Title: Roundtable - China And The Internet | China In The Red | FRONTLINE | PBS
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Content: In addition, according to various reports, the Chinese authorities have been able to cut the average life of a proxy server -- which allows users to surreptitiously access sites that the government has blocked -- to approximately 15-30 minutes, a mere fraction what it used to be. As the government grows more adept at censoring the Internet, many have cast doubt on the potential of China's Internet "revolution." A working paper from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace maintains that China's experience has defied the traditional wisdom that the Internet is a "democratizing" technology. In addition to the government's "reactive" efforts to control the Internet -- not only censoring or blocking websites, but also monitoring chatrooms and closing thousands of Internet cafes -- the authors write that the Chinese leadership has also developed "proactive" ways to reinforce its propaganda. The government, for instance, set up websites to present its official views on various events, such as the mistaken bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by the U.S. during the 1999 war over Kosovo, and its reaction to the U.S. spy plane incident on Hainan Island in 2001. The government also exerts significant control by encouraging Internet businesses to practice a form of self-censorship. In March 2002, more than 100 Internet businesses in China signed a public pledge to promote "self-discipline," agreeing not to post any information online that would "jeopardize state security." " The pledge reflects the eagerness of many Internet entrepreneurs in China to reap the economic benefits from Internet use while protecting the country form elements that the government considers threatening," declared the Digital Freedom Network, a New York-based advocacy group. The results of such self-censorship can be dramatic. Yahoo, the Internet portal and search engine, filters its content in China.