EVER since the dawn of the internet age, China’s government has fretted over dangers that may lurk in the chaotic and unruly realm of cyberspace. It has worked hard to monitor citizens’ internet doings, and block or filter content it does not like. Now authorities are trying to rein in internet chaos they themselves have wrought.
Officials at all levels, from central ministries to local government sub-departments, have invested billions of dollars since the 1990s in their own websites. But users seeking the latest official data or the current party line are often frustrated. Many pages have not been updated in years. Some agencies that were long ago disbanded or merged into others have left their old web pages floating around the internet like space junk. Some sites work only with certain web browsers, some do not work at all and some contain malware.
In March the central government announced plans to set things right. The first step is a review, lasting until December, of the functioning and accuracy of official websites at all levels. Dormant “zombie websites” will be shut, officials promise. State media have called for the punishment of those responsible for having failed to delete them earlier.
Some of the chaos is caused by websites that masquerade as government ones in order to steal personal information, promote property scams or even...Continue reading
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