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Chapter 2 Literature Review
Internet in China was established in 1987. On 20 September 1987, under the guidance of professors Wang Yun Feng of Beijing Institute of Computer Application and Werner Zorn of University of Karlsruhe, West Germany, the first connection was established between China and the external world. Under the development in more than twenty years, internet has become an emerging cultural phenomenon in China like in the west. Internet development was one of the important subjects for government policy implementation and national development in China. Meanwhile, the “Tenth Five-Year Program” was regarded as the blue print for “overall deployment of China’s reform for opening and construction for modernization”. In the literature review of the chapter, the author explores relevant literatures in China’s internet policy and regulation as well as the relationship between internet and democracy to gradually expand the research framework of this study, so as to provide theoretical basis of hypothesis.
China's Policy and Regulation on Internet Development
Led by the waves of National Information Infrastructure and Global Information Infrastructure (NII & GII), China promoted its information development strategic, which did not follow the path of western countries – industrialization and then informatization, neither did it directly boost information technology by skipping industrialization. Rather, taking the advantage of backwardness, it combined industrialization and information technology to upgrade industrial structure and realized the leap of national economy. Thus, internet became the core of China’s information technology development.
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I. The Origin of Internet in China
On 20 April 1994, China’s first 64K international line was connected to the world-wide internet. China formally entered world-wide internet and became one of the nations that possess full-featured internet.
Facing the major trend of inter-network connection, China opened its business portal for national survival, after experiencing the chaos of extreme left in the ten-year culture revolution, and initiatively connected itself with the world economy.
Moreover, to strengthen socialist market economy, China launched internet infrastructure. In 1987, Professor Qian Tian Bai sent out China’s first email, opening the prelude to China’s internet.1
With China government's investment in network infrastructure, coupled with continued influx of foreign capital after the opening reform, the Chinese people’s standards of living and knowledge have improved dramatically. The number of internet users has also surged over the years. The gradual rise of China’s network has led the emergence of a new domain of speech in China’s society. In receiving messages on the internet, China’s network users also participate in and interact with the discussions and express their opinions, especially by political discussion and criticism on national affairs. That has resulted in impact that cannot be neglected on the leadership authority of the CCP.
II. China’s Internet Development
The CCP indicated in the report of the seventeenth people’s representative conference: it insists that all rights of the nation belong to the people; it should expand
1 Xinhuanet News: China's Internet Domain Road, Publish December 13th 2002,
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people’s orderly participation of politics from all levels and in all areas, mobilize and organize the people to manage national affairs and social affairs as well as economic and cultural undertakings according to law. Apparently, internet has become a means for the public to participate in politics. However, one problem that can not be overlooked is that some local officials do not adapt to the advent of an internet era, some turn a blind eye to the public network, and some even forcefully suppress internet speech by administrative means.
On 30 June 2009, a survey by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) showed that information plurality and democracy for the China internet users had created challenges to the governance of the CCP. The main channels on which China internet users rely to access to information (messages) are search engines and network news. The search engines are important entrances for users to access to information and have profound impact on user behaviors. Data showed 79%
utilization rate of network news. An investigation found that, through the Beijing Olympics, the Wen-Chuan Earthquake, and other major news events, network has become one of the most convenient tools in watching news.
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Figure 1: China’s internet population in December 2011
Source: CNNIC
On 16 January 2012, CNNIC published the “29th Statistical Report on Internet Development in China.” The data showed that, as of December 2011, netizens in China reached 513 millions. Internet penetration was further improved, reaching 38.3%. The report showed due to the expansion of 3G business, China experienced rapid growth in the number of mobile phone users and it reached 356 millions, accounting for 69.3% of total Internet users. Mobile internet has become a new growth point for internet users, an increase of 52.85 million people a year. Ranked in top five on utilization of network applications in 2011 were search engine (79.6%), instant messaging (79.4%), web music (78.7%), web news (74.7%), and blog space (65.5%). Where increase in commercial trading applications was a “dark horse”, the fastest-growing was the scale of users in business transaction applications, with average annual growth rate reaching 68%. In 2011, transactions of online shopping
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market in China will be reached 760 billions RMB. The online shopping market in 2011 would usher in greater expansion to 193 millions users. Table 1 shows 2010-2011 China Internet Development Statistics.
Table 1 2010-2011 China Internet Development Statistics
Data time 2010/6 2011/6 2011/12
Internet population 420 millions 485 millions 513 millions
Size of broadband internet users
364 millions 389 millions 391 millions
Mobile Internet population
276 millions 317 millions 356 millions
Source: adapted from CNNIC for the present study
III. China’s Internet Policy and Speech Norms
Network policy interacts with speech regulation. On one hand, network policy intervenes in network speech; on the other hand, the intervention causes rebound of network speech against network policy. The two are in a relation of pulling each other.
Facing internet development, how China shifts the role and capacity of network policy and speech, how it weighs the equilibrium between development and control with the relationship between China’s network policy and speech. The following summarizes relevant literatures and describes these points respectively.
China government always regards the media as “national apparatus of ideology”
and closely monitors the media from newspapers, radio, to television. Although internet many characteristics out of the reach of traditional media, the government,
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by means of technical regulation, still controls outbound connection from domestic users and inbound contents from foreign countries.
The orientation of policy could be induced from the internet policy specified by the CCP. The CCP, having emphasized ruling by laws in recent years, has legislated rules to control internet. More than twenty regulations have been cooked back and forth, with main contents in national guidance and security, to stop harmful information against the Chinese Communist regime and the nation2.
In order to facilitate the control of domestic ideology as necessary, the CCP effectively blockades foreign information by restraining public media. However, the emergence of internet provided people in China a new communication tools and information platform. Nonetheless, the CCP did not set laissez-faire flow of network information and speech, and responded with implementation of associated network control, including development of various regulations, establishment of network police for investigation of illegal internet contents, and installation of information screening system3.
Presently, the Chinese communist regime is actively developing Chinese computer programs and internet system as countermeasures against easy access of China’s information system. In the “Tenth Five-Year Program”, the Chinese communist regime set up blue prints of continuous information infrastructure. On 08 December 2009, Wang Chen, director of the Council Information Office of China, expressed the need of new demands in adaptation of new changes to respond the challenge of network security and strengthen the awareness of network security from
2 Wang, Ya Hui (2002), “A Study of Chin’s Internet Control – Exploration by Political Dimensions”, master’s thesis, Graduate Institute of Mainland China Studies, Chinese Culture University, p74
3 Cai, Shang Zhe (2008), “Analysis of Citizen’s Participation in Internet Forums in China – the
‘Xiamen PX Project’ as an Example”, master's thesis, Graduate Institute of Political Economy,
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the altitude of national security, information security, and cultural security that China would promote information flow and maintain network security, enhance influence and credibility of network media, construct healthy and civilized as well as safe and orderly network environment, and walk out a way for inter-internet development with Chinese characteristics4.
With the booming of internet in China, people were brought with new speech space. Not only did internet liberate long-time suppressed freedom of speech, but it also provided a major driving force for the formation of civil society in China. Facing various difficult issues created after the internet development, the China leadership regime had not set it laissez-faire for freedom of development due to fear of losing the important battle ground of public speech on internet. Rather, it made the internet space as a means and another tool of announcing public policies to extend its territory of political power. Particularly, the main editors of various internet blogs and forums should be noted in a timely manner to delete illegal and immoral statements. If the obligation was not fulfilled, service providers should bear legal responsibility.
Hence, it is appropriate to develop policies for the Chinese public sentiment.
Although China has preliminarily formed a law system with regulations on freedom of expression based on Constitution, the National Security Act, the National Secrets Law, Computer and Information System Security Protection Ordinance, Interim Provisions on the Management of Electronic Publications, and Criminal Law, the system is not complete. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance legislation and develop correspondent policies under the premises that citizens are fully protected with freedom of speech and the right shall not be abused, such that the government has a
“legal basis” in addressing emerging issues and from the legal aspects protects
4quoted from Economic Information Daily, 08 December 2009
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citizens for the exercise of freedom of speech online and maintains other relevant rights for the others.
Overview the China's Internet policy orientation, we can conclude that a concept is to develop and control in parallel. Through the layers of strict management, control and check, the Internet can be guided to the direction of development in its planning and norms. The decree announced time-intensive, the speed and quantity can be said is the only one in the world.