Internet Publishing: China Pushes for Increased Supervision and Self-Discipline in the Industry

As of July 2002, the number of internet users in China had jumped a reported 72.8 % in just 12 months to about 45.8 million. China has overtaken Japan to became the world's second most active web audience, accounting for 6.63% of all global internet traffic, second only to the United States.¹ Indeed, "netizens" in China, not unlike internet users elsewhere in the world, can now access a variety of content online, from sports and stock news, to anecdotes about the country's top leaders. But in China, where the government has long maintained tight controls on the media, the internet is something of an anomaly for the State. On the one hand, the government seems to increasingly recognize certain potentials of the internet with the government itself pushing through "informatization" and "e-government" projects. On the other hand, the Chinese government can be seen as trying to balance its role in regulating the traditional media against the challenges