President Hu wants China to "guide opinions" on net

Stan Beer
Thursday, 25 January 2007 13:29

Your IT - Home IT

The President of China, Hu Jintao has called for tighter regulation of the Web as the world's most populous country rapidly moves toward passing the US in number of Internet users.

According to news agency Xinhua, Hu made the call at a study session of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China, saying officials should "actively and creatively nurture a healthy online culture" that meets public demand.

With 137 million Internet users in China, an increase of nearly 25% in the past year, President Hu's comments indicate a growing nervousness in the Chinese Government about the unfettered flow of information on the Web.

President Hu referred to the ability of the Government of coping with the Internet as affecting "the development of socialist culture, the security of information, and the stability of the state."

In an indication that the Chinese Government wants to use the Internet as a Communist Party propaganda tool, Xinhua reported that President Hu asked officials to use the Internet as a platform to spread "healthy information" and that the Government should use advanced technologies to guide public opinions through the net.

In recent times, the Chinese Government and some of its Western clients, such as Yahoo, Google and Microsoft, have been subjected to harsh criticism by human rights groups over the censorship of search results on the Web.

In China, the Internet is already heavily regulated and most users find it difficult to access uncensored Chinese language news sites from outside of China.

The latest statements from President Hu indicate that the Chinese Government wants to go a step beyond censorship and use the Internet in an effort to proactively shape opinions.