Freedom of Expression
On August 15, the English-language version of the People’s Daily published an adapted version of Professor Jerome Cohen’s statement at a recent CECC hearing. The hearing, entitled "Law in Political Transitions: Lessons From East Asia and the Road Ahead for China," was held on July 26. For Professor Cohen’s full written statement to the CECC, click here. For the People’s Daily adaptation, click here. For a comparison of the two versions, click here.
The following is a partial translation by CECC staff of an opinion piece reprinted on the Xinhua Web site indicating the debate within China about requiring Internet users to register on BBSs, news groups, and games using their real names. Click here for more CECC coverage of this issue.
Yu Guofu, legal consultant to the Internet Society of China, pointed out: "After there is a "real name system," if someone uses another person's name to commit a crime online, will it be the person with the real name who be responsible or the person passing themselves off who will be responsible? Yu Guofu believes that . . . it is unlikely that China will quickly implement a "real name system" in "one fell swoop . . ."
The following is a partial translation by CECC staff of an opinion piece reprinted on the People's Daily Web site indicating the debate within China about requiring Internet users to register on BBSs, news groups, and games using their real names. Click here for more CECC coverage of this issue.
The following is a partial translation by CECC staff of an opinion piece reprinted on the People's Daily Web site indicating the debate within China about requiring Internet users to register on BBSs, news groups, and games using their real names. Click here for more CECC coverage of this issue.
I believe that, if it is necessary to implement an Internet real name system, then it should be divided into different domains, especially the economic domain, for example signing contracts and online shopping, should be coordinated with an electronic signature law in order to affirmatively resolve the many problems that currently exist. With respect to such things as groups and BBSs, however, it would be best to let Internet users have freedom.
The following is a partial translation by CECC staff of an opinion piece reprinted on the People's Daily Web site indicating the debate within China about requiring Internet users to register on BBSs, news groups, and games using their real names. Click here for more CECC coverage of this issue.
Pro-Real Name Registration System
The following is a partial translation by CECC staff of an opinion piece reprinted on the People's Daily Web site indicating the debate within China about requiring Internet users to register on BBSs, news groups, and games using their real names. Click here for more CECC coverage of this issue.
The Internet real name system looks beautiful, but in fact its nothing more than the "fruit of the poisonous tree," which looks tempting and desirable, but in fact is more poisonous than the angel's trumpet flower. And what kind of poisonous result will the Internet real name system bring?
The following are excerpts from an article reprinted on the China Daily Web site indicating the debate within China about requiring Internet users to register on BBSs, news groups, and games using their real names. Click here for more CECC coverage of this issue.
The following is a partial translation by CECC staff of an opinion piece reprinted on the Xinhua Web site indicating the debate within China about requiring Internet users to register on BBSs, news groups, and games using their real names. Click here for more CECC coverage of this issue.
Xinhua reports that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have jointly issued a notice titled "Opinion Regarding Further Strengthening and Improving the Ideological and Political Education of College Students" (also referred to as "Document Number 16"). Some excerpts from the Xinhua report on the Opinion:
In recent months, Chinese authorities have closed down or tightened restrictions on the few forums where private Chinese citizens could express themselves without government restraints, including academic conferences, electronic bulletin boards, and personal Web sites. Hong Kong news media reports that officials have moved to silence "extra-territorial reporting," which one Chinese media professor called "the best hope for liberalizing the news media." Extra-territorial (yidi) reporting refers to the practice in which a newspaper from one area publishes critical investigative reports about another area, about matters that officials in the investigated area are preventing their local news media from reporting.