[selected.by.rael at rael-science.org: [rael-science] The great firewall of China]

[Eugen Leitl]

Source: bbc
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4587622.stm




The great firewall of China


In the space of about a decade, China's tech
development has raced ahead to catch up with some
of the most advanced countries in the West. But
there are still stark differences, finds Richard Taylor.

With a rapidly expanding online population, it is
tempting to see China as hurtling full speed
towards digital nirvana, but all is not quite what it seems.

Somewhere along the way the idea that the Chinese
people should be allowed to inform and be informed appears to have been lost.

China is proof that the net can be developed and strangled all at once.

Being online here is a distinctly hit and miss
experience - fine if you want to access mundane
content, but try to get into anything considered
even remotely sensitive by the government and it
soon starts grinding to a halt.

I tried accessing the BBC News website but to no
avail. A government official told me there must
be what he called "a technical problem".

In truth, those "technical problems" are
afflicting more and more information sites in
China, for example the open source encyclopaedia
Wikipedia, perhaps because it has fallen foul of
the government's recent declaration that news and
information in today's China should only be what
it calls "healthy" and "in the public interest".

One official from the internet publishing
department, Kuo Xiao Wei, admitted the
authorities consider the net a mixed blessing.

He said it abounds with pornography and gambling
sites, and while it can be a source of good
information, it also carries with it the
possibility of spreading rumour and misinformation.

"With 56 ethnic minorities, we can't risk one slandering another", he added.

-----
Amnesty International is aware of at least 64
cyber dissidents who are imprisoned right now
just for peacefully expressing their opinions
online, whether it's on an e-mail or a website
Steve Ballinger, Amnesty International
-----

So Chinese netizens find themselves surfing in
the shadow of the world's most sophisticated
censorship machine, which is now more menacing than ever.

There is now an estimated 30,000-strong internet
police force which, with the aid of
Western-provided technology, is dedicated to monitoring websites and e-mails.

On a technical level the five gateways which
connect China to the global internet filter
traffic coming into and going out of the country.

Keyword blocking technology - much of it provided
by western companies - is used to prevent access to offending sites.

Even the country's 110,000 internet caf?s are now
highly regulated and state-licensed, and all are
equipped with standard surveillance systems.

Self-censorship

Increasingly, though, the authorities are relying
on individuals to censor themselves or risk harsh
and well publicised penalties if they dare to challenge the establishment.

Steve Ballinger, of Amnesty International, says:
"Amnesty International is aware of at least 64
cyber dissidents who are imprisoned right now
just for peacefully expressing their opinions
online, whether it's on an e-mail or a website.

"Some of the offences they're accused of are
signing an online petition, sending information
to a foreign organisation, or disseminating information about the SARS
virus."

Corporate China is also expected to play an
active part in this self-censorship, keeping a close eye on content.

One website forum administrator was willing to
talk to me, but did not want to be identified.
Suffice to say, he is in no doubt what his job entails.

He said: "If you say anything against the
government we've got to delete it, no exception,
because it's a forum, it's a public place. If the
government finds anything against them in the
forum, that will jeopardise the company."

Finding a way

In spite of all this, many people here simply
refuse to be cowed and they are finding some
inventive ways to circumvent the restrictions.

The government doesn't know how to control the
blog thing. Next year maybe they'll be able to
but we'll find other ways of expressing ourselves
Michael Anti, free speech campaigner
One simple and effective way is to turn to other
forms of communication, like texting from mobiles
and instant messaging, which have proved
successful in distributing information quickly.

Blogging is also proving a hugely popular
alternative to websites, for individuals to find self-expression.

SOME PUBLIC WEB-BASED CIRCUMVENTION SERVICES
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites
Michael Anti has long been campaigning for free
speech. His blog is renowned as being one of
China's true sources of information.

He believes the cat and mouse game between the
government and its people is set to continue.

"The government doesn't know how to control the
blog thing. Next year maybe they'll be able to
but we'll find other ways of expressing ourselves."

Equipped with the right know-how, some Chinese
are already using more sophisticated technologies
to beat the authorities at their own game.

Advanced software for example allows users
anonymously to redirect their internet activity
through a third-party computer known as a proxy
server, which is out of reach of the Chinese authorities.

----- End forwarded message -----
--
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
______________________________________________________________
ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820            http://www.ativel.com
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