For a healthy virtual world

A thriving Internet, however, has raised the fears of gambling, violence, blackmailing and hacking which may ruin people's lives and undermine their security. Governments across the world thus have the right and responsibility to take measures to keep the Internet free of these threats. And that is exactly what the Chinese government has been doing.

With the flourishing of the Internet, the State has introduced laws and regulations to safeguard citizens' right to freedom of speech on the Internet and ensure that they do not violate this right. Some of these regulations are the Provisional Regulation on Publishing on the Internet, Provisional Cultural Regulation on the Internet, and the Regulation on Internet Information Service Management.

These laws and regulations, while setting the boundaries for freedom of expression on the Internet, have ensured such expression does not harm others' freedom. For instance, it is illegal to create, send, copy or spread nine types of information online. The types of information banned on the Internet are those that provoke ethnic hatred or ethnic discrimination; are against the State's policy on religion; undermine social stability; contain obscenity or violence, or promote gambling, terrorism or salacity; are blasphemous or insulting to other people, or violate other people's interests; violate the basic principles of the Constitution; are detrimental to the security of the State or national unity, or expose State secrets; and harm State honor or interests.

Libelous and other detrimental information can spread easily online. So to make it clear what constitutes libel according to the Criminal Code, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate jointly issued an explanation last year. The explanation says that a person is considered to have committed libel if he/she intentionally fabricates, helps fabricate, or spreads information that might harm other people's reputation.

Such an act will be considered serious if it forces the victim or his/her close relative/s to commit suicide, suffer bodily harm or lose sanity, or if the information is browsed 5,000 times or more, or forwarded 500 times or more on the Internet. For such offences, the responsible person could face a punishment that ranges from criminal detention to three years in prison. Public prosecution could be engaged to sue the perpetrator if the information spread by him/her causes a mass incident, public disorder or ethnic conflict, or seriously harms the State's image or interests.

These regulations, which are constantly being strengthened, have promoted freedom of speech and maintained order on the Internet. In 2000, China had only 27,289 websites. By the end of last year, the number had reached 3.2 million, with 2013 alone seeing a growth of 19.4 percent.

These facts indicate that an improved legal environment is helping Chinese netizens better use the Internet and protect their own interests.

The author is a professor at the Institute of International Strategy, Party School of the Central Committee of CPC.