Qiushi Theory published a commentary discussing WeChat and listing a number of unprecedented regulatory challenges that WeChat faces as compared to traditional media. First, the commentary compared WeChat with traditional media whose contents the government is able to control. WeChat was developed as a private friends channel and the role of the government was missing from the very beginning. Second, compared to traditional media, WeChat’s contents and coverage are hard to measure and monitor, while the content that traditional media publishes can be determined by which media published the contents, what the length of the contents is, and when it was published. Third, WeChat can penetrate large circles where the government will not be able to influence or evaluate the contents. According to the commentary, if there is lack of control over WeChat, then, when a crisis takes place, its social influence will be hard to control.

According to Wikipedia, WeChat is a mobile text and voice messaging communication service developed by Tencent in China. It was first released in January 2011. Wikipedia reported that, by January 2013, it had 300 million users, making it the largest social network in the world.

Source: Qiushi Theory, May 8, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2014/201409/201405/t20140508_347251.htm

People’s Daily interviewed Ni Guangnan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and professor at the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, about network security issues. Ni pointed out that without network security there would be no national security. This is the Chinese government’s point of view today. Ni stated that network security is by no means a purely technical issue and China must raise it to the national strategic level.

Ni said, "Apple, Google, and Microsoft have monopolized the operating system running on intelligent terminals including desktop PCs, notebooks, and smart phones. If China does not have the core technology of the smart terminal operating system, it is impossible to safeguard network security."

Ni also said, "All of the Internet’s root servers are in the hands of the United States and several of its allies. The United States has the actual control. Over the years, a number of countries, including China, have repeatedly asked for ‘international co-administration’ of the Internet, but the United States does not agree. … Therefore, to truly safeguard China’s network security, we cannot have any illusions. We should earnestly take action through the development of future networks; ultimately we must solve the problem that the Chinese public network is dependent on other [countries]."  

Source: People’s Daily, April 29, 2014
http://it.people.com.cn/n/2014/0429/c1009-24953592.html

On May 6, the "National Security Blue Book: Chinese National Security Research Report (2014)," prepared by the International Center for Strategic and Security Studies of the Institute of International Relations, was released in Beijing. This is China’s first National Security Blue Book. The book reviewed and analyzed China’s national security situation over the past year and proposed measures on how China should handle the security challenges it faces. 

According to Nanfang Dushi Bao (Southern Metropolis Daily), the first China national security blue book, the China National Security Research Report 2014, was released on May 6, 2014. It was prepared by the Strategic and Security Research Center under China’s Institute of International Relations. The Report reviewed, evaluated, and analyzed the national security issues of the past year and proposed countermeasures to the security challenges that China faces.