Video #14 - China: Internet Censorship
Tuesday, January 10, 2006BACKGROUND INFORMATION
"China has the most extensive Internet censorship in the world, regularly denying local users access to 19,000 Web sites that the government deems threatening."
Joseph Kahn, The New York Times
Chinese authorities began permitting commercial Internet accounts in 1995. Since then, at least sixty sets of regulations controlling Internet content have been issued. These broadly-worded regulations are a violation of freedom of expression. In January 2001, sending "secret" or "reactionary" materials over the Internet became a capital crime in China. According to Human Rights Watch, persons convicted for misuse of the Net have received sentences of between two and four years. Rather than being charged under specific regulations, they were found guilty of violating provisions of the Criminal Code. (Apparently the regulations are meant as a framework from which to monitor "illegal" activity).
Human Rights Watch reports that the growing use of the Internet-spurred by improved infrastructure, introduction of mobile phones, as well as more local language content-has brought more government control. It says, "The main contact points connecting China's Internet system with the worldwide system are nine so-called Internet Access Providers...By July 2001, these access providers accommodated some 620 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who served in turn some 1,600 Internet Content Providers (ICPs) and an estimated 26,000,000 users...."
According to Harvard Law School researchers who tested access from various areas in China over six months (May to November, 2002), Beijing blocks thousands of the most popular news, political and religious sites, as well as specific entertainment and educational ones. Researchers also reported that people who went into these forbidden information sites were punished by temporarily depriving them of Internet service. The report claims that China is systematically denying the majority of its 46 million Internet users access to any site the government deems subversive. Although some of the users who have technological know-how can bypass the government filters, they do so at the risk of being punished by the regime. Jonathan Zittrain, Professor at Harvard Law School and co-author of the study said it is easier to control Internet access than phones, facsimile machines and even postal service. Since all Internet traffic passes through routers which control telecommunications in China, it is technologically possible to block all access to many sites. The report says that the Chinese government censors have begun filtering content, by deleting individual links that are deemed offensive. For example, according to the New York Times, "Beijing completely blocked access to the major sites on Tibet and Taiwan. A user who types 'democracy China' into Google, would find nearly all the top sites with those words out of reach. Google itself was blocked in September, although access is now restored." Additionally, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, major Western religious sites, National Public Radio, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine were often blocked at the time of the study.
The Chinese government's claim that the main reason for the censorship is the proliferation of pornography, but that was unsubstantiated by the Harvard study. The researchers found that fewer than 15 percent of the most sexually-explicit sites were blocked. As a result, legislation is being introduced in the U.S. Congress to create a Global Internet Freedom office to fight Web censorship and counter Internet jamming by governments. China reportedly tops the list of national Internet censors. Carol Guthrie, spokesperson for Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, one of the bill's sponsors, said discussion of this bipartisan legislation may be pursued during the next session of Congress.
SOURCES
"China's Internet Censorship." CBSNEWS.com, December 3, 2002.
"Freedom of Expression and Internet in China." Human Rights Watch, www.hrw.org
Ho, Stephanie,"VOA: US Concerned About China's Internet Censorship." November 9, 2002. www.clearharmony.net/articles/189912/8141.html
"Kahn, Joseph, "China Has World's Tightest Internet Censorship, Study Finds." NYTimes.com. December 4. 2002.
LESSON PLAN
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:
10-12 grade Economics, International Relations, World History, Geography, International Baccalaureate Programs (IB), Current Events.
PURPOSE:
To present activities to be used in a variety of classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of the Asian economy and its significance globally.
OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
- Describe internet use in China.
- Evaluate government policy about internet use in China.
- Speculate about the effect of internet use in China upon the Chinese government.
- Compare censorship in China with that of other nations around the world.
- Explore the possibilities of anti-filter technology.
MATERIALS:
- Background information provided.
- Resources on China available at your school's Media Center and the Public Library System in your area.
- Background information available through Internet search engines
- http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filtering/china
ACTIVITIES:
May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks. They may also be designed as preparation for related presentations either by individuals or groups.
- Assign students to read: "Freedom of Expression and Internet in China." Human Rights Watch, www.hrw.org, and write a position paper on Internet censorship in China.
- Contact the offices of Congressmen sponsoring the Global Internet Freedom Act. Analyze its possible effectiveness, and write an editorial with your opinion on the issue. Lobby Congress to express your opinion.
- Use charts and graphs to compare censorship levels in different countries.
- Research and report on the anti-filter technology industry and how it may help circumvent censorship
EVALUATION:
Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using established criteria.
Group activities, presentations and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale: Content 1 = Superior (A) Creativity 2 = Excellent (B) Clarity 3 = Good (C) 4 = Fair (D) 5 = Poor (F)
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