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Case Studies ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Internet use in many countries has been soaring. In China, the number of Internet users has increased to 22.5 million, from 16.9 million just a few months ago. Some expect China to lead the world in Internet use by the year 2005. Of the internet users, most are male, connect using a telephone, and use the internet for news, e-mail, or entertainment. ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ In India, there are between two and five million people on the internet. There is a large discrepancy in the numbers because several different studies have resulted in quite different numbers. The problem arises from the difficulty to determine who really is an ãinternet user.ä Many use the internet very infrequently, and even then only for e-mail. - back to top -The Falun Gong is a religious organization in China that believes there is a doomsday coming that will render humans extinct. They believe only the Falun Gong can postpone the explosion and save mankind. The Chinese government has launched a campaign against unauthorized spiritual groups such as this one, stating ãFalun Gong organizations have advocated superstitious beliefs and incited the masses to create disturbances and jeopardize social stability under the banner of practicing Falun Gong,ä Chinese Foreign Minister spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue. ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ After the launch of this campaign, the Falun Gong had a demonstration in Tiananmen Square, where 10,000 Falun Gong followers peacefully protested. This was the largest demonstration in recent history. How were the Falun Gong able to gather such a large body of people? By using the internet. The Falun Gong used the internet heavily through websites and e-mail to spread information about the group and gather people for the demonstration. The Chinese government doesnât approve of the Falun Gongâs use of the Internet; a student was arrested for spreading Falun Gong e-mail. But the government can do little to stop them. The Internet is too large and complex for the government to have any real control over it. The Falun Gong has many websites all over the world to help promote the group and spread general information about their beliefs. Many of these sites are in English, both for the sake of Westerners looking for information, and actual Western followers. The US site hopes to attract people to the Falun Gong by describing its ancient lineage. It also attempts to dispel ideas that it is a cult. Besides having textual information on the websites, the Falun Gong go a step further and distribute materials such as books and audio and video tapes for free download. Spritual groups in the past depended on donations to fund such things, but the Internet has allowed the Falun Gong to spread their message with little or no money. The Internet empowered the Falun Gong to reach more people than it would have through tradition forms of communication and propaganda. It has allowed them to reach people all around the world quickly, and with little cost. With Chinaâs censoring of all information within the country, the Internet is the only option for groups like these to spread their information. - back to top -The Internet against the Chinese Government - Lin Hai -ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Lin Hai, a computer engineer, was arrested and put on trial in December of 1998 for sharing thousands of Chinese e-mail addresses with overseas dissident magazines. Hai used underground Internet techniques to share e-mail addresses of mainland residents with anti-China magazines. These magazines used the e-mail addresses to send articles to people in China that encouraged subversion of state power and the social system. This was one of the first trials focusing on political use of the Internet.
- The Tunnel -ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ The Tunnel is a political journal written and edited in China, and published in the United States where the Chinese government canât filter or stop it. The Tunnel is posted online to a website hosted in the US, and it is sent to thousands of Chinese e-mail addresses. This system of publishing the Tunnel makes it completely anonymous, and safe from prosecution by the Chinese government.
- Hackers -ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ The Chinese government has filtered many sites from entering the country, those of all dissident groups as well as other sites that may contain information the government doesnât want in the hands of the public. However, bypassing the filtering technology is not difficult for some computer hackers in China. These ãhacktivistsä break into government computers, opening the free Internet temporarily, shutting down satellites, and causing other problems. Many of these hackers have been caught and prosecuted. The Internetâs role in political movements and dissident groups has increased dramatically in the past few years. The Internet serves as a fast and effective way to spread information despite the attempts by the Chinese government to filter it. |