On February 2, 2012, People’s Daily published an article titled “How to Understand and Maintain Internet Sovereignty.” The article declared that “Internet sovereignty is a new form of national sovereignty,” which needs regulations and rules of conduct. The Internet is a new medium for exercising national information sovereignty. To some extent, however, the Internet erodes national information sovereignty. “The State is no longer the only center for the dissemination of information. Various actors can release information on the Internet, which undermines the state’s power over information ownership and control.”

The article suggests “exploring an Internet development path that suites China’s national conditions” so as to “effectively prevent Internet risks and resolve Internet crises.”

Source: People’s Daily, February 2, 2012-02-22
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/17003075.html

On September 5, 2011, Zhejiang Daily published an article, titled “A Five-Step Process: Actively Guiding Public Opinion Online.” A CCP propaganda department chairman in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, wrote an article summarizing Taizhou City’s propaganda process on how to deal with sudden public incidents.

Step 1: Within three hours of a sudden incident, publish an online news brief and become the first authoritative voice on the Internet. Step 2: Within 12 hours, hold an online news conference to announce the relevant information based on “the principle of a quick release of the facts with cautious reports on the reasons and more reports on attitude” (relating to the sincerity of the government). Step 3: Mobilize Internet commentators (paid by the government) to set up online discussion topics and give positive responses. Step 4: Immediately follow-up with reports on any new developments. Step 5: Toward the end of the incident, when the public’s attention shifts away, issue fewer reports. At that time, no summarized reports or experience sharing reports are allowed so as to avoid another wave of heated discussion on the Internet.

Source: Zhejiang Daily, September 5, 2011
http://zjdaily.zjol.com.cn/html/2011-09/05/content_1069329.htm?div=-1

On February 21, 2012, Nanfang Daily, an official Guangdong Provincial Communist Party newspaper, reprinted an article from People’s Daily (the original article is no longer available on the Internet), titled “Guangdong to Organize Thousands of Internet Commentators to Guide Public Opinion Online – Don’t Remain Silent When an Incident Occurs.”

In a speech that Zhu Mingguo, the deputy secretary of the CCP’s Guangdong Provincial Committee, delivered at a conference held by the Guangdong Provincial Federation of Labor Union, Zhu stated, “In today’s era of the Internet and blogs, everyone is a spokesman; everyone can be a reporter. The younger generations of workers all know the Internet. Therefore, the (CCP) labor union cadres must also know how to use the Internet. Whenever anything bad happens, cadres must not remain silent. ‘Not saying anything’ or ‘speaking too much’ will make things worse.”

Source: Nanfang Daily, February 21, 2012
http://media.nfdaily.cn/content/2012-02/21/content_38425919.htm

Wang Lijun, the former director of public security and vice mayor of the southwestern China city of Chongqing, who disguised himself and went secretly to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu City, and who China’s State Security officials later escorted to Beijing, is now nowhere to be found. His relatives have sought information from the authorities about Wang’s whereabouts, but to no avail. Last Thursday, Xinhua said that the Chinese authorities were investigating why Wang Lijun, one of its top police chiefs, spent a day inside the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu. Since then, there has been no official information from the Chinese authorities. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Ming Pao reported that Beijing has concluded that the Wang incident is a “very serious political problem.”

Sources:
Boxun, February 16, 2012
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2012/02/201202141723.shtml
Xinhua, February 9, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-02/09/c_122681189.htm
Ming Pao reprinted by Nanyang Post, February 14, 2012
http://www.nanyangpost.com/news/china/8717.html