Regulation has helped push internet's booming growth in China, Lu Wei says
Cyber official tells economic forum world should find a way to turn web into 'Ali Baba’s treasure'
The government’s “regulation” of the internet has contributed to its booming growth in China, the country’s internet chief said on Wednesday at a World Economic Forum meeting in Tianjin.
Comparing the internet to a car, Lu Wei, State Internet Information Office director, said even the best automobiles need a brake to function well on the highway and that regulations and freedom on the internet were “twin sisters”.
“Regulations must be set. [If] e-commerce does not have regulations, problems like [online] stealing would occur,” he said.
China’s rapid internet development was due to its opening-up policy, innovation of hi-tech enterprises and “orderly management” of the web, Liu pointed out.
China has more than 600 million internet users, and at least 500 million of them use a smartphone device to access the web, he said.
However, Westerners often point out that the internet in China is heavily censored. Social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are blocked in the mainland. In April, popular American sitcoms The Big Bang Theory and The Good Wife were ordered taken down from China’s major streaming sites.
In the same month, a blogger was sentenced to three years in prison amid the government’s crackdown on “internet rumours”.
Citing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s comment that the internet is a double-edged sword, Lu said the world should find a way to turn the internet into “Ali Baba’s treasure” rather than “Pandora’s box”.
Lu also emphasised that foreign internet-related enterprises should respect China’s laws and protect consumers’ rights when investing in the country.
His comments come as Chinese antimonopoly officials have launched investigations of Microsoft and chipmaker Qualcomm.
