Green Dam

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a notice, made public June 8, requiring computer manufacturers to ensure that all computers sold in China as of July 1 are shipped with a software program called "Green Dam." The software, designed by the Chinese company Jinhui Computer System Engineering (JCSE) in cooperation with the Chinese military and security agencies, is designed to prevent "immoral material" such as pornography and profane language from being accessed on the Internet. China often uses such measures as cover for clamping down on political dissent by blocking access to Web sites that criticize the government or attempt to organize people into unsanctioned groups. While Green Dam is being advertised as a program that will censor immoral material, it could easily be used to censor other material perceived to be hostile to the Chinese state. China is well known for its "Great Firewall" that prevents certain material from being accessed by computers with Chinese-based IP addresses. However, enterprising computer users have managed to get past the firewall by using proxy IP addresses from other countries. Green Dam goes a step further than the Great Firewall by placing the filter inside the individual computers instead of within the country's entire network, which means that proxy IP addresses alone will no longer allow computer users to view banned sites. The exact wording of the Ministry's announcement does give computer makers and buyers an option when it comes to installing the software. PC makers are required to either pre-install the software on the computers they ship to China or, at a minimum, include a CD-ROM copy of the software in the shipment. So far the software is available only as a Windows-compatible version, so not everyone who buys a computer in China after July 1 will necessarily have Green Dam software. However, public Internet access points such as schools and Internet cafes will be required to have the software on their computers. Already, some 2.6 million computers and nearly 7,000 Web sites in China are using Green Dam. JCSE certainly landed a plum deal with the Chinese government, which, in addition to requiring the software to be included in every new computer sold in China, reportedly spent $6.1 million subsidizing Green Dam's development. But there are likely deeper reasons for the new policy than simply giving preferential treatment to JCSE. Encouraging every computer user in China to have a common piece of software will make it easier for Chinese cyberpolice to regulate access to the Internet. Green Dam is designed to receive updates from JCSE including newly banned Web sites, words and phrases. This means that JCSE has the ability to upload information to computers using the software. Even computer users who install the software but don't turn it on or don't pay for it after their free trial year will have latent software on their computers that is programmed to receive updates from JCSE. This essentially gives JCSE (and its government collaborators) a common portal into every computer that uses Green Dam. This access could be manipulated to send any number of commands to PCs around the country, from blocking certain Web sites to tracking individual activity. The significance of the Green Dam requirement isn't that the government is requiring PC makers to include anti-pornography software with each PC shipped to China. The more important fact is that China is encouraging its computer users to put a single, uniform piece of software on every computer they purchase. This is an unprecedented move when it comes to national cybersecurity, and regardless of the government's intentions, the simple fact that more and more computers in China will share common software means that a gap or weakness in that software could be manipulated by a skilled hacker with very broad consequences. Click image to enlarge

June 4

• Chinese media reported that two deputy mayors in Chaohu, Anhui province, were removed from office for involvement in a cash-for-appointments scandal. The ex-officials reportedly gave 12,000 and 13,000 yuan (about $1,800 and $1,900) to Zhao Guangquan, former party secretary in Chaohu, shortly after receiving their appointments.

June 5

• A man from Bei Si Tu village in Hebei province stabbed five people, killing four and injuring one. The man stabbed a fellow villager and his wife after they refused to serve him alcohol at a banquet. He then went to the house of the couple's son and stabbed him, his wife and their two children.
• Local police in Ruzhou, Henan province, beat a man so severely that they ruptured his spleen for failing to produce proper identity documents. Relatives said the man disappeared and turned up the next day in the hospital.
• Local media reported that a man was arrested last month in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, for attempting to extort 20,000 yuan (about $2,800) from a government office by threatening to bomb a school. The man had previously served an 11-year sentence for robbery.
• Four foreign models were stabbed in their arms and legs by an audience member who jumped onto the runway during a fashion show in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. No one was killed in the attack.
• A 25-year-old woman was arrested for selling her four-month-old child in Chenzhou, Hunan province, in what she described as an attempt to end her marriage.
• A bus caught fire in Chengdu, Sichuan province, after someone reportedly poured gasoline on the floor and then ignited it. The resulting fire killed 27 people and injured 74.

June 6

• Taxi drivers in Chenzhou, Hunan province have returned to work following a strike to protest illegal cabs in the city. In response, the city government has promised a crackdown on illegal cabs and a lowering of cab rental fees.

June 8

• The bribery trial of Hao Xingren, former director of the Bureau of Land and Resources, began in Xinzhou, Shanxi province. Hao was charged with taking 1.9 million yuan (about $260,000) in bribes related to real estate deals.
• Chinese media reported that two people were killed when a car rammed into a group of construction workers in Beijing. The driver and a passenger attempted to flee but surviving workers detained them until police arrived.
• A tofu vendor was beaten and dragged behind a car by Chengguan officers in Guanzhou, Guangdong province. Following an argument between the vendor and the officers outside a supermarket, the officers beat the vendor then attempted to drive away. The vendor held on to the rear bumper of their car in protest and was dragged until he lost consciousness. Police are investigating the incident.

June 9

• Media reported that Shi Yuqing, a member of the People's Congress from Meizhou, Guangdong province, stole 30 million yuan (about $4.2 million) from his real estate firm and fled. While local authorities originally determined that the amount was insufficient to pursue Shi, provincial police decided to press charges in April. Shi is currently in custody.
• Ma Pei, a real estate speculator in Huainan, Anhui province, was charged with embezzling and extorting 17 million yuan (about $2.38 million). Ma is preparing his appeal.
• In the run-up to the 60th anniversary October 1 of the founding of the People's Republic of China, anti-terrorism drills were conducted in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, and in Shanxi and Hebei provinces surrounding Beijing. The drills cover the handling of a bomb containing radioactive material and other possible terrorist attack scenarios.

June 10

• Ten tons of liquid ammonia leaked out of a chemical plant because of a burst pipe in Hechi, Guangxi province, killing one person and injuring two others. A hydroelectric power station released stored water to wash the harmful chemicals out of the Longjiang River, and authorities now report that the water is testing normal.