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dissidents and individuals who run afoul of the regulations by engaging in politically sensitive
communication. Chase and Mulvenon (2002) have detailed numerous examples, from Huang Qi,
who operated a website with news about the Tiananmen massacre, to members of the Falun
Gong who disseminate their materials online. Sentences of several years in prison are common
for such offenses, undoubtedly deterring others who might have inclinations to engage in similar
activity.
Similarly, periodic crackdowns on the Internet cafés and chat rooms that allow patrons to
engage in prohibited activities have encouraged these intermediaries to police their own users. In
addition to implementing the technological measures of censorship and surveillance detailed
above, they have added elements of human control to comply with regulations. Internet café
managers tend to closely observe their users’ surfing habits, especially after a series of
crackdowns and closures of Internet cafés in 2001. Similarly, most chat rooms employ censors
known as “big mamas” who screen postings and delete those that touch on prohibited topics. The
operators of major Internet portals, who are forbidden to post information that “undermines
social stability,” have steered clear of anything potentially sensitive, offering primarily
entertainment, sports information, and news from official sources. Even where regulations do not
specifically require it, market constraints have encouraged the private sector to comply with the
state’s broad goals for the Internet. Doing business in China means maintaining good relations
with the government; for Internet-related businesses, this means complying with the state’s
overall designs for the technology, both written and unwritten. In early 2000, for instance, over
100 of China’s major Internet entrepreneurs signed a pledge to promote self-discipline and
encourage the “elimination of deleterious information [on] the Internet” (Kalathil and Boas
2003)
Convention