Internet censorship in mainland China:

Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. In accordance with these laws, more than sixty Internet regulations have been made by the People's Republic of China (PRC) government, and censorship systems are vigorously implemented by provincial branches of state-owned ISPs, business companies, and organizations.^[1]^[2]

Most national laws of the People's Republic of China do not apply to the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong or Macau. There are no known cases of the Chinese authorities censoring critical political or religious content in those territories.

The escalation of the government's effort to neutralize critical online opinion comes after a series of large anti-Japanese, anti-pollution, and anti-corruption protests, many of which were organized or publicized using instant messaging services, chat rooms, and text messages. The size of the Internet police is estimated at more than 30,000.^[3] Critical comments appearing on Internet forums, blogs, and major portals such as Sohu and Sina usually are erased within minutes.

As of March 31, 2008, China has unblocked access to some Internet Web sites, including non-politically sensitive parts of English Wikipedia, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) protested that ongoing blocking "would reflect very poorly" on the host nation;^[4] subsequently, the Technology Ministry said that there would continue to be controls, and it was unclear what the final list of prohibited Web sites would be.^[5]

Enforcement

Banning appears mostly uncoordinated and ad hoc, with some sites blocked, yet similar sites allowed or even blocked in one city and allowed in another.^[6] The blocks have often been lifted for special occasions. For example, The New York Times was unblocked when reporters in a private interview with Jiang Zemin specifically asked about the block and he replied that he would look into the matter. During the APEC summit in Shanghai during 2001, normally-blocked media sources such as CNN, NBC, and the Washington Post suddenly became accessible. Since 2001, the content controls have been further relaxed on a permanent basis, and all three of the sites previously mentioned are now accessible from mainland China. In fact, most foreign news Web sites are accessible,^{[citation needed]} though a small number (including the Chinese-language service of BBC News) remain blocked.

Mainland China agencies frequently issue regulations about the Internet, but these often are not enforced or are ignored^{[citation needed]}. One major problem in enforcement is determining who has jurisdiction over the Internet, causing many bureaucratic turf battles within the PRC government, among various ministries, and between central and local officials. The State Council Information Office has the mandate to regulate the Internet, but other security agencies in mainland China have a say as well.

Some legal scholars have pointed out that the frequency at which the PRC government issues new regulations on the Internet is a symptom of their ineffectiveness, because the new regulations never make reference to the previous set of regulations, which appear to have been forgotten.

Golden Shield Project

The Golden Shield Project (Chinese: 金盾工程; pinyin: jīndùn gōngchéng) is owned by Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China (MPS). It started in 1998, began the process in November 2003, and the first part of the project passed the national inspection on 16 November, 2006 in Beijing. According to MPS, it is to construct a communication network and computer information system for police to improve their capability and efficiency. According to China Central Television (CCTV), up to 2002, the preliminary work of the Golden Shield Project cost US$800 million (equivalent to RMB 6,400 million or €640 million).^[7]

The Golden Shield Project is part of what is sometimes known outside of mainland China as the Great Firewall of China (in reference both to its role as a network firewall and to the ancient Great Wall of China). The system blocks content by preventing IP addresses from being routed through and consists of standard firewall and proxy servers at the Internet gateways. The system also selectively engages in DNS poisoning when particular sites are requested. The government does not appear to be systematically examining Internet content, as this appears to be technically impractical.^[8]

Researchers at the University of California, Davis and at the University of New Mexico have asserted, however, that the Great Firewall is not a true firewall since banned material sometimes is able to pass through several routers or through the entire system without being blocked.^[9]

In September 2000, the State Council Order No. 292 created the first content restrictions for Internet content providers. China-based Web sites cannot link to overseas news Web sites or carry news from overseas media without separate approval. Only “licensed print publishers” have the authority to bring out news on-line. Non-licensed Web sites that wish to broadcast news may only publish information already released publicly by other news media. These sites must obtain approval from state information offices and from the State Council Information Agency. Article 14 of this Order gives Chinese officials full access to any kind of sensitive information they wish: “ […] an IIS provider must keep a copy of its records for 60 days and furnish them to the relevant state authorities upon demand in accordance to the law.” Finally, article 15 officially establishes an online dictatorship: “IIS providers shall not produce, reproduce, release, or disseminate information that: […] endangers national security, […]is detrimental to the honor of the state, […] undermines social stability, the state’s policy towards religion, […] other information prohibited by the law or administrative regulations”. Article 12 mentions that “content providers are responsible for ensuring the legality of any information disseminated through their services”.

Technical information

Censored content

Research into mainland Chinese Internet censorship has shown that censored websites included, before the 2008 Summer Olympics:

From the above list, the websites of the Voice of America, BBC News, Yahoo! Hong Kong, and the Chinese Wikipedia are currently (17 August 2008) unblocked.

Blocked websites are indexed to a lesser degree, if at all, by some Chinese search engines, such as Baidu and Google China. This sometimes has considerable impact on search results.^[18] According to a Harvard study, at least 18,000 websites are blocked from within mainland China.^[19] According to The New York Times, Google has set up computer systems inside China that try to access Web sites outside the country. If a site is inaccessible, then it is added to Google China's blacklist.^[20] However, once (if) unblocked, the websites will be reindexed.

2008 Olympics

Initially, the Chinese government, the IOC and Jacques Rogge had stated that Internet access would not be censored at the Olympic Village press center.^[21] However, journalists that arrived at the press center after its opening on 25 July found that sites containing politically sensitive matter were inaccessible and learned that the IOC had quietly agreed to "some of the limitations."^[21] In response Sun Weide, the Chinese spokesman, indicated that the media will have "convenient and sufficient" access to the Internet.^[21] The censorship at the press center added to a growing skepticism about the claims of the government that it would improve its record on human rights.^[21] The "broken promise" was condemned by Reporters Without Borders who pointed out that about 20,000 foreign journalists would be directly affected.^[22] On August 1, 2008, Reuters reported that Internet restrictions would be lifted for reporters covering the Olympics.^[23] Reporters Without Borders subsequently confirmed that its website, except for the Chinese version, was accessible for the first time in China since 2003. The Chinese version of the website is still blocked.^[24]

IOC press chief Kevan Gosper admitted that, "I regret that it now appears BOCOG has announced that there will be limitations on Web site access during Games time. I also now understand that some IOC officials negotiated with the Chinese that some sensitive sites would be blocked on the basis they were not considered Games related."^[25]

On August 2, 2008, the Associated Press reported that although Chinese organizers unblocked some sites at the request of the IOC, others remained censored for journalists covering the Summer Games. Even though Chinese officials and high-ranking IOC members have repeatedly said there would be no censorship on the Internet for accredited journalists covering the games, many sites the Chinese government objects to, for example, the spiritual movement Falun Gong, are blocked. The sites being blocked seem to change daily. Some key words always draw blank screens. Sites that host thousands of blogs are also routinely blocked.^[26]

Locking data centers

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China ordered all ISPs to lock down their data centers from 1-25 August 2008.^[27] During this time no one can enter data centers to do maintenance. Sites with illegal information are blocked automatically. Authorities stated it was to ensure data security, to prevent hostile personnel from entering data centers and adding illegal information.^[27]
ISP/IDCs have sent "lockdown notices" to customers.^[28]
Companies have received orders stating that from 1-25 August 2008:

Self-censorship

Internet censorship in the PRC has been called "a panopticon that encourages self-censorship through the perception that users are being watched."^[9] The enforcement (or threat of enforcement) of censorship creates a chilling effect where individuals and businesses willingly censor their own communications to avoid legal and economic repercussions.

Search engines

One part of the block is to filter the search results of certain terms on Chinese search engines. These Chinese search engines include both international ones (for example, yahoo.com.cn and Google China) as well as domestic ones (for example, Baidu). Attempting to search for censored keywords in these Chinese search engines will yield few or no results. Google.cn will display the following at the bottom of the page: "According to the local laws, regulations and policies, part of the searching result is not shown."

In addition, a connection containing intensive censored terms may also be closed by The Great Firewall, and cannot be reestablished for several minutes. This affects all network connections including HTTP and POP, but the reset is more likely to occur during searching.

Before the search engines censored themselves, many search engines had been blocked, namely Google and AltaVista.^[29] Technorati, a search engine for blogs, has been blocked.^[30]

Cernet

Local businesses

Although blocking foreign sites has received much attention in the West, this is actually only a part of the PRC effort to censor the Internet. The ability to censor content providers within mainland China is much more effective, as the ISPs and other service providers are restricting customers' actions for fear of being found legally liable for customers' conduct. The service providers have assumed an editorial role with regard to customer content, thus became publishers, and legally responsible for libel and other torts committed by customers.

Although the government does not have the physical resources to monitor all Internet chat rooms and forums, the threat of being shut down has caused Internet content providers to employ internal staff, colloquially known as "big mamas", who stop and remove forum comments which may be politically sensitive. In Shenzhen, these duties are partly taken over by a pair of police-created cartoon characters, Jingjing and Chacha, who help extend the online 'police presence' of the Shenzhen authorities.

However, Internet content providers have adopted some counter-strategies. One is to post politically sensitive stories and remove them only when the government complains. In the hours or days in which the story is available online, people read it, and by the time the story is taken down, the information is already public. One notable case in which this occurred was in response to a school explosion in 2001, when local officials tried to suppress the fact the explosion resulted from children illegally producing fireworks. By the time local officials forced the story to be removed from the Internet, the news had already been widely disseminated.

In addition, Internet content providers often replace censored forum comments with white space which allows the reader to know that comments critical of the authorities had been submitted, and often to guess what they might have been.

In July 2007, the city of Xiamen announced it would ban anonymous online postings after text messages and online communications were used to rally protests against a proposed chemical plant in the city. Internet users will be required to provide proof of identify when posting messages on the more than 100,000 Web sites registered in Xiamen.^[32]

Some hotels in China are also advising internet users to obey local Chinese internet access rules by leaving a list of internet rules and guidelines near the computers. These rules, among other things, forbid linking to politically unacceptable messages, and inform internet users that if they do, they will have to face legal consequences.^[33]

In September 2007, some data centers were shutting down indiscriminately for providing interactive features such as blogs and forums. CBS reports an estimate that half the interactive sites hosted in China were blocked.^[34]

International corporations

One controversial issue is whether foreign companies should supply equipment which assists in the blocking of sites to the PRC government. Some argue that it is wrong for companies to profit from censorship including restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Others argue that equipment being supplied, from companies such as the American based Cisco Systems Inc., is standard Internet infrastructure equipment and that providing this sort of equipment actually aids the flow of information, and that the PRC is fully able to create its own infrastructure without Western help. By contrast, human rights advocates such as Human Rights Watch and media groups such as Reporters Without Borders argue that if companies would stop contributing to the authorities' censorship efforts the government could be forced to change.

A similar dilemma faces foreign content providers such as Yahoo!, AOL, Google and Skype who abide by PRC government wishes, including having internal content monitors, in order to be able to operate within mainland China. Also, in accordance with mainland Chinese laws, Microsoft began to censor the content of its blog service Windows Live Spaces, arguing continuing to provide Internet services is more beneficial to the Chinese.^[35] Michael Anti, a Chinese journalist whose blog on Windows Live Spaces was removed by Microsoft, agreed that the Chinese are better off with Windows Live Spaces than without it.^[36]

The Chinese version of MySpace, launched in April 2007, has many censorship-related differences from other international versions of the service. Discussion forums on topics such as religion and politics are absent and a filtering system that prevents the posting of content about Taiwan independence, the Dalai Lama, Falun Gong, and other "inappropriate topics" has been added.^[37] Users are also given the ability to report the "misconduct" of other users for offenses including "endangering national security, leaking state secrets, subverting the government, undermining national unity, spreading rumors or disturbing the social order."^[38]

Additionally, reporters in the western media have also suggested that China's internet censorship of foreign websites may also be a means of forcing mainland Chinese users to rely on China's own e-commerce industry, thusly self-insulating their economy from the dominance of international corporations. ^[39]

Reactions

Legal action

On May 9, 2007, Mr. Yetaai (冬劲) sued Shanghai Telecom, a sub-company of China Telecom, because one of his sites^{[citation needed]} was blocked from access in China. He then took a series of steps including raising maintenance request and notarization. His lawsuit was accepted by Pu Dong Court, Shanghai. Mr. Yetaai reported it through his online diary (English). He also raised an item for online ticketing through an article on Digg.

Liberalization of sexually oriented content

Although restrictions on political information remain as strong as ever, several sexually oriented blogs began appearing in early 2004. Women using the web aliases Muzi Mei (木子美) and Zhuying Qingtong (竹影青瞳) wrote online diaries of their sex lives and became small celebrities. This was widely reported and criticized in mainland Chinese news media, and several of these bloggers' sites are blocked in China to this day. This has coincided with an artistic nude photography fad (including a self-published book by dancer Tang Jiali) and the appearance of pictures of minimally clad women or even topless photos in a few mainland Chinese newspapers, magazines and websites. It is too early to tell how far this trend will go, but increasingly, censorship is applicable to political content rather than to sexuality. This does not hold true for many dating and "adult chat" sites, both Chinese and foreign, which have been blocked. Some, however, continue to be accessible although this appears to be due more to the Chinese government's ignorance of their existence than any particular policy of leniency.

Corporate responsibility

On November 7, 2005 an alliance of investors and researchers representing 26 companies in the U.S., Europe and Australia with over US $21 billion in joint assets announced that they were urging businesses to protect freedom of expression and pledged to monitor technology companies that do business in countries violating human rights, such as China. On December 21, 2005 the UN, OSCE and OAS special mandates on freedom of expression called on Internet corporations to "work together ... to resist official attempts to control or restrict use of the Internet."

Efforts at breaking through

The firewall is largely ineffective at preventing the flow of information and is rather easily circumvented by determined parties by using proxy servers outside the firewall. VPN and SSH connections to outside mainland China are not blocked, so circumventing all of the censorship and monitoring features of the Great Firewall of China is trivial for those who have these secure connection methods to computers outside mainland China available to them.

Since free hosting blog services like Blogger and Wordpress frequently face blockage, bloggers and webmasters aiming for an audience in China often debate merits of the various paid hosting services. Some China-focused services explicitly offer to change a blog's IP address within 30 minutes if it is blocked by the authorities.^[40]

Neither the Tor website nor the Tor network are blocked, making Tor (in conjunction with Privoxy) an easily acquired and effective tool for circumvention of the censorship controls. Tor maintains a public list of entry nodes, so the authorities could easily block it if they had the inclination. According to the Tor FAQ sections 6.4 and 7.9, Tor is vulnerable to timing analysis by Chinese authorities, so it allows a breach of anonymity. Thus for the moment, Tor allows uncensored downloads and uploads, although no guarantee can be made with regard to freedom from repercussions.

In addition to Tor, there are various HTTP/HTTPS Tunnel Services, which work in a similar way as Tor. At least one of them, Your Freedom, is confirmed to be working from China and also offers encryption features for the transmitted traffic.

It was common in the past to use Google's cache feature to view blocked websites. However, this feature of Google seems to be under some level of blocking, as access is now erratic and does not work for blocked websites. Currently the block is mostly circumvented by using proxy servers outside the firewall, and is not difficult to carry out for those determined to do so. Some well-known proxy servers have also been blocked.

Some Chinese citizens used the Google mirror elgooG after China blocked Google. It is believed that elgooG survived the Great Firewall of China because the firewall operators thought that elgooG was not a fully functional version of Google.

As Falun Gong websites are generally inaccessible from mainland China, practitioners have launched a company named UltraReach Internet Corp and developed a piece of software named UltraSurf to enable people in mainland China to access restricted web sites via Internet Explorer without being detected.

Browsing Wikipedia is also possible with a web application called Gollum. At present, the Chinese government has not banned searching for Gollum on Google.

Further information can be obtained from the Global Internet Freedom Consortium [1].

Internet censorship in mainland China

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