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Big Drop In Number Of Websites In China

The number of websites in China has fallen over the past six months according to Chinese Government officials who say it is simply a technical anomaly.

However critics contend it is a sign of more repressive government control of China’s cyberspace.

In recent weeks RFA reported there have been reports of a crack-down on microblogging sites in addition to the usual internet censorship.

RFA’s Mandarin Service say the  The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), a state network information center under the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) has reported a nearly 14 percent drop in registered websites.

 CNNIC has published its 26^th report on the Internet development in China last week, revealing that by the end of June 2010, the total number of Chinese websites was 2.79 millions, a decrease of 13.7 per cent compared with six months ago.

 “Chinese websites” were defined by CNNIC as the websites of domain name registrants within the territory of China, including both hosted domestically and abroad.

 The decline is in stark contrast with the global trend. According to VerySign, U.S. based internet infrastructure company, websites around the world have being increasing at the yearly rate of about 12 per cent.

 The CNNIC report attributes the diminished number of sites to the expiration of domain names, citing data compiled by NetCraft, a UK Internet survey provider.

 But cyber experts in China disputed that saying the decline was more to do with the Government’s policy opposing anonymity in domain registrations.

 Shanghai-based cyber commentator Hong Bo said Friday China has tightened up control on the Internet since last year.

 “The control has been particularly focused on site documentation and domain registrations,” he said.

 “First, it requires people to use their real names to register a domain name; and second, it asks for the registration to be done through a business or a company.

 “These requirements disqualified many from registering. I really don’t know what the purpose of the government is,” Hong said.

 In March, Radio Free Asia reported that America’s GoDaddy.com, the world’s largest domain name registration company, ceased registering the Chinese “.cn” domain names in response to Beijing’s new rules that require applicants to provide extensive personal data.

 In fact, CNNIC and other Chinese Internet regulators last December mandated .cn domain registration applicants to provide not only their personal IDs but also photographs of themselves.

These measures pushed a number of applicants to register higher level domain names such as .com or to register abroad.

 The manager of the famous corruption-buster website cnyulun.net, Li Xinde,  said registering a domain name in China was difficult.

 “I registered a domain name fanfubai (meaning anti-corruption).cn and was requested to pay the service charges for three years in advance, which I did,” he said.

 “However, I suddenly got a notice that asked for my ID as well as business license to be faxed to the office of domain registration. Otherwise, they said, my domain name could not be used. But even though I followed their requests, they ultimately terminated my domain name.

 “Therefore, the number of websites must be going down, because the scrutiny of new applications is much harsher now. If you want to register a website, you must provide your real name and your pictured ID.”

 Meanwhile, Chinese netizens, in online discussions, have been criticizing the new rules saying that censorship hindered development of the internet and deprived a degree of vigor from Chinese cyberspace.

 Hong Bo concluded that the murky way of Chinese cyber control is directly against the global expansion of the Internet, and the shrinkage of website numbers has tremendous negative impact on Chinese economy and its future. This was an immeasurable loss caused by China’s rigid political system.

 Original reporting by Mandarin Hong Kong office Xin Yu. Translated by Ping Chen.