China's Internet is open

Zhōngguó de hūliánwǎng shì kāifàng de 中国的互联网是开放的

Jiang Yu: "I want to stress that China's internet is open." (Source: Dragon TV)

The Chinese government's official position on the degree of internet freedom within its borders, famously stated at a January 14, 2010 press conference by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu:

Q: Google announced that it might withdraw from the Chinese market and no longer cooperate with the Chinese Government on internet censorship. What’s China’s response to that?

问：中国政府对谷歌公司宣布可能退出中国市场，不再和中国政府合作对网络内容进行审查有何回应？

A: I want to stress that China’s internet is open. The Chinese government encourages the development of the internet and endeavors to create a sound environment for the healthy development of internet. Chinese law prohibits any form of hacking activities. As in other countries, China manages the internet in accordance with law. The measures we take are consistent with international practice. I also want to stress that China welcomes international internet corporations to do business in China in accordance with law.

答：我想强调的是，中国的互联网是开放的，中国政府鼓励互联网的发展，努力为互联网的健康发展营造良好的环境。中国的法律禁止任何形式的黑客攻击行为。中国同其他国家一样，依法管理互联网，有关管理措施符合国际通行做法。我还想强调，中国欢迎国际互联网企业在中国依法开展业务。

Q: Is YouTube blocked in China? Why?

问：Youtube网站是否在中国被屏蔽？为什么？

A: I do not understand the situation to which you are referring. What I can tell you is that the Chinese government manages the internet in accordance with the law. It has clearly written rules about which information should be prohibited from being spread on the internet. I suggest that you ask CNNIC for information about this issue.

答：我不了解你所说的情况。我可以告诉你的是，中国政府依法管理互联网，明文规定哪些信息应被禁止在互联网上传播，建议你向中国互联网管理部门咨询有关情况。[Chinese]

Jiang's was not the earliest mention of China's "open internet," nor was it the last. In 2009, Xinhua official Zhou Xisheng went so far as to say that "China has the most open internet in the world." In 2010, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu threw the same retort at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Remarks on Internet Freedom.

Ahead of China's first World Internet Conference in 2014, then head of the Cyberspace Administration of China Lu Wei exercised similar disingenuousness responding to a reporter's question about why certain foreign social media sites had been shut down in China: "I have never used any of these websites so I don’t know if they have been shut down [...] We have never shut down any foreign sites. Your website is on your home soil. How can I go over to your home and shut it down?” A year later, ahead of China's second World Internet Conference, Cyberspace Minister Lu claimed at a press conference that China doesn't censor online content, but rather regulates it: "If we really censor the internet, how come our internet user population and their reliance on the internet keep growing?" His comment led to a storm of criticism online, which was quickly regulated.

In March of 2015, the spokesperson for Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympic bid has assured the public that foreigners would have unfettered internet access during the event, noting that while China remains committed to an open internet, Chinese citizens have no need for services like Facebook and Twitter.