Beijing Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom - World Press ...

Beijing Olympics 2008: Winning Press Freedom
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From a Western perspective, the problem is the very vague definitions of what constitutes bad
information. There are no independent or neutral third parties with authority to evaluate concrete
conflicts between rights and freedoms of individual citizens and the political interests of the State
or government.
The Chinese government uses various means to implement the concept of a “harmonious
Internet.” They include:
• Government regulation (there are more than 30 individual content-related Internet
regulations both on the national and local level);
• Technical means, such as the blocking and filtering of unwanted content;
• Policing the net;
• Punishing individuals identified as violators of government regulations.
The State Council Information Office has the chief mandate to regulate the Internet, but other
security agencies in mainland China also have a say.
In September 2000, State Council Order No. 292, created the first content restrictions for Internet
content providers.
China-based web sites may not link to overseas news web sites or carry news from overseas
media without specific approval. Only “licensed print publishers” have the authority to publish
news on line. Unlicensed web sites that wish to broadcast news may only publish information
already published by other news media. These sites must obtain approval from state information
offices and from the State Council Information Agency.
Art. 14 of this order, gives Chinese officials full access to any kind of sensitive information they
wish. Internet providers must keep records for 60 days and are held responsible for “ensuring the
legality of any information disseminated through their services.” 27
The Golden Shield Project
A key element is the so-called “Golden Shield Project,” which critical Western observers also call
the “Great Chinese Firewall.” The project is overseen by the Ministry of Public Security. The
Chinese government sees it as a main instrument to guarantee the stability and security of the
Internet in China, to combat “bad information” and to work for a “healthy Internet.”
According to Wikipedia the following methods are used to block "bad content":
• IP blocking. Access to a certain IP address is denied. If the target web site is hosted in a
shared hosting server, all web sites on the same server will be blocked. This affects all IPbased
protocols such as HTTP, FTP and POP. A typical circumvention method is to find
proxies that have access to the target web sites, but proxies may be jammed or blocked,
and some web sites, such as Wikipedia (when editing), also block proxies. Some large web
sites like Google have allocated additional IP addresses to circumvent the block, but later
the block was extended to cover the new IPs.
• DNS filtering and redirection. Don't resolve domain names, or return incorrect IP addresses.
This affects all IP-based protocols such as HTTP, FTP and POP. A typical circumvention
method is to find a domain name server that resolves domain names correctly, but domain
name servers are subject to blockage as well, especially IP blocking. Another workaround is
to bypass DNS if the IP address is obtainable from other sources and is not blocked.
Examples are modifying the Hosts file or typing the IP address instead of the domain name
in a web browser.