The Internet in China
Columbia Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 13, pp. 99,1999
37 Pages Posted: 13 Sep 2012
Date Written: September 12, 2012
Abstract
The impact of the Internet on all spheres of life, political, commercial, and social, has been very significant. For a country like China, which regards modernization as a near absolute fundamental value, the allure of the Internet is immense. But China is also still the largest One Party State, by far, that the world has ever seen. Although Marxism, as an economic doctrine, is largely a spent force in China, Leninism is alive and well. It remains the keystone of political structure theory in the People's Republic of China (PRC). A fundamental tenet of Leninism is the requirement that the state must control the media. The metaphor often used is that the media must be both the 'throat and tongue' and 'the eyes and ears' of the party. This article gives a brief history of the development of the Internet followed by a short account of the history of the Internet in China. The tensions arising from the drive to expand the Internet are then examined. In the following two Parts, the bodies involved in governing the Internet and the modes of regulation are reviewed. Next, the on-going development problems are discussed. In Part 8, a brief review of the approach taken in Singapore is provided prior to the Conclusion.
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