My first impression upon hearing that the “Internet Access Permit” is coming is absurd. It’s like we need an “Eating Permit” to eat.
Because in today’s society, accessing the internet is as common as eating, it is both a natural right of citizens and an indispensable part of life. If we need a permit to access the internet, I think it’s no different from needing a permit to eat.
So after learning about this news, I immediately checked the relevant documents. It was jointly issued by the Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the content is roughly divided into two parts, one of which is the network number. This corresponds to the identity information of natural persons, a kind of network identity symbol.
The other part is the network permit, and its specific wording is: It refers to the network identity authentication credential that carries the network number and non-plaintext identity information of natural persons.
The key words here are “credential”, which means that you need this credential to access the internet. In the past, we accessed the internet based on our mood, we could go online whenever we wanted, and go offline whenever we wanted, but with this network permit, we have to rely on the credential. As for the specific management regulations of this network permit and whether it can be revoked, it is still unknown.
This is probably the main reason for public concern. What if my network permit is revoked? Will I not be able to access the internet in the future? Or, will there be a points system like a driver’s license, deducting points for inappropriate remarks, and fining a certain amount of money? After deducting a certain number of points in a year, you have to retake the test, from subject one to subject four? Or, is it possible that in the future, accessing the internet will be like going to an internet cafe, charging by the hour?
Of course, these are just personal speculations, because the space for imagination of this thing is really too big. According to the official statement, it is to protect the information security of citizens. This starting point may be good, but if it is really only for information security, I think the network number alone is enough, replacing the ID card, it can indeed play a certain role, and I also fully support it.
But does this network permit have anything to do with privacy? Speaking of which, the real-name system on the internet back then was also under the guise of protecting the information security of netizens, but didn’t telecom fraud still become more and more rampant?
Then the document also emphasizes that it is based on the principle of voluntariness, but we all know the Chinese-style voluntariness! If WeChat wants to use a network permit to log in, do you think I should voluntarily apply for a network permit? The document mentions that it should be promoted first in public service departments such as railways, postal services, civil affairs, health and health, I am afraid that if I don’t voluntarily apply for a network permit, I may not even be able to buy a bullet train ticket in the future.
I’m not trying to argue, the document is still in the stage of soliciting opinions, I am just a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, exercising my legitimate rights, and expressing my personal opinions.
Moreover, speaking in a broader sense, this thing is actually quite damaging to national self-esteem. If foreigners know that Chinese people even need an internet access permit to access the internet, what do you think they will think? Therefore, this is equivalent to handing a knife to foreign forces, allowing them to make a big fuss about human rights issues in China, and giving them a handle. Therefore, both for the country and the people, my opinion is to strongly oppose it.
There is also a very critical point. China’s policies and regulations often have the phenomenon of abuse and deformation in the process of implementation. The intensification of the epidemic is the best example. The starting point of the network permit may be aimed at people like me who hold different views and opinions, but in the end, the ones who are really harmed are often those who are treated unfairly.
For example, female students who are sexually blackmailed by university professors, female comrades who are subject to the unspoken rules of the county party secretary, small officials who are oppressed by their leaders, or parents whose children suddenly jump off the building at school… They may even have their channels of expression blocked.
If Wang Guiyuan uses his connections to revoke Wang Di’s network permit, then the direct consequence for this female doctor is that she either has to obediently offer her body, or she can only give up her degree. And Wang Guiyuan will become even more unscrupulous, and the female students who fall into his hands will probably be helpless.
If Mao Qi revokes the network permit of Li Peixia’s father, then no matter how the old man accesses the internet in a different place and reports in his real name, it will be of no avail. That’s right, he may be able to use someone else’s network permit, but how many people are willing to take such a risk and lend their network permit to others?
Recently, there was also a graduate of Tsinghua University, Ma Xiangyu, who was suppressed and persecuted for two years because he was unwilling to be in cahoots with his superiors. Now he has also come forward to report in his real name, enumerating various corrupt behaviors of the unit leaders. If his network permit is revoked, then not only will Ma Xiangyu himself continue to suffer persecution, but the corrupt behaviors will also become more and more rampant because they cannot be exposed.
There are too many cases of men bullying and women in China, which also makes the internet become more and more special. It has essentially become a platform for “crowdfunding justice”. I think Chinese people are not qualified to live a peaceful life, because of the decline of the rule of law, we are entering an era of demons dancing.
People like female doctors, Tsinghua graduates, and even township party secretaries may be forced to the point where they have to report in their real names on the internet. You send your daughter to school, she may be sexually assaulted by a professor; you send your son into the system, he may be oppressed by his leaders; even if you cultivate your children to be the top in a certain field, they are still not necessarily safe. Recently, a police station chief in Hebei also reported in his real name on the internet.
This era is really hard to describe, not to mention those ordinary people who live at the bottom. I remember a point that Ma Xiangyu mentioned in the video that was impressive. He said that one of the means of corrupt officials is to include him in the ranks of the owners of unfinished buildings and carry out tracking and interception-style stability maintenance. This is probably the reason why there are so many unfinished buildings across the country, but few people speak out? It also shows the great energy of some leaders and the rampant behavior of the bureaucratic system.
If in such a rule of law environment, the freedom of the internet is reduced again, and even the platform of “crowdfunding justice” disappears, what will happen next? It will inevitably be a situation where everyone is silent, wolves and tigers are rampant in the world, the people are not living, and the country will not be a country.
I am actually no longer a reformist, but this does not mean that I do not care about the future of this country. Although almost every article I write takes a critical stance, in fact, I am also the one who most hopes that China will go on the right track.
There was a diplomat in the late Qing Dynasty named Guo Chongtao, who was the first Chinese ambassador to the UK. During his time in the UK, he was also constantly observing the then-unsetting empire, and he finally concluded that one of the secrets of Britain’s strength was that their courts were upholding justice every day.
Justice is a direct manifestation of a country’s good performance. How can a country that bullies men and women truly become strong? This is probably the reason why a behemoth of 400 million people lost to a few thousand British soldiers?
There was also an intellectual in the late Qing Dynasty named Liang Qichao, who had a brilliant summary of the problems of the Qing Dynasty’s backwardness: The Qing Dynasty is not making progress in everything, but only the art of preventing the people is more advanced than the advanced countries. The historical experience and lessons are all in front of us. Avoiding harm and seeking benefits, repeating the same mistakes, will eventually bring disaster to the country and the people.
Yesterday’s article “Hu Xijin personally verified Orwell’s impossible triangle” failed to pass the review and is now published on the author’s knowledge planet. In addition, the article “Venezuela’s garbage time” was deleted and also published on the planet. Readers who are interested can scan the code to enter.
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