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Amateur Computerist Newsletter The Amateur Computerist http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/ Spring 2016 The Internet, Netizens and China 2005-2015 Volume 27 No. 1 Table of Contents “The Internet is a resplendent achievement of human th Introduction . Page 1 civilization in the 20 Century.” She explained why Internet: Int'l Origins & Impact on Its Future. Page 3 “government has to play the essential role in Internet WGIG: China On Internet Governance . Page 8 China-CSNET E-mail Link History Corrected . Page 9 governance… creating a favorable environment boost- Origins of Internet and Emergence of Netizens . Page 15 ing Internet growth while protecting the public inter- Anti-CNN: Media Watchdog & Netizen Debate . Page 21 ests.” Madam Hu was speaking as the head of the Power of Chinese Netizens . Page 23 delegation from the People’s Republic of China. The Netizens Challenge Media Distortions . Page 25 text of her talk on Internet governance appears as the First Netizen Celebration Day . Page 28 China in the Era of the Netizen . Page 29 second article in this issue. My Thinking on Netizens . Page 31 The next article, “The 1987 Birth of the China- Proposal for World Internet Conference . Page 32 CSNet Email Link and How Its History Got Cor- rected,” describes how an international e-mail link between China and the rest of the online world was made possible by a Chinese-German research collabo- Introduction ration in the 1980s. By the time of the Tunis Confer- ence, however, this was not the history being told in China. This issue of the Amateur Computerist docu- A two-day side conference held just before the ments an important achievement of Internet develop- Tunis WSIS Summit was called the Past, Present, and ment that took place in the period extending from Future of Research in the Information Society (PPF). November 2004 through December 2015, a period of A panel at this conference held on November 14, 2005 a little over a decade. During those years Internet users was titled “The Origin and Early Development of the especially in China exercised a more active and broader Internet and of the Netizen: Their Impact on Science form of citizenship giving a preview of what netizen- and Society.” On this panel, a paper on the German- ship might in the future be able to do for a society. Chinese Collaboration presented the evidence to correct The issue begins with “The International the inaccurate narrative circulating in China. In the Origins of the Internet and the Impact of this Frame- audience were some members of the Chinese delega- work on Its Future,” a talk presented at Columbia tion to the WSIS conference, including Madam Hu. University to an audience of librarians in November After a brief discussion of the two views of how China 2004. The talk introduced the World Summit on the became connected to international e-mail, Madam Hu Information Society of which Part 2 would be held in said she would encourage that there be an investigation Tunis Tunisia in November 2005. The talk put the into the disagreement and if the narrative that was upcoming Summit in the broad context of the develop- being told in China was not accurate, she would help ment of the Internet. to get it corrected. The article in this issue describes The talk referred to some of the speakers at a how between 2005 and 2007 this correction was made. UN sponsored meeting held on September 20-21, 2004 The fourth article in this issue is a talk presented in Geneva, Switzerland, preparing for the Working at the Tunis panel “International and Scientific Origins Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). One of the and the Emergence of the Netizen.” It documents the speakers quoted was Madam Hu Qiheng, who included vision that set the foundation for the Internet. Also it in her speech her appreciation of the Internet. She said: Page 1 describes a serious problem that computer pioneers Then on September 14, 2009, the Internet recognized in their efforts to develop computer and Society of China held the first Netizens Cultural Internet technology. As an example, JCR Licklider one Festival Day to honor netizens and present awards for of the most influential people in the history of com- netizen achievements. Other articles in the issue puter science spread a vision from the early 1960s of provide further examples of the role played by netizens universal connectivity which helped guide the develop- in Chinese society. One article describes how netizens ment of the Internet. He believed that there would be gave aid and support to those affected by the earth- a need for the public to be involved in the consider- quake in Sichuan in 2008, as a few years earlier ations and decisions regarding network development. netizens had helped with the handling of the SARS He recognized that there would be problems with epidemic. These are some of the examples of how pressure being put on government from other sectors netizens in China and Chinese speaking netizens of society and that active citizen participation would be around the world have demonstrated the important role needed to counter these pressures. Licklider realized netizens can play in helping to make their society and there would need to be a public spirited online citizenry the world more responsive to citizens and to social which would actively take up to solve problems when needs. they developed. In the article in this issue, “My Thinking on Just such a public spirited online citizenry had Netizens,” Xu Liang while a visiting scholar at developed by the early 1990s. One researcher in 1992- Columbia University, tells how he came online in 1999 1993, Michael Hauben observed the emergence of this and eventually saw the value of the Internet to society. public spirited online citizenry. He proposed the name He writes, referring to the authors of the book Netizens, “Netizen” to describe these online citizens. Describing “They imagine that the netizens would be the main- netizens, Hauben wrote: stream in cyber society and it would give birth to a Netizens…are people who understand good and equal society in reality which would break it takes effort and action on each and away from the traditional minority-ruling-majority every one’s part to make the Net a model. Marx and many Communists once tried to regenerative and vibrant community construct such a perfect society. They failed in practice. and resource. Netizens are people who The Internet and netizen probably provide a technologi- decide to devote time and effort into cal tool and a different way to realize the dream. This making the Net, this new part of our is our best wish.” But he warns it will take a long time world, a better place. and if governments act “in the name of the netizens, Subsequent articles in this issue include several netizen society will just repeat the traditional model.” that document some of the netizen developments that This issue of the Amateur Computerist cele- took place in China over the course of the 2005-2015 brates the Internet and netizenship especially as they decade. For example, in 2008 netizens in China and developed from 2004 to 2015 and especially in China. Chinese speaking netizens from around the world The last article presents a proposal to the organizers of created the Anti-CNN web site. Two of the articles in annual World Internet Conference (WIC) in China. It this issue describe the Anti-CNN web site, set up to proposes that the WIC include an academic segment of counter false narratives spread in the western media in the conference to enhance the possibility that the WIC response to violent riots that took place in Lhasa in will build on the lessons from the early development of March 2008. the Internet and the emergence of the netizens. The article in this issue “China in the Era of the Netizen” documents other examples of netizen activities in China, from the July 2009 English language edition of the Chinese magazine NewsChina. The title of that issue is “The Netizens’ Republic of China.” It includes an article on “Netizens, The New Watchdogs.” That article describes the importance of the practice of Chinese netizens engaging in online supervision of public officials toward creating more democratic governance in China. Page 2 The International Origins of economic and social development and well being. The participants recognized that the Internet is an interna- the Internet and the Impact tional network of networks, and that it has been built of This Framework on Its by a great deal of public and scientific effort and funding. The disagreement arises over the nature of the Future. present and future management structure and processes by Ronda Hauben for the governance of the Internet. [email protected] In 1998 the U.S. government, which had pre- viously overseen the Internet’s infrastructure managed [Editor’s note: The following is a talk given at as a non commercial, scientific and educational me- Columbia University on Nov. 4, 2004.] dium, made a decision to begin to transition it to a private sector entity which is called the Internet Cor- The research I have been doing for the past 12 poration for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). years is about the origin, development and social In the WSIS process there has been a lot of impact of the Internet. I want to propose that knowing contention over the form and processes of ICANN. The something of the nature of the Internet, of its interna- concern is that ICANN was constructed as a business tional origins and early vision and development can and technical creation and that this process marginaliz- provide a useful perspective for looking at a process ed governments.
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