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Information/Technology - 65. page

Large Foreign IT Vendors Face Serious Challenges

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the new term “Removing IOE” is becoming a hot topic. “IOE” stands for IBM, Oracle and EMC. All are major IT vendors headquartered in the United States. Ever since the Snowden incident, U.S. high-tech companies have been suffering sharp declines in sales. The meaning of IOE quickly expanded to include more U.S. companies such as Microsoft and Cisco. According to reports released by the research institute Gartner, the IBM computer server market share in the Asia-Pacific region declined from last year’s 37 percent to 28 percent this first quarter. Its first quarter sales in China fell 20 percent compared to the first quarter last year. Cisco’s Chinese sales also suffered double-digit declines. Within the last month, the Chinese government also announced a policy to ban IBM products in Chinese banks and ban Microsoft Windows 8 from government procurement. The Chinese government intends to replace U.S. high-tech products with domestic alternatives. 
Source: Sina, May 30, 2014
http://tech.sina.com.cn/it/2014-05-30/01009408474.shtml
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China to Modify Radio Regulations; Maximum Penalty up to 500,000 Yuan

On May 6, China’s State Council Legislative Affairs Office started to solicit public opinion on the "People’s Republic of China Radio Regulations (Revised Draft)." The draft made it clear that unapproved use of radio frequencies and satellite orbit resources that cause serious consequences will be subject to a fine up to 500,000 yuan (US$80,300).
The draft stated that the use of radio frequencies shall not exceed 10 years. The operator should promptly deregister the frequencies if it plans to terminate the use of the radio frequencies before the expiration date. The allocation of radio frequencies should fully consider the needs of national security, economic, social and scientific and technological development, and the efficient use of resources.
The draft also demanded that radio regulatory agencies conduct regular inspections and testing on radio (stations), and investigate unlawful interferences in a timely manner in order to ensure the public safety of persons and property.
Source: Xinhua, May 6, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2014-05/06/c_1110560161.htm
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Cyberspace in China to Have Automatic Screening and Erasing Function

On April 21, 2014, wenhui.news365.com.cn published an article on automatic Internet control. According to the article, it is necessary to establish an automatic Internet screening system so as to erase any “one-sided, unhealthy, and illegal” information from the Internet immediately. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to have a government level management system, more comprehensive Internet laws and regulations, and public opinion guidance on the Internet so as to stop any Western ideological trends and promote socialism with Chinese characteristics as well as the China dream. 

Source: wenhui.news365.com.cn, April 21, 2014
http://whb.news365.com.cn/sp/201404/t20140421_1832159.html

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SAPPRFT Steps up Regulations on Web Audiovisual Programs

On March 19, China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) issued a "Notice on further strengthening the management of web TV Series, mini movies, and other Internet based audiovisual programs." The Notice demanded an enhanced regulation on the entry and exit mechanism and content review and approval of such programs.

The Notice stated that all Internet service units that stream web TV Series, mini movies, and other audiovisual programs should have qualified auditors trained by state or provincial professional associations, have a sound editing, review, and management system for the program contents, legally obtain a "permit for web dissemination of audio-visual programs" issued by radio, film and TV broadcasting authorities, and conduct business in strict accordance with what’s allowed by the license.

The Notice stated that Internet service units that produce and stream on its website audiovisual programs should legally obtain a "permit for producing radio, film and TV programs" and the relevant "permit for web dissemination of audio-visual programs."

The Notice stated that Internet audiovisual program service units should abide by the principle of "whoever operates the website is responsible," and implement the system auditing before broadcasting. The units should have auditors to review the contents of the programs before being web streamed.

The Notice stated that the Internet service units that forward and upload audiovisual program are subject to the same regulation as those that produce the programs. Internet service units should verify the genuine identity of individuals and institutions that upload audiovisual programs to the website.

The Notice stated that major funders and operators of Internet audiovisual program service units should be responsible for the contents of the programs. Those who violate the regulations may be subject to punishment including warning, fine, or suspension of qualification for investing in or operating an Internet audiovisual program service for up to five years.

Source: Xinhua, March 19, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-03/19/c_119850244.htm

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Ministry of Environmental Protection: 280 Million Residents Drink Unsafe Water

Recently, the Ministry of Environmental Protection published results showing that there are 250 million residents who live close to areas that have industries that cause heavy pollution or areas that have heavy traffic and 280 million residents who drink unsafe water. The results also showed that the health risk to residents who are exposed to air pollution is increasing as well. The study was based on a survey done from 2011 to 2012 of 100,000 people who are from 31 cities and regions and who are 18 years of age or older.

Source: People’s Daily, March 15, 2014
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2014/0315/c1001-24642042.html

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Beijing News: Xinzhou 60 Airplanes Grounded Due to Continuous Failures

Beijing News recently published a series of reports on the latest failures related to the Xinzhou 60 airplane, which is a regional jet model that a Chinese company completely designed and manufactured. On February 25, a sensor malfunction caused a landing gear false alarm in a Xinzhou 60 airplane operated by Aokai Airlines. Only three weeks ago, the landing gear failed when another Xinzhou 60 was landing near the city of Zhengzhou. The manufacturer of this airplane model, Xi’an Aircraft Industrial Corporation, told the reporter that it will request the government authorities to ground all domestic Xinzhou 60 planes for now. This model has a long record of accidents. On a previous occasion, it had been grounded for 74 months. Most of the Xinzhou 60 planes were sold internationally. They have suffered eight accidents outside of China, causing a total of 27 deaths. By the end of last year, 88 Xinzhou 60 had been sold to 27 buyers in 16 countries. The CEO of the manufacturer admitted that the model’s reliability is “not high.”
Source: Beijing News, February 26 & 27, 2014
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2014/02/26/306455.html
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2014/02/27/306596.html
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China’s Unprecedented Internet Mishap Due to Malfunction of Domain Name Root Servers

On January 21, at around 15:20, China’s entire top-level domain name root servers (DNS) malfunctioned, leaving two-thirds of China’s websites inaccessible and “causing severe damage to China’s Internet.” 

Internet users found themselves re-directed to IP 65.49.2.178 [a U.S. website]. The malfunction lasted until 18:30 when visits to most of the .com websites had been restored. 
The state-run China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) earlier said in a microblog post that the incident was due to a malfunction in China’s top-level domain name root servers and that the incident had no impact on .cn which functioned properly throughout the incident. 
Sources: 
Nanfang Daily, January 22, 2014 
http://epaper.nfdaily.cn/html/2014-01/22/content_7269197.htm 
Xinhua, January 22, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2014-01/22/c_119082541.htm
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People’s Daily: CAS Released New Operating System

People’s Daily recently reported that, on January 15, the Software Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced the availability of the China Operating System (COS). CAS fully owns the intellectual property of the new operating system, which is deigned to “break the monopoly” currently enjoyed by foreign operating systems such as those made by Microsoft, Apple, and Google. Due to the various security issues that open source operating systems have, the COS is designed to be “closed-source” in order to offer better security. The new operating system is aimed at all market segments including personal computers, hand-held devices, set-top boxes, and “smart” appliances. The COS claims to be built from the ground up, without any dependency on any other operating systems. Although hundreds of millions of Chinese end-point machines are currently running “foreign” operating systems, the Chinese Academy of Sciences is determined to face the challenges and join the competition against the international mainstream.
Source: People’s Daily, January 16, 2014
http://gd.people.com.cn/n/2014/0116/c123932-20406940.html
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