China asserts internet control despite Google spat

Jan 14, 2010, 8:46 GMT

Beijing - The Chinese government reasserted its right to control the internet on Thursday, publicly ignoring a dispute with US internet giant Google.

The State Council, or cabinet, said it met on Wednesday to discuss key tasks for accelerating the integration of television, radio and internet services over the next five years.

The meeting, led by Premier Wen Jiabao, agreed to 'strengthen internet management,' according to a report on the government website www.gov.cn.

China planned to 'implement management responsibility, build a comprehensive management system, (and) safeguard internet information security and cultural security' by 2015, the report said.

The report made no mention of Google, which on Tuesday said it was reviewing its operations in China following 'a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China.'

When asked about Google's statement, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday China 'opposes any cyber attacks.'

Jiang said China 'manages the internet according to the law' and 'usual practice.'

'We welcome foreign internet companies to operate in China according to the law,' she told reporters.

'The internet in China is open. We encourage the development of the internet and create favourable conditions for this,' Jiang said.

In a separate statement on another government website, State Council spokesman Wang Chen said China needed to guard against against illegal online activity such as hacking, pornography, fraud and the spreading of rumours.

The Global Times newspaper said in a commentary that withdrawal from China by Google 'would be loss for both sides.'

'Should the world's most populous nation fail to provide a foothold to the world's top search engine, it would imply a setback to China and serious loss to China's net culture,' the commentary said.

But Guo Ke, a communications expert at Shanghai International Studies University, said Google appeared to be using the threat of withdrawal to put pressure on the Chinese government.

'Chinese internet users are the real victims if Google quits China,' Guo told the newspaper.

'I think Google is just playing cat and mouse, and trying to use netizens' anger or disappointment as leverage,' he said.

China's 'great firewall' prevents the country's estimated 340 million internet users from accessing hundreds of websites that are deemed politically sensitive, pornographic or otherwise problematic.

The government issues strict rules for 'self-regulation' of internet service providers and employs thousands of people to monitor online activity.