Chinese Lawmaker Calls for Web SafetyA Chinese lawmaker today called for more attention to be taken on web safety, saying that compared with the country's increasingly robust IT industry, characterized by the use of Internet, the supervision system on web safety has greatly lagged behind.Yu Enguang, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), made the remark at a plenary meeting of the 18th session of the Ninth NPC Standing Committee. China had only 60,000 Internet users in 1996. The number skyrocketed to 8.9 million by the end of 1999 and has surpassed 16 million at present. Yu pointed out that with the rapid development of China's IT industry, departments concerned should be wary of the fact that some foreign-based organizations are using the Internet to spread rumors on sensitive issues to conduct subversive and infiltrating activities against China. Major problems also include the spread of pornography on the net, the risk of divulging state secrets and criminal activities targeted at China's financial institutes. The lawmaker urged related departments to establish a more effective supervision system to ensure web safety, adding that the issue concern the country's political, economic and military safety, as well social stability. |
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