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Chinese Censorship
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> Cisco-Job Fair
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> CHINA RELAXES CONTROLS ON INTERNET ACCOUNTS
> __________________________________________________________________________
> Copyright © 1996 Nando.net
> Copyright © 1996 Reuter Information Service
> SHANGHAI (Sep 25, 1996 08:48 a.m. EDT) - China has removed limits on
> the country's number of Internet accounts following the recent
> installation of safety controls on the computer network, a senior
> Shanghai telecommunications official said on Wednesday.
Safety controls... nice euphemism, similar to "key recovery".
> "Some time ago, our security arrangements were incomplete and there
> was a problem with pornographic and politically unacceptable
> material," said Zhang Weihua, vice-president of the Shanghai Post and
> Telecommunications Administration.
[...]
> Zhang said access to sites on the Internet containing pornographic or
> politically unacceptable material had been restricted, adding, "This
> material is restricted all over the world."
> He declined to give details of the security controls placed on the
> servers, saying he was only responsible for the technical side of the
> service.
> But Zhang did say he was unaware of any restrictions on access to
> major international news sites through China's Internet servers.
> Foreign reports have suggested that China has cut off access to such
> news sites. Analysts say that China is concerned over development of
> public computer networks and their use by people opposed to communist
> rule or communist policies.
[...]
> Zhang said for "security" reasons there was a need to control
> information and discussion on the Internet and related bulletin board
> services.
> "But surveys done on the usage and interests of people in China with
> Internet access indicate that virtually all the material they wanted
> to look at is domestic," he said.
Due to language differences, I would guess.
> China's key Internet Service Provider (ISP) selling access accounts is
> Chinanet, controlled by the Post and Telecommunications Bureau.
> Zhang said the bureau took measures earlier this year to control
> unauthorised activities of other access providers, including
> Shanghai's Fudan University, in order to handle the security issue.
> China currently has access points to the Internet in Beijing and
> Shanghai. It has no plans to add more, Zhang said.
> He said his department was being assisted in building its computer
> network by several American-Chinese originally from mainland China who
> spent time working with the U.S. space agency NASA.
I see.... (grimace)
> Copyright © 1996 Nando.net