Internet Filtering in China in 2004 2005 

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PPEND IX 

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China Background 

A. General Description 

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is located in eastern Asia, between North Korea and 

Vietnam.  With a geographic area of approximately 3.7 million square miles and a population of 1.3 

billion, China is one of the largest and most populous areas on Earth.

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  Officially atheist since 2002, 

China's population includes adherents to Daoism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity.  Describing itself as 

a  central democracy,  China exists as a socialist state ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.

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Though it has the second largest economy in the world, China still ranks low in per capita 

economic measures.  China has attempted to integrate market oriented systems with a political 

framework of strict and centralized Communist control.

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  China is ranked 94 out of 177 states in 2004 on 

the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index.

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B. Political System 

The Chinese Communist Party controls the legislature, known as the National People's Congress 

(NPC), which is composed of 2,989 delegates serving five year terms.  The NPC appoints an executive 

State Council.

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  While other political parties exist, none is recognized by China because they are 

considered subversive.

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  The state is divided into 22 provinces, four municipalities directly under central 

government control, and five autonomous regions governed by local people's congresses.

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The Chinese Communist Party represses dissent, although traditional systems of social control 

and surveillance, such as the previously utilized  work unit , are being discarded in favor of structural 

reforms, greater social mobility, and strong economic growth.

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  Nonetheless, independent organizations 

capable of mobilizing popular support are perceived as threats; for example, the Chinese state has 

vigorously suppressed the practice of Falun Gong

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 and the separatist views of those who support 

freedom for Tibet.

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 China, Encyclop dia Britannica Online, at 

http://search.eb.com/eb/article?tocId=9117321. 

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 CIA, The World Factbook    China, Feb. 10, 2005, at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html. 

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 See generally U.S. Department of State, Background Note: China, at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/18902.htm 

(Oct. 2004); Lucian W. Pye, The Spirit of Chinese Politics 1 11 (1992 ed.). 

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 United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2004 at 139 140, July 15, 2004, at 

http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/. 

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 CIA, The World Factbook   China. 

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 CIA, The World Factbook   China. 

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 CIA, The World Factbook   China. 

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 With work units, state owned factories provided salary, housing, education, and political indoctrination.  See 

Economist Intelligence Unit, Country Briefings: China   Political Forces, at 

http://www.economist.com/countries/China/profile.cfm?folder=Profile%2DPolitical%20Forces (Feb. 9, 2004). 

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 See Falun Gong: China's Dilemma, CNN.com, at http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/falungong/. 

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 See The Dalai Lama: Man of Peace Takes His Place on World Stage, CNN.com, at 

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/inside.china/profiles/dalai.lama/. 

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