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Internet & IT / China
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2000-03-28 22:19:00-05
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'Online China' - Government Goal
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China hopes to make Internet a driving force in economy, many obstacles loom
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Caught between the two prongs most governments find themselves in, a need to benefit from the economic power of the Internet and the need to control or even tax the Net, China is apparently embarking on a plan to bring the Internet to more industries, government offices and households. Ministry of Information Industry Wu Jichuan told a Bejing conference that his agency intends to 'rejuvenate' the digital electronics sector and do more to promote communications and software businesses. As the Internet is growing at an annual rate of 20%, almost three times the 7% growth rate of the general economy, China needs to adjust to take advantage of that higher growth. It is estimated that the number of Internet users is doubling every six months and is currently at 9 million. With this meteoric rise, has come a host of problems including copyright and plagiarism disputes. In one such case, six authors are suing a Web site for publishing their novels without authorization. However, the authoritarian regime in China also wishes to control the Web. Recently ordering Web sites to obtain licenses. In a related development, mobile phone giant, Ericsson, announced it had been awarded its biggest contract ever to extend mobile phone networks within the country.
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