China Says Internet Firms Abiding by Its Laws Welcome

“The Chinese government administers the Internet according to law and we have explicit stipulations over what content can be spread on the Internet,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular briefing in Beijing today. Chinese law prohibits hacking and other forms of online attacks, she said, declining to say whether that law also applies to state agencies.

Google said Jan. 12 in a blog posting that it had been subjected to “highly sophisticated” cyber attacks originating from China. Its public announcement gives the ruling Chinese Communist Party leaders little room to compromise in any talks to maintain the company’s domestic Internet search engine, said Huang Jing, a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

“The Chinese government may want to give Google’s high- profile move the cold shoulder,” Huang said in an interview. “Given the reason Google cited in its announcement -- that Google.cn can no longer put up with Beijing’s censorship -- the CCP leaders are afraid that it could set a dangerous political precedent should they compromise on this one.”