It's going to be a rough start in 2007 for Chinese who enjoy discussing politics online with the billions of Web surfers.
From October to November 2006, the National Ministry of Information Industry has been announcing that blogs in China will implement a real-name blogger registration system. The Chinese Internet Association's General Director Hu Qiheng also announced that China will be gradually implementing the real-name registration system for Internet access as well.
Because of its so-called success on Internet blockage and monitoring technologies in recent years, the Chinese government was listed yet again as one of the "enemies of the Internet" in a 2006 report published by the media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. The report listed a total of 13 countries that violate freedom of the press, which include Belarus, Myanmar, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, and North Korea. Because of its advanced technologies and methods, China was listed as having the strictest Internet policies of all. In China, the Internet itself has become "a tool of suppression and a method for spreading propaganda," according to the report.
The real-name registration system for Internet access is only one of many measures that China has put in place to enact control over the Internet. The Chinese government is uncomfortable with the many Web surfers who can post speeches that the government finds offensive.
Qinghua University journalism professor Li Xiguang, who is known for conforming to the government's needs, developed the idea for real-name registration system for Internet access as early as 2003. Since its inception, the Chinese government has been trying to implement the policy.
Due to strong resistance by Web surfers, the implementation has stalled. However, after soliciting the advice of Internet experts, the Chinese government is now poised to implement the system.
Let's take a moment to examine the content of the real-name registration system from the National Ministry of Information Industry. Hu Qiheng made the following statement on Nov. 28: "China is gradually exploring and implementing real-name registration in our networks, while balancing individual privacy with the public benefit and national interest."
On the surface, this statement appears to consider the privacy of Web surfers, a modern idea coming from the Chinese authority. But in reality, the real-name registration system will require Web surfers to use their real name and identity in order to access any Web site on the Internet. Anonymity of online users can occur only between Web surfers, while the government holds their real identities and can monitor all activity in real-time.
The real-name registration for the Internet would make one type of Web surfer feel safe—the owners of pornographic Web sites and their customers. The customers of online pornographic content don't like the idea that other surfers know their real names and identity. But they don't seem to mind the idea that the government knows who they are.
In recent years, the government has offically forbidden online pornography. However, the Chinese government's relentless campaign of surveillance and blockage on the Internet has resulted in just as many, if not more, pornographic advertisements. Such acts invite the criticism that the government is actively guiding people to indulge their desires through the Internet.
Those Web users who really care about Chinese politics and the problems in Chinese society will face a completely different situation in the time to come. Within the last few years, Web sites discussing politics and current events have been shut down by the government one by one. Many Web users can only post to the Internet using covert means.
For those who are used to adopting pseudonyms to comment on politics, current events, and the problems of society, the real-name registration is a tight shackle on their freedom of speech.
The "Golden Shield" project possesses the technology to implement these measures. The government has carefully woven what might be called "law net" into which they hope supposed violators will fall. Dozens of people have been arrested for exercising freedom of speech online in recent years.
The Chinese government thoroughly enjoys controlling popular opinion, which leads me to wonder about China's prospects for political freedom. From the end of the 20th century, China's intellectual pioneers have been exploring a difficult situation: how to get rid of the communist systems left over after its constitutional implementations. But they actually ignored one key point: From the perspective of trying to establish a social system, freedom of the press and speech are essential conditions for implementing a constitutional democracy.
Among the constitutions of the democratic countries, the American Constitution has manifested Montesquieu's "Separation of Powers" theory the best. This separation of powers was recognized as integral by the founders of the United States. It is also well-accepted and supported by Americans.
Freedom of speech has fostered an environment that has raised Americans' consciousness and enabled them to understand the importance of a balance of power.
Looking through several Chinese constitutions over the last hundred years, I've seen that China has ended up with a constitution in name only—not a constitutional government.
China does not have freedom of the press. It therefore does not have a system with checks and balances, and China's present-day realities all too clearly show these problems: The government and the National People's Congress constantly work together for mutual benefit. The National People's Congress—as well as the Chinese media—has become the Chinese government's mouthpiece. Such media is only concentrated on spreading propaganda and does not have any of the checks and balances that media should have.
The freedom of press plays an integral role in the process of establishing a democracy. I am most certain that the democratization of China must start from the freedom of the press. As long as the Communist Party and the government hold control over the media, real democracy is impossible to achieve.
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