BEIJING — A Chinese government-backed think tank has accused the U.S. and other Western governments of using social-networking websites such as Facebook to spur political unrest and called for stepped-up scrutiny of the wildly popular sites.
As China’s online population — the world’s largest — surges past the 400 million mark, the communist government is growing increasingly sensitive to any online threats to its authority.
Although Beijing operates an extensive system of monitoring and censorship to block material deemed subversive, the Internet is still the most open and lively forum for discussion in a society where traditional media are controlled by the state.
Twitter, for instance, has emerged as a gathering place for dissidents and other politically minded Chinese wanting to voice their complaints and share information. Though the government routinely bans sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, technologically savvy users can easily jump China’s “Great Firewall” with proxy servers or other alternatives.
According to a report released this week by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the sites also harbor an external threat. The report, titled “Development of China’s New Media,” cited unnamed U.S. officials as saying social networking is an “invaluable tool” for overthrowing foreign governments. “We must pay attention to the potential risks and threats to state security as the popularity of social-networking sites continues to grow,” the report said.
Most of the overwhelmingly young Chinese Internet users go online just to chat, play games, listen to music and shop. And government-approved Chinese substitutes for banned social-media sites are readily available: Kaixinwang and Renren instead of Facebook, for example.
