{"id":128188,"date":"2011-12-11T20:15:22","date_gmt":"2011-12-12T03:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=128076"},"modified":"2011-12-11T20:15:22","modified_gmt":"2011-12-12T03:15:22","slug":"top-china-official-urges-more-forceful-web-controls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2011\/12\/top-china-official-urges-more-forceful-web-controls\/","title":{"rendered":"Top China Official Urges More 'Forceful' Web Controls"},"content":{"rendered":"
With micro-blogs becoming a powerful way for citizens to express themselves outside of traditional media controls, officials in China are urging more forceful and effective controls over micro-bloggers<\/strong><\/a>. The Associated Press reports:<\/p>\n Wang Chen, head of the State Internet Information Office — a government body set up this year to supervise online content — also urged officials to use the web to “guide public opinion and promote positive social values”.<\/p>\n “All regions and departments must… use more forceful and effective measures to strengthen the construction and management of cyber culture,” he was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency late Saturday.<\/p>\n With more than half a billion Chinese now online, authorities in Beijing are concerned about the power of the Internet to influence public opinion in a country that maintains tight controls on its traditional media outlets.<\/p>\n Large-scale strikes have hit China in recent weeks, as workers resentful about low salaries or layoffs face off with employers juggling high costs and slowing exports — news that quickly spreads round the country via the web.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n