俄罗斯寻求中国的帮助来控制互联网

AS IT IS 2016-05-23 Russia Seeks China’s Help Controlling the Internet 俄罗斯寻求中国的帮助来控制互联网

A Russian group working to restrict information on the Internet is seeking advice from Chinese experts.

Russia’s Safe Internet League met in Moscow last month with China’s powerful censors², including Fang³ Binxing. He is known as one of the creators of “The Great Firewall of China.”

The Safe Internet League is registered as a non-governmental organization. But it reportedly has links to important Russian officials.

Observers say the recent meeting shows that government officials in the two countries want to increase their control of the Internet.

Fang spoke⁴ to the gathering⁵ about “cyber sovereignty.” He said national borders should be guarded in the online world as they are in the real world. And he said foreign interference with a country’s government should not be accepted.

Lu Wei is China’s chief of cybersecurity and Internet policy. He said online freedom is not a right but a responsibility. He said it should be limited because it could lead to terrorism, according to a message on the social media website Twitter from a Financial Times newspaper reporter.

Lu agreed with Russian officials who say Western media are leading an “information war” against their two countries.

Both Chinese and Russian officials at the meeting said that American business interests have too much control of the Internet.

Konstantin Malofeev is chairman of the Safe Internet League. Observers say he is linked to both the Russian government and the Russian-supported rebels in eastern Ukraine. He said Russia should learn from China’s Internet censorship practices and protect its sovereignty online.

Russian Internet experts say the meeting shows that the Russian government plans to take increasing control of online information ahead of parliamentary elections. The vote will take place September 18.

Russia will hold its presidential election in 2018.

Andrei Soldatov is a Russian investigative reporter. He co-wrote the book, “The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia’s Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries.” He told VOA he believes the government wants to be sure that it can control the Internet before the elections.

Russian officials began to watch social media more closely after it was used to organize large anti-government protests in 2011 and 2012.

Ilya Klishin is the chief of digital media at the independent Russian television station TV Rain. He told VOA “they thought if you control the television stations -- I mean, like major TV stations -- then you’re good, then you control the public opinion. At that point they found out that even Internet news websites and people on Facebook and Twitter can actually organize 100,000 (person demonstrations⁶ in) downtown Moscow.”

Anton Nosik is a long-time blogger in Moscow. Russian officials charged him with extremism one day before the meeting of the Russian and Chinese Internet experts.

The charges are connected to online statements he made about Syria. He compared the country’s government to Nazi⁷ Germany and wrote that it should be destroyed.

The comments came just after Russia began its air campaign to support the Syrian government against rebels. Nosik could face a fine of thousands of dollars and a four-year prison term.

Nosik told VOA that Russian lawmakers are competing with each other to write bills that would censor¹ and control information on the Internet. He says some of them are doing it because they want attention and to be included in the next parliament. He says lawmakers have written, in his words, “so many laws (to limit) Internet freedom in very many different ways.”

Reporter Andrei Soldatov says the government targets well-known bloggers and activists⁸ for a reason.

“Because the Russian system, in large part, is based on intimidation⁹ and instigating¹⁰ self-censorship among journalists and among users of social networks and bloggers.”

Experts believe the government will continue to try to intimidate¹¹ independent journalists. But Klishin, from TV Rain, does not believe Russia will block large websites or social networks, as China does.

“It’s not like in China or even in Turkey where they had YouTube or Twitter blocked. So far, they (have) never blocked a major social network or web platform like Gmail or YouTube or Twitter,” he says.

“(If they banned) Facebook in Russia then everyone would notice.”

Russia is following China’s practice of forcing all foreign Internet service providers to place their servers with Russian data inside Russia.

Soldatov says Russian security services would have all the providers’ technologies of encryption immediately available.

Western companies have resisted placing their servers in Russia. But some Chinese companies have started to do so.

Words in This Story

censor – n. a person who examines books, movies, letters, etc., and removes things that are considered to be offensive, immoral¹², harmful to society, etc.

firewall – n. a computer program or piece of equipment that keeps people from using or connecting to a computer or a computer network without permission

sovereignty – n. a country's independent authority and the right to govern itself

according to – preposition as stated, reported or recorded by (someone or something)

practice – n. something that is done often or regularly

you’re good – expression everything is OK; you have reached your goal

intimidate – v. to make (someone) afraid

instigate¹³ – v. to cause (something) to happen or begin

server – n. the main computer in a network which provides files and services that are used by the other computers

1 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。

2 censors   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The censors eviscerated the book to make it inoffensive to the President. 审查员删去了该书的精华以取悦于总统。
• The censors let out not a word. 检察官一字也不发。

3 fang   

n.尖牙，犬牙

参考例句：

• Look how the bone sticks out of the flesh like a dog's fang.瞧瞧,这根骨头从肉里露出来，象一只犬牙似的。
• The green fairy's fang thrusting between his lips.绿妖精的尖牙从他的嘴唇里龇出来。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

10 instigating   

v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Distant but clear Longyin instigating the eardrums of every person. 遥远却清晰的龙吟鼓动着每一个人的耳膜。 来自互联网
• The leader was charged with instigating the workers to put down tools. 那位领导人被指控煽动工人罢工。 来自互联网

11 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

12 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

13 instigate   

v.教唆，怂恿，煽动

参考例句：

• His object was to instigate a little rebellion on the part of the bishop.他的目的是，在主教方面煽起一场小小的造反。
• It would not prove worthwhile to instigate a nuclear attack.挑起核攻击最终是不值得的。