Internet can destroy Communist control over China, party supporters fear

BEIJING: China’s Communist thinkers are warning the government to nail down the runaway growth of Internet as it could destroy the party’s control over the giant nation. This reveals rising fears about the possible impact of people’s rebellion seen in some Arab countries, where Twitter and Facebook played key roles.

“Internet opinion is spontaneous, but increasingly shows signs of becoming organized,” a group of Communist writers said in an article by a group of writers in the Communist Party of China’s theoretical journal, “Qiushi,” which means “Seeking Truth.”

It is clear the article was vetted by high officials in the CPC before it was published.
The writers warned the party and government that a lot of what is being written and distributed over the Internet is not voluntary. It is driven by vested interests.

“Among the many controversies stirred up on the Internet, many are organized, with goals and meticulous planning and direction, and some clearly have commercial interests or political intentions in the background,” it said.

The writers advised the government to be keep close vigil because “hostile forces, terrorist organizations and others could manipulate public sentiment by manufacturing bogus opinion on the Internet” Such forces can damage “social stability and national security,” they said.

The article, which has been published in the international edition of the CPC organ, the People’s Daily, suggested the growing unease in the party about the ineffectiveness of the government’s media control efforts China does not allow foreign sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to be accessed in the country.

But the article makes no mention about the growth of “weibo” sites—the Chinese version of Twitter– with their 195 million users.

“In Internet battles, usually negative views crush positive ones,” said the People’s Daily, adding that extreme online opinion abounded with “unvarying suspicion of government policies, official statements, mainstream viewpoints, the social elite and the well-off,” the article said.

– Times of India