What occurs in the virtual world has a strong influence on the real
world so Internet media operators as well as surfers should be
aware of the consequences and be more responsible.
That was the message delivered by officials and experts
attending the 2006 Forum on Internet Media of China which opened
Thursday in the capital of Yunnan Province.
"The Internet media should play a bigger role in promoting
social harmony," said China's Vice Minister of the State Council
Information Office Cai Mingzhao.
He listed a number of problems associated with the Net in the
country including online fraud and gambling and the spread of
obscene and false information which "poisons the environment for
the Web's development and harms the credibility of Internet
media."
Citing figures from the Illegal and Malicious Information
Reporting Center, which was set up by the Internet Society of China
in 2004, Cai said residents had about 350,000 complaints of which
nearly two-thirds related to obscenity and pornography.
"Internet media operators should run their websites according to
the law," Cai said. "They should also conscientiously shoulder
their social responsibility by providing healthy and lawful
information and building credibility."
Min Dahong, a senior Internet researcher who has followed the
Web's expansion in China since the country was first wired in 1994,
said offensive online behavior had drawn widespread attention. It
included explicit violent acts such as torturing a cat to death and
invasion of privacy.
"This has greatly upset people," Min said. "For the sake of
healthy development of the Internet, users need to strike a balance
between freedom and obligations."
Vice-Minister of Information Industry Xi Guohua said at the
forum that just as "society needs management and regulation so do
the Internet and information networks. The purpose of management
and regulation is for promoting the Web's further growth rather
than impeding it."
The number of netizens in China was reported to have reached 123
million at the end of June and the country will soon surpass the
United States to become the world's largest Internet user. After
securing nearly 100 percent telephone penetration in most villages
the country was striving to ensure that every township has access
to the Internet in the next five years, Xi said.
China Daily Editor-in-Chief Zhu Ling told the
opening ceremony that since cyberspace was very open and free it
was more challenging to build harmony online rather than offline.
He urged Internet media to take their social responsibility
seriously and contribute to the healthy development of society.
Nearly 300 participants from at least 100 news websites, Web
portals and service providers at the annual forum also discussed
how traditional media can co-exist with new media and how
innovation in technology and services can facilitate further
expansion of the Internet.
(China Daily December 1, 2006)
