China Should Be Headed toward Greater Information Transparency

Google recently announced that Gmail has suffered another attack, which they claim originated from Jinan, China. It is, however, clear to industry professionals that this is a ridiculous accusation and that Google is acting very naively. Other than U.S. government officials, Asian diplomats and military personnel, Google’s list of victims included Chinese political activists. All of these targets support and further the outside world’s view of the Chinese government, which they believe is willing to “do anything to insure national stability.” Google’s reported list of victims will also easily win over the support of people in China who don’t understand the Internet but are familiar with this method of political analysis.

In the end, we don’t know exactly how much Google suffered from these “Chinese” cyber attacks, but it is clear that while cyberspace remains a lawless wild west, Google has no way of escaping a large number of these sorts of attacks. These attacks are the true price of being on top. In addition, despite the fact that the attackers’ IP addresses were Chinese, the attackers may not have actually been located in China, and even if the attack was perpetrated from within China, the attackers weren’t necessarily Chinese or someone directed by the Chinese government. This is a very basic fact and is common knowledge for Internet experts, but Google, ever attempting to garner international pity and support, is deceiving people all over the world who don’t understand what an IP address is or how it works.

There is a saying about the Internet: The work of master hackers is untraceable while the ones who get caught are amateurs. Following Google’s lead, many Western politicians have announced that they are victims of cyber attacks that originated in China. The popular phrase “Chinese cyber attack” gives us a peek into American public opinion. The meaning is clear: Westerners believe that these attacks are perpetrated by the Chinese people and are directed by the Chinese government.

Perhaps this incident isn’t worth our time because, in fact, Western media has always sensationalized news. What we should be asking ourselves is: Where have all the relevant Chinese departments gone? China itself is prey to a great number of daily foreign cyber attacks; in one such incident several government officials’ computers were hacked, resulting in serious information leaks and the punishment of individual officials. But why doesn’t the Chinese government ever release news of its own cyber attacks, instead opting to quietly sit and listen obediently to foreign rebuke? It is in this way that a man who is guilty of no crime himself (constantly the victim of robberies) becomes known as an infamous bandit.

It is clear that other considerations lie behind accusations of Chinese cyber attacks. Google’s operations in China were probably not going well, and as the company’s grievances built up, it decided to pick a fight with the Chinese government. Western politicians accuse China of conducting cyber attacks in order to express to others that they are uncompromising on “the China issue.” These people are willing to discredit China as nonchalantly as they spend pocket change. But when China prudently cautions others, it is as if we live in Plato’s description of “Utopia.”

We like to condemn others, but we should reflect on our own actions. Information opacity has become a habit, with sensitive matters often handled through back room deals. However, it is clear that we live in an era in which we must struggle for attention and a voice. When silence is the default response to tough issues, it is impossible to take the initiative and frame issues in the way that you understand them. When silence is the response to tough issues, you will always have to address question set by others. It is in this way that China, a peaceful country, has little by little become known as a “big, bad” nation.

In April of this year Chinese police arrested Ai Weiwei — an action which was completely within the scope of China’s judicial sovereignty — but why didn’t the authorities quickly make the situation public, instead leaving the Western media ample time to discredit China? They have labeled Ai Weiwei’s arrest an “unlawful detention,” searing the word into Western public consciousness. The term is still being used to this day to talk about the arrest; it is unclear how much work it will take to eliminate the impact of these two words.

China is a dignified country, and while admittedly we have problems and have made mistakes, the good outweighs the bad. We have the ability to open up our national affairs to public scrutiny because our national goals can stand up to even the toughest judgment. The process of our national progress is not shameful in the least bit. We have nothing to hide, and many of our documents can be made public.

While the road to information transparency is a process, we must resolutely proceed down that road. This is the overwhelming trend of the Internet age and the unswerving direction of Chinese politics.