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China Explains Internet Situation In Whitepaper

Posted by kdawson on from the for-some-definitions-of-free dept.

eldavojohn writes "In a new whitepaper, China has declared the Internet to be 'the crystallization of human wisdom' and officially issued what appears to be a defense of its policies on Web censorship, while at the same time making contradicting statements like 'Chinese citizens fully enjoy freedom of speech on the Internet' and (in the same paper) 'Laws and regulations clearly prohibit the spread of information that contains content subverting state power, undermining national unity, [or] infringing upon national honor and interests.' The paper also claims some questionable superlatives such as 'China is one of the countries suffering most from hacking.' On the positive side, this 31-page document might be offered as an operating guide for businesses, like Google, looking to understand exactly what the law is surrounding the Internet in China. The document is a rare glimpse of transparency in China's regulations."

13 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. Free-ish Speech by Rotworm · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Do Chinese people enjoy freedom of speech on the Internet in a substantively different way than we do?
    I can say whatever I want, except things that are against the law to say. It's the same system in China, but they have different laws. I'm no expert, but I think the only meaningful difference is that citizens cannot criticise the government -and don't get me wrong, that's a big difference, but they report they are trying a system where the nation is unified. Maybe I disagree with that approach, but I think it's suspect to say that China opposes freedom of speech when they only differ on a single issue.
    Further, there are many laws here in Canada that limit speech, that don't have a corresponding law in China. Specifically, I'm thinking about race.

    1. Re:Free-ish Speech by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Further, there are many laws here in Canada that limit speech, that don't have a corresponding law in China. Specifically, I'm thinking about race.

      I would posit that the difference in your Canada vs China comparison is that the laws are better defined for you than they are a Chinese citizen. Like, what the hell does "non-harmonious" mean exactly? You don't know but you seem to have lost your job because of it.

      Think for a minute about what the phrase "speech against the government" could mean in China. Is saying "The Yang-tse river is so polluted!" considered speech against the Chinese government? Is complaining about your working conditions okay? Is criticizing the United States' copyright laws okay when your government has pledged time and time again to combat piracy?

      I think the biggest issue is that all of the above can be against the law on a case by case basis decided by the state. In Canada, are you afraid of the government disliking you for some reason and then reviewing your internet usage and history to find something to prosecute you under?

      --
      My work here is dung.
    2. Re:Free-ish Speech by somenickname · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The problem is that criticizing the government is one of the primary reasons to have the notion of "freedom of speech".

    3. Re:Free-ish Speech by OldHawk777 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Why a 15 digit prime number with a leading zero?
      100010001010011, 17491, 4453

      --
      Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
    4. Re:Free-ish Speech by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 4, Funny

      All my online names were taken when I finally decided to register for slashdot.

      So I just converted my initials to binary, it was available...

    5. Re:Free-ish Speech by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Funny

      Did you lift that from the iPhone Developers TOS?

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    6. Re:Free-ish Speech by 2short · · Score: 3, Insightful

        So in one case, a state Attorney General issues an inappropriate subpoena to try to stop internet criticism, it's obviously a ridiculous failure, and the headline in the newspaper is "Stunning Abuse of Power". He may even lose the election because of it.

      In the other case, the national government issues an official policy stating that online criticism of the state will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be jailed. The newspapers all support the government because it owns them. This won't impact elections, because they don't have any.

      Somehow, I am not having difficulty distinguishing these. Attempts to quash free speech ought to to be called out and combated. If you live in PA, you ought to vote against this tool. But come on: If you're trying to claim Pennsylvania is at all comparably oppressive to China, you're crazy.

      On the other hand, if you're trying to point out that the're is nothing magical about being an American; that totalitarian tools can rise to power and gain the support of PA Republicans as easily as Chinese Communists; that our vastly superior freedoms are only the result of historical luck and constant vigilance... then I'm with you, obviously.

  2. Not so much .. by PIBM · · Score: 4, Funny

    'China is one of the countries suffering most from hacking.' is quite true: they are bashed a lot for it!

    1. Re:Not so much .. by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Funny

      If they insist on filtering what goes into China, they should at least have the consistency to filter what comes out of it.

      They already do - they filter out the truth about what's going on in China.

  3. I believe Bill Hicks said it best: by Pojut · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "You are free to do what we tell you! You are free to do what we tell you!"

    --
    Living With a Nerd
  4. Proud Father by PatPending · · Score: 3, Funny

    China has declared the Internet to be 'the crystallization of human wisdom'

    Imagine how proud Al Gore must be.

    --
    What one fool can do, another can. (Ancient Simian Proverb)
  5. Questionable conclusion by fishexe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    On the positive side, this 31-page document might be offered as an operating guide for businesses, like Google, looking to understand exactly what the law is surrounding the Internet in China. The document is a rare glimpse of transparency in China's regulations. (emphasis added)

    Actually, China issues documents like this all the time. They don't normally represent glimpses of transparency because they're in no way binding on the government. That is, you could follow all the substantive recommendations (if there even are any) and still be deemed to have "undermined national unity" or "infringed upon national honor" based on nothing but the PRC's desire to get you.
    Thus the first sentence above is apt but the second is questionable. Might this be a glimpse of transparency? Only time will tell. If companies carefully following the guidelines available manage not to run afoul of the PRC government, then the answer will be yes. Otherwise, it's no glimpse of transparency at all, and even muddies the waters a bit more than was already the case.

    --
    "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
  6. Rights... by Notquitecajun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For those of you who believe that our rights are somehow egregiously eroded in the US, I give you China.

    If freedom of speech is prohibited in the US, I haven't seen it.