before. I hope the same would apply to N.Korea while at it.

Really nice word from you ~! which is very accurate! There are always some hostile force to be there~, which makes the CCP very cagey in many part of its social issue. And I think the U.S is always want to besiege China,and topple over the current Goverment(CCP) and prop up a new goverment which isdocile to them. And what is more ,　there are always social crisis and chaos company China in the ancient times. It is easy to make this country fall into chaos.

[nurizeko]

Im not happy on china's human right record, infact sometimes it makes me think the country could do with regime change :P, but....you cannot and shouldnt invade china or every other country just because they behave bad, give china time, and the better standards of living and general liberties afforded by an increasingly capitalistic, wealthly economy will bring change.

If it doesnt then the world is DOOM.ED.

[4321go]

The challenge for both Mr Bush and Mr Hu is to control their nationalists at home.
I don't know how the US goes~

But I know quite clearly that in China, the government close many numbers of
nationalists website. Few website can survive ,and one who, survive ,is now being strictly watched! And most of these website are built by personal.

It seens that China want "harmonious world"outside ,and "harmonious society" inside. It really do much effort. Though some people have less freedom to share their nationalists viewpoint.