Twenty years ago on April 20, 1994, China achieved a fully functional connection to the Internet, becoming the 77th country to access the Web.

While the Internet has made a significant contribution to the country's economic and social development ever since, risks posed by the rapidly expanding cyber world are also increasingly apparent, prompting Net users and regulators to be more cautious and responsive.

Though it is hard to imagine a life without the Internet for most urban residents now, the memory of the "off-the-grid" period in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in 2009 is still vivid for many local people.

On July 5, 2009, rock-flinging and knife-wielding thugs looted shops, torched vehicles, killed nearly 200 people and injured another 1,700 in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang. Internet access in the region was cut off in the wake of the riot.

Over the past five years, a series of violent terrorist attacks in the region attracted wide attention. Authorities have claimed that the attackers are usually affected by extreme religious or terrorism materials spread online.

While the region banned the dissemination of audio and video content that includes terrorism and violence in March this year, history might give regulators a hint today on how to find the balance in managing the Internet that could best exploit its advantages while protecting public and national security.

Days in the dark 

Back in 2009, in addition to Internet access and short message services (SMS), the Xinjiang government also suspended international direct dialing (IDD). Temporary Internet and communication controls were deemed necessary then because public security and intelligence authorities had evidence that the violence had been incited and organized via these three channels.

According to the regional public security department as well as anti-terrorism experts, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), led by ethnic separatist Rebiya Kadeer, had incited disturbances on the Internet and through other channels prior to the July 5 riot. The WUC was also blamed for the explosion in Kuqa county in southern Xinjiang and the attempted bombing of an airliner in 2008, both of which were organized with the help of the Internet.

Experts said potential extremists in Xinjiang learned through the Internet how to initiate terrorist attacks and make explosives.

Nur Bekri, the regional chairman, said Internet controls have been a common intervening measure among countries under similar circumstances. As a result, life for those living in Xinjiang - more than 21 million - changed abruptly after the July 5 riot.

According to a local college student surnamed Wang, almost all Internet bars in Urumqi at that time were transformed into game rooms overnight. Video shops that had been on the verge of extinction were revived, with customers flooding in to rent movies. Every film, blockbuster or not, became a sell-out in local cinemas.

Without interactions on popular social media websites such as renren.com and weibo.com, the Chinese versions of Facebook and Twitter, most youngsters in Xinjiang sought solace in mini games.

This made some parents strong advocates of the "No Internet" policy. A middle-aged woman recalled that she did not have to worry about her son's Net addiction, adding that her son became more willing to participate in outdoor activities.

But another resident, surnamed Li, recalled that his family had a pretty difficult year. His son was applying to study abroad. All the materials, including academic transcripts, recommendation letters and application forms, needed to be sent via e-mail. Every weekend, the son and his parents drove half a day out of Xinjiang to neighboring Gansu Province to check into a hotel room with Internet access.

Gradual resumption

On December 29, 2009, limited browsing of people.cn and xinhuanet.com, which are news portals of the People's Daily and the Xinhua News Agency, was resumed. News portals of sina.com and sohu.com became available on January 10, 2010. Earlier, access to online services such as banking, securities trading, school enrollment and weather forecasts were reopened.

On February 6, 2010, a total of 27 websites, including two online Web game sites, were reopened in the region. Another 32 websites and their online services were gradually available during March and April. In the meantime, people found they could once again send e-mails with attachments. The ban on SMS was also lifted.

Against the backdrop of an improved social situation and growing demand from Internet users, full Internet access in Xinjiang was restored on May 14, 2010, over 10 months after the deadly riot. The regional government posted an open letter online, expressing thanks to Internet users for their understanding and support.

On that day, a public servant, surnamed Zhang, succeeded in reaching the login interface of QQ, China's most popular instant messaging program, but failed to remember his password.

No way back

Despite the history, the world's largest Web population of 618 million has made online opinions too important to be ignored by officials and there is no way back to go off the grid.

The transformative power of the Internet has challenged top-down communication patterns in China by supporting multi-level and multi-directional flows of communication, changing the country's political landscape. A number of officials have been probed after online whistle-blowers accused them of corruption, the latest being Song Lin, chairman of State-owned corporation China Resources.

China's Internet has become an accessible yet decentralized platform for ordinary people to discuss public affairs and breaking events, said Wang Sixin, a law professor with the Communication University of China.

Although the vitality of social media seems to have simmered down a bit since the authorities launched an anti-rumor campaign last year and pressed charges against a number of online opinion leaders, Internet companies have found ways to get by.

Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, debuted this month on the Nasdaq exchange with a 19.1 percent jump.

Cyber security has also become a national priority, as President Xi Jinping became head of the central Internet security and informatization leading group in February, revealing the country's resolve to build itself into a strong cyber power.

Xinhua - Global Times