PUBLIC OUTRAGE OVER GREEN DAM UNLIKELY TO PROMPT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 001660

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2029
TAGS: PROP PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: PUBLIC OUTRAGE OVER GREEN DAM UNLIKELY TO PROMPT
GOVERNMENT REVERSAL, CONTACTS SAY

REF: A. BEIJING 1538

B. BEIJING 1520

C. BEIJING 1206

Classified By: Acting Political Section Chief
Mark Lambert. Reasons 1.4 (b)(d)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) After an initial wave of media criticism, the
Communist Party Propaganda Department ordered news
outlets to report positively on the government's
decision to require that new computers be sold with
pre-installed Internet filtering software.
Following the order, official media, including the
People's Daily website, praised the "Green Dam-Youth
Escort" and emphasized the danger pornography posed
to China's youth. Online, however, Internet users
continued to express their outrage. Journalist and
academic contacts cited the Green Dam decision as
evidence of the limited influence of public opinion
on Communist Party decision making. All of our
contacts predicted the government would push ahead
with its plan to force all manufacturers to pre-
install (or at least co-package) the Green Dam
program with new computers, though these contacts
also predicted that enforcement of the rule would
quickly relax. End Summary.


NET NANNY STATE
--------------


2. (U) The Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology's (MIIT) decision to mandate the pre-
installation of "Green Dam - Youth Escort" Internet
filtering software on computers sold in China
initially prompted blunt criticism from China's
mainstream print media. While commentators
generally voiced support for the general concept of
preventing children from accessing pornographic
content, several editorial writers attacked the
exclusive use of Green Dam as lacking appropriate
public input and transparency. Caijing, an
influential pro-reform magazine, published an
editorial on its website June 9 arguing that Green
Dam gave little control over what it blocks to the
user. The government, the Caijing article
continued, should respect the values of free speech
and transparency of information and thus be cautious
in regulating the Internet.


3. (U) A June 10 editorial posted on the website of
the Economic Observer (Jingji Guancha Bao),a
privately operated paper known for its liberal, pro-
market views, likewise criticized the lack of public
input. The government should not be the "father-
mother magistrate" (fumu guan) of the public, the
Observer editorial said. The Beijing News (Xinjing
Bao),which is published jointly by the CCP
newspapers Guangming Daily and Southern Daily
(Nanfang Ribao),also ran an editorial June 10 that
made many of the same points as the Caijing and
Economic Observer pieces.


4. (U) Even newspapers under the direct control of
the central government voiced criticism of the Green
Dam program. China Daily, an official English-
language newspaper published by the State Council
Information Office (SCIO),printed an editorial June
11 headlined "Questionable Move." The commentary
argued that MIIT should have held a public hearing
before making "such a significant decision." "Is
there any basis in law for the MIIT to issue such an
order at all?" the editorial asked.

PROPAGANDA DEPT. ORDERS END TO NEGATIVE COVERAGE...
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Southern Metropolis Daily (Nanfang Dushi Bao)
reporter and editorial writer Chen Liang (protect)
told PolOff June 11 that his paper had earlier that
day received an order from the Communist Party
Propaganda Department to stop publication of
articles on Green Dam. Chen said his newspaper
would obey the order, though Chen added that he
planned to write a column on the importance of an
"open Internet" that readers would clearly see as
critical of the MIIT decision. Hong Kong-based
bloggers have widely circulated an alleged copy of a

BEIJING 00001660 002 OF 003


June 10 Propaganda Department notice on Green Dam,
though Post has not been able to independently
verify its authenticity. According to this version
of the notice, the Propaganda Department ordered a
stop to all critical commentary about Green Dam and
urged news organizations to voice support for
government efforts to protect minors. The directive
also encouraged media to focus on the views of
parents and to delete "attacking commentary"
(gongjixing yanlun) from their respective websites.


6. (U) Since the propaganda directive was issued,
China's domestic press softened its tone. The week
of June 15, newspapers gave extensive coverage to
efforts by Jinhui Computer Systems Engineering,
which co-developed Green Dam-Youth Escort, to defend
the software, including the company's denial that it
stole code from the American software firm Solid
Oak. Mainland Chinese media outlets, based on
public clarifications by MIIT officials, also
emphasized that the ruling only required computer
manufacturers to package Green Dam - Youth Escort
with new computers, and the decision whether to
actually use the software would be left up to
individual users.


7. (U) On June 17, the People's Daily website
published a signed article praising Green Dam and
citing government studies that showed "48.28 percent
of youth had encountered pornography on the
Internet." A second People's Daily web commentary
posted June 17 also defended Green Dam, but noted
that the filtering software alone was not enough to
sufficiently protect kids and called on authorities
to increase efforts to regulate the Internet and
shut down "pornographic and violent" websites.
English language media, however, did not fall fully
in line with the Propaganda Department notice with
China Daily publishing another critical article
about Green Dam June 18.

...BUT ANTI-DAM FLAMING CONTINUES ONLINE
--------------


8. (U) While traditional news outlets generally
heeded the propaganda directive, the same could not
be said for web-based media. Websites with a focus
on computer and information technology news
continued to post scathing criticism. A June 17
article on the Beijing-based website cnsoftnews.com
called Green Dam an "international joke" and
"fiasco." An anti-Green Dam website
(www.lssw365.org) included hundreds of angry (and
often obscene) comments by web users. As of June
17, the site had collected over 8,200 online
"signatures" on its petition against the software.
The cartoon character Garfield became an unofficial
mascot for the anti-Green Dam campaign after
bloggers discovered that the software's image
filtering technology mistook pictures of the
unclothed, tan-colored cat for pornography.

GOVERNMENT UNLIKELY TO BACK DOWN
--------------


9. (C) Academic and media contacts, while
universally critical of the Green Dam program,
nevertheless felt there was little chance
authorities would reverse the decision. Tsinghua
University communications professor Zhou Qing'an
(protect),said the reaction among Tsinghua students
was "very negative." Zhou said the government would
tolerate online criticism of the decision, but would
quickly crack down on any attempt to organize "real
world" protests. Zhou predicted that, despite the
public outrage, the government was unlikely to back
down at this point. Green Dam had created an
international public relations problem for China,
Zhou said, but few in China's leadership cared
except for the State Council Information Office.
Zhou said the SCIO was concerned that the Green Dam
software would create an avenue for hackers and the
Western media to gain access to lists of banned
websites and key words, which the SCIO considered
sensitive information. Zhou predicted that, as with
many rules in China, enforcement of the Green Dam
decree would be lax. If computer makers did pre-
install Green Dam, Zhou said, retailers would likely
offer to remove the software for a small fee.

"COMPLEX" INTERESTS AT WORK

BEIJING 00001660 003 OF 003


--------------


10. (C) Wang Chong (protect),an editor at the
China Weekly news magazine, told PolOff June 16 that
the Green Dam project was an extension of the anti-
vulgarity campaign launched by Party leaders in
January to crackdown on online pornography and
sensitive political content (ref C). Wang said
that while the idea of promoting filtering software
appealed to Party leaders' genuine desire to stop
pornography, the decision to grant one company an
effective monopoly involved "complex economic
interests." Powerful "lobbying groups" drove the
policy to mandate the exclusive use of Green Dam,
and the process demonstrated that public opinion had
only limited sway in official decision making. Like
Zhou, Wang predicted that the government would not
back down but, after a brief period, enforcement
would slacken and the rule would be forgotten.
Though Green Dam was a setback for Internet freedom,
Wang asserted that the long-term trend remained
positive and, as the Green Dam controversy
illustrated, China's Internet users were
increasingly defiant of official attempts to control
online speech.


11. (C) Beijing Film Academy Scholar and pro-
democracy activist Cui Weiping (protect) echoed
Wang's assessment in a June 12 meeting with PolOff.
The Green Dam decision showed the "huge gap" between
the government and public opinion. The controversy
was evidence that Chinese people wanted "more space"
for public discussion but the leadership "doesn't
get it" and reflexively sought to exert more control
over online discourse. Like Wang and Zhou, Cui said
she saw little chance that the government would
change its mind despite the overwhelmingly negative
public reaction to Green Dam.
PICCUTA