The Great Firewall of China

by on October 14, 2004

Much as we complain about government interference in the Internet here at home, its sobering to take a look at what’s happening abroad–most notably in China. Heritage last week released a Backgrounder by research fellow John Tkacik on “China’s Orwellian Internet,” outlining the situation there. According to the paper:

“The Internet once promised to be a conduit for uncensored information from beyond China’s borders, and for a brief, shining instant in modern Chinese history, it was a potential catalyst for political and human rights reform in China. However, for China’s 79 million Web surfers–the most educated and prosperous segment of the country’s population–the Internet is now a tool of police surveillance and official disinformation”.

It’s worth a look. And, if you missed it, you also should take a look at Adam’s excellent post on China the other day.

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James Gattuso / James Gattuso is a Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy in the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Gattuso also leads the Enterprise and Free Markets Initiative at Heritage, with responsiblity for a range of regulatory and market issues. Prior to joining Heritage, he served as Vice President for Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and also as Vice President for Policy Development with Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE). From 1990 to 1993, he was Deputy Chief of the Office of Plans and Policy at the Federal Communications Commission. From May 1991 to June 1992, he was detailed from the FCC to the office of Vice President Dan Quayle, where he served as Associate Director of the President's Council on Competitiveness. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Dana, 8 year-old son, Peter (whom he relies upon to operate his VCR), and his four year-old daughter Lindsey (who does the DVD player.) He has no known hobbies, but is not nearly as boring as he seems.

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