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Beijing claims social networking sites
subversive
AFP , BEIJING
Saturday, Jul 10, 2010, Page 4
Social networking sites like Facebook pose a security threat
to China and are used as ˇ§tools of subversionˇ¨ by Western nations including the
US, a top Chinese think tank said in a report this week.
Ethnic riots in Chinaˇ¦s western-most Xinjiang region last year were spurred on
by such micro-blogging sites, the state-run China Academy of Social Sciences
said in its annual report on the development of new media.
ˇ§Facebook has appeared as the rallying point for overseas Xinjiang separatist
groups,ˇ¨ the report said.
ˇ§These social networking sites have become a tool of political subversion used
by Western nations, including the United States.ˇ¨ the report said.
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China.
Ethnic Uighur Muslims battled Han Chinese in the streets of the Xinjiang capital
Urumqi in July last year leaving over 200 people dead and some 1,700 injured.
Following the unrest, the authorities shut down the Internet in Xinjiang for
nearly a year.
ˇ§Faced with the popularity of social networking sites ... it is imperative to
exert control,ˇ¨ the report, published this week said, adding that China ought to
ˇ§pay a lot of attention to these potential risks and latent dangers.ˇ¨
Despite blocking Facebook, Chinese micro-blogging sites, like Kaixin, remain
popular and have developed rapidly since 2008, the report said. It mentioned no
potential security threat from such Chinese sites.
At the end of last year, 176 million Chinese Internet users were using social
networking sites, most between 20 and 29 years old, according to government
figures.
In a separate article, Internet giant Google was portrayed as being tied to US
government information services and bent on advancing the USˇ¦ global ˇ§hegemonyˇ¨,
the report said.
China boasts the biggest online population in the world with over 400 million
Internet users.
Chinese authorities keep a tight rein on the Web, blocking unwanted content in a
system known as the Great Firewall of China, which censors subversive political
content and pornography.
Also See:
Facebook seals deal to sell Web site credits in Asia
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