Cybergate in ChinaErratic policy hinders
Internet censorship
By Eric Chau
Clicking into a homepage in the United States, local hackers may see a blackened background and a blue ribbon in one corner of the screen.
This is a sign of protest against the U.S. Communications Decency Act, prohibiting indecent materials on-line.
However, Chinese authorities have their own views on "indecent" materials, and they have ways to stop the flow of this information on the Internet.
Early this year, the Chinese Communist Party general office and State Council stated that "information on the Internet has been in disorder and the influx of pornographic and other harmful information has resulted in hazards."
"Harmful materials" are believed by analysts to include criticisms of the Chinese government sent by overseas dissidents and human rights groups.
According to the law on management of Internet access announced this year, all Internet servers are required to go through a small number of gateways administered by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications so as to "reinforce the Internet management and guarantee its healthy development".
Mr. Chan Chi Ming, information technology consultant of the Law On-Line Project at Hong Kong University, said the Chinese authorities have three strategies to impose censorship on Internet.
"They restrict the number of gateways to two, located in Beijing and Shanghai. Users must go through these gateways to access information overseas.
"Besides, Internet users have to register with the Public Security Bureau, and the criteria are very strict. The government can also block access to some sensitive web sites," he added.
There are only four service providers in China, so the government can manage the infrastructure and monitor messages.
Local Chinese authorities declined to comment on China's Internet policies, instead referring all questions to Mainland officials.
However, according to news reports, China has blocked access to several politically sensitive Internet web sites of human rights groups, foreign media outlets, Tibetan independence networks, and Taiwanese and Hong Kong democratic political organizations. If desired, they can even block access to sites with ordinary international news.
Mr. K. C. Tsang, management information systems manager of the Hongkong Standard, said, "It is not easy to control the Internet. It is hard to establish a common standard for censorship in different places, especially by the enactment of laws."
File servers are fixed in particular locations. The authorities can check and compile the names and addresses of users of sensitive sites.
According to Mr. Fung Kin Ming, a computer officer in the Information Technology Services Unit at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China is now adopting IP (Internet Protocol) blocking, which can block all content in a specific server.
Also, the University of Hong Kong's Mr. Chan said the Chinese government, from a technical point of view, cannot completely censor the Internet.
"The actual users and licensed users may not be the same people, and the number of web sites has been expanding quickly. Moreover, the authorities can hardly evaluate how much information has been censored," said Mr. Chan.
Dr. Jonathan J. H. Zhu, associate professor of English at the City University of Hong Kong, believes that the controls on Internet will fluctuate over time.
Dr. Zhu said: "Since China has adopted an open-door policy, Internet users have been exponentially expanding. When the Chinese authorities control the Internet and experience opposition from the business sector, censorship will be loosened."
He cited the June Fourth Incident, when facsimile machines were banned. However, the government is doing nothing now even though many people own one. Similarly, government policies will change in different situations with regard to the Internet.
One example of flexible policy occurred in September, when Chinanet removed limits on the number of Internet accounts in Shanghai.
