At the opening of the second World Internet Conference on Wednesday, China made sure its voice was heard: Every country has the right to create its own Internet governance model, and the cyber sovereignty of all nations should be respected.
China firmly opposes Internet hegemony, foreign interference in internal affairs, and incitement that could threaten national security, President Xi Jinping said during his opening remarks at the conference.
The Internet is not beyond law and it should be ruled in accordance with a country's laws and regulations. There are certain common principles in cyberspace that all countries should follow to assure win-win outcomes, however, each country is unique and its Internet governance models will reflect this.
Some countries have been preaching "absolute" freedom in cyberspace for years. Ironically, they exercise the strictest surveillance when national interests may be harmed. China has about four million websites and 668 million Internet users.
According to the Cyberspace Administration of China, 30 billion pieces of information are created every day. The Chinese government and IT companies trawl the Internet looking for online rumors, pornography, gambling and other cyber crimes to protect the lawful interests of its citizens.
Although China has amassed the world's largest Internet population since the Internet arrived in 1994, it remains a latecomer, and there is still much to fully tap the potential of the Internet. Particularly, China is a major victim of cyber hacking as many deem it a rising threat.
There is no "absolute" freedom in either the physical world or cyberspace. Freedom and order must be upheld side by side. Freedom is the purpose and order is the means. China applies rule of law to the Internet with the enacting of new laws and regulations regarding cyber security and other Internet areas.
These laws not only provide the legal basis for counter-cyber crime work, but also guarantee the lawful interests of Internet users and companies at home and abroad. Economic opening up and effective governance of the Internet by law have played key roles in the growth of China's Internet sector over the past two decades.
And China's Internet regulators have repeatedly promised to give freedom to those who abide by the country's laws and regulations and help them achieve bigger success.
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