The Economist, 16 March 1996, pp. 42-43. Asia and the Internet: Not too modern, please Hunched quietly over their terminals around the world, the mouse-clicking, keyboard-tapping denizens of the Internet have created quite a noise in Asia. The worldwide computer network is still young in the region, but already cyberspace resounds to the crashing of broken taboos, and collisions with the powers that be. In discussion groups on the Internet, you will find views never aired in the domestic media; about Malaysia, a call for the emigration of ethnic Chinese; about Indonesia, passionate pleas for East Timorese independence; about Thailand, jibes at the monarchy, which are a crime. On the World Wide Web, the fast-growing multimedia part of the network, everyone from Confucius to the Penthouse pet of the month seems to have a "home page". All of this confronts many Asian governments with an old dilemma in a new form. All want to be "modern". But many reject the notion that modernity encompasses the sort of political pluralism seen in the west. On the Internet modernity and pluralism go hand in hand. Hence the recent flurry of efforts by governments in the region to exert control over the Internet and overturn what they see as the American colonisation of cyberspace. The effort is complicated by the undoubted commercial potential ofthe Internet, and its future as a business tool. Most countries would prefer to do without the smut and the anti-government invective, but none wants to risk being left out. Fidel Ramos, president ofthe Philippines,whose press is freer than others in Asia, has his own home page, but so does the military junta that runs Myanmar's media like an Orwellian Ministry of Truth. The dilemma is most acute for Singapore. More than any other country in the region, it prides itself on being ahead of the technological game. Indeed, its economic success relies on a state-of-the-art infrastructure. By the end of the century the government hopes to have created an "intelligent island", with at least 95% of homes cabled for services like the Internet and interactive television. Already, the government has a big presence on the World Wide WebHt even provides links to a Board for Online Graffiti ("the only place in Singapore where graffiti are legal"). You can make your choice of virtual lavatory wall on which to scribble a message. More seriously, the World Chinese Business Network hopes to harness the Internet to the legendary "guanxi" or connections that drive overseas Chinese business. George Yeo, Singapore's information minister, is fluent in cyberbabble. "we will need a URL [universal resource locator] that is easy to remember," he told a meeting of his colleagues from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on March 7th. "we should also encourage hyperlinks to each other's web pages." But Singapore is also among the staunchest critics of unfettered individualism, and of western attempts to foist its political standards on Asia. Because its content remains dominated by westerners, the Internet can be seen as part of such an attempt. Every fanatic liberal and foulmouthed crank can air his heresies and obscenities. So Mr Yeo also warned his ASEAN colleagues that "the influx of objectionable materials via the new electronic media, if left unchecked, will undermine our values and traditions." He was speaking the day after Singapore had introduced "anti-pollution measures" to clean up the I nternet in Singapore. The three local "providers", offering access to the I nternet by a domestic telephone call, will be required to filter out offensive material. "Cybercafes" providing computers for customers to use the Internet will have to install filter software such as "Net Nanny" or "Surf Watch". But this is not just an antipornography drive like that seen in many countries. Organisations posting political or religious information on to the World Wide Web will need to register with the broadcasting authority. Technically, Singapore's effort to control the Internet will be complicated. Mr Yeo suggested it was feasible because all international telephone traffic reaches Singapore through one network, operated by Singapore Telecom. So the authorities are able to monitor anything being sent to Internet servers (who distribute material) in Singapore. Singaporeans could still dial abroad and get access to the uncensored Net. But that would be expensive -- prohibitively so for most people, especially if they wanted to download a pin-up, which can be frustratingly time-consuming. Mr Yeo stressed that Singapore did not intend to "stifle discussion". The only obligation on those engaging in political debate was to take a "certain responsibility and accountability" for their views. It was not clear how these requirements would apply to the Singaporean who responded to the speech by calling the minister a "pea-brained imbecile" on an Internet discussion group. Singapore's house-cleaning effort will be watched closely by other governments in the region. Of Singapore's 3m people, 100,000 already have Internet accounts, twice as many as in China (population 1.2 billion). Nevertheless, China has already gone a step further than Singapore, requiring all Internet users as well as providers to register. It too is looking at how to put a cordon sanitaire around the Internet. Like Myanmar and Vietnam, it is particularly concerned about the campaigning activities in cyberspace of exiled dissidents. Vietnam is seeking prevention rather than cure. The state-owned Internet provider, Netnam, does not as yet give subscribers access to the World Wide Web, just to e-mail services. Other ASEAN countries have so far preferred to be seen as Internet-friendly. Malaysia's deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, recently opened an exhibition about the Internet in Kuala Lumpur with a warning against censorship. "Let us not forget", he said, "that an informed citizenry is also a responsible citizenry." Similarly in Indonesia and Thailand, the Internet is largely unregulated. An Indonesian magazine, Tempo, banned in 1994 for upsetting the government, has just reappeared "on-line", which even the censors admit is perfectly legal. In the much freer intellectual climate of Thailand, the concern has been as much about sex as about politics. An Internet campaign has urged a boycott of Thai goods because of the prevalence of child prostitution in the country. And a photograph has been posted on the Internet purportedly showing a senior politician engaged in sexual congress with another man's wife. As the Internet gathers pace, so too will its impact on the political scene. InJanuary an article in Singapore's obsequiously pro-government Straits Times asked whether Singapore would "change the Internet", or the other way round. "A little of both," it concluded. But as the Internet free-for-all becomes more readily available to the population at large, other, more decorous, media may find it hard to ignore the challenge. The Straits Times itself may be among the first to feel the change. -----