IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

"Effectively protecting Internet security is an important part of China's Internet administration, and an indispensable requirement for protecting state security and the public interest," the 34-page paper said. It made no promise about lifting of the current ban on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube that are highly popular sites in the rest of the world. "While exercising such freedom and rights, citizens are not allowed to infringe upon state, social and collective interests or the legitimate freedom and rights and other citizens," it said.

Deng Li, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister, has announced China's proposals for the China-Africa Partnership Plan on Digital Innovation at the China-Africa Internet Development and Cooperation Forum.

A statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the forum, hosted by the Cyberspace Administration of China, was attended by ministerial-level officials from African countries and the African Union Commission in charge of digital and telecommunications affairs, diplomatic envoys to China, Chinese and African scholars and entrepreneurs.

The country is building dozens, maybe hundreds of large data centers to support the needs of its fast-growing online population, estimated now at close to 500 million. The data centers will help to meet escalating demand from telecom providers, and for services such as e-commerce, online banking and e-government.

Shanghai opened its first cloud-enabled data center – Shanghai AtHub - as part of its Cloud Scheme, to be run by AtHub (@Hub) Corporation at the Shanghai SHIBEI Hi-Tech Park.

The opening is part of a broader effort by China to turn itself into the “Asia-Pacific cloud computing center”, according to the Shanghai Municipal Government.

China is planning to create 10 cloud computing enterprises with annual income for more than 100 million yuan to match the most influential providers in the market in three years, according to a report in the People’s Daily Online this week.

In late June, passengers traveling between Beijing Daxing International Airport and Yizhuang, a southern district of Beijing, were able to choose, if they like, the services provided by driverless robotaxis, with just a few clicks on their mobile phones.

Although for security concerns, these robotaxis are operating under the supervision of safety drivers behind the wheels, this breakthrough in the commercialization of self-driving technology marks a significant step for Beijing's intelligent transportation.

China’s State Council on August 17 released the Critical Information Infrastructure Security Protection Regulations (“Regulations”) effective September 1, a key administrative regulation in the implementation of the 2016 Cybersecurity Law (“CSL”) which provided that critical information infrastructure (“CII”) shall be given priority protection against cybersecurity risks and threats at home and abroad (Article 5). The Regulations, finalized from a 2017 draft, clarify the definition of CII, the authorities-in-charge of CII security protection, determination of CII, obligations of a CII Operator (“CIIO”), CII security support and promotion, and legal liability.

I felt something similar at last month’s China E-government Awards, the first event of its kind in Hangzhou. The past ten years have seen the rapid development of China’s e-government infrastructure. Just as China has made great strides to build a world-class physical infrastructure, so the government has been at pains to provide world-class e-services for the 300 million Chinese with internet access. This has meant local governments, especially fast-developing ones like Hangzhou, have been mandated to upgrade online services that fulfill local needs. But while China wants to modernise service delivery quickly, it has been careful to ensure that local governments do not rush to upgrade services just because they have to, and neglect the reason for doing so - to better serve the citizen.

"China is no longer a 'maybe' destination," said Egidio Zarrella, a partner of management consulting at KPMG. "Having an articulated China strategy is essential for an organization with global ambitions."

All depts online by 2017, and a national site by 2020.

The Chinese Government has embraced digital government, setting out a four-step plan to bring its services online.

The plan, Internet Plus, was approved by the State Council and will see the establishment of the first “state services system”, state media announced.

A firsthand look at connected technology in China, which despite the two countries’ vastly different political structures is developing along much the same path as it is in U.S. states and localities.

On the last day of May, I boarded a 13-hour flight to Beijing, not completely certain about what to expect over the next month. This was the beginning of my Zhi-Xing Eisenhower Fellowship. Over the next 28 days, I would travel to seven cities, meet with more than 100 people, and become fully immersed in a different culture.

Thanks to the rapid development of the new generation of information technologies, vehicles are getting more and more intelligent in China.

The country is witnessing bourgeoning intelligent connected vehicles and the internet of vehicles industry. Urban traffic management has been improved, which brings better traveling experiences to passengers.

There are 144 million households in China using the internet; 97 million of them are using broadband. Due to the imbalance of economic and social development, there is a big gap in digital technology between eastern and western regions, and urban and rural areas. According to a survey issued by the ministry in January, by the end of last year, 20.2% of the people in urban areas are internet users, while the number of internet users in rural areas only accounts for 3.1% of the total population, creating a gap of 6.5 times. People in rural areas are facing 'information poverty'. It is urgent to narrow such a gap, said Xi Guohua.

Citizen’s Identification Numbers, issued by public security bureaux, will be used as the unique and lifetime social welfare identifier across the nation.

At the moment, social security cards are issued by provincial-level governments using different specifications and identifiers. In a highly mobile society where hundreds of millions of people move across provincial borders for employment, transfer of social security benefits between localities has been a headache for both insured citizens and the authorities. As a result, many migrant workers living in the economically advanced Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta are not enjoying the social welfare benefits they are entitled to.

The e-passport will contain an electronic chip, which stores personal information of the holder, including name, data of birth, photo, fingerprint and signature.

The Ministry says that the e-passports are compliant with standards released by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), ensuring security and privacy of the personal information of holders.

For a long time, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) has made full use of its advantages to be an active participant of "new infrastructure" - infrastructure that largely serves high-tech development, such as 5G and big data—and has continuously exerted efforts in many areas such as intercity high-speed railways and data centers. As the fight against COVID-19 enters the next phase in China, CSCEC is promoting the orderly resumption of work and production at its new infrastructure projects across the country.

In China's underdeveloped countryside, the lack of popularity of the Internet, which has long been recognized as a critical base for e-governance, has presented considerable challenges to the government in delivering effective public services, said officials and experts at the 4th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance being held from Oct. 25 to 28 in Beijing.

The emphasis of good e-governance should be on creating a more equitable society by reducing the gap between the rich and the poor and eliminating persistent poverty, said the conference' s general co-chair, Peter Haddawy, also director of the International Institution for Software Technology at the United Nations University.

The Law on Electronic Signatures is expected to further regulate the use of online documents and electronic signatures in China. The draft law calls for the establishment of an online authentication system and is designed to safeguard Internet-based transactions and legalize the implementation of e-business and e-government applications.

China is building a new ‘smart’ city that is COVID-proof as well as designed to prevent any future Pandemics.

The apartment blocks in the city of Xiong’an, to be built outside Beijing, will be such that residents will be able to continue their activities even during the lockdown.

Each flat will have a large balcony that will provide outdoor access and the office areas will be large enough to maintain social distance.

A new batch of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation centers with different research priorities will be built in five cities and regions in China, according to the document released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology MIIT on Friday.

The cities and regions are Beijing, Binhai New Area of Tianjin, Hangzhou of East China's Zhejiang Province, Guangzhou of South China's Guangdong Province and Chengdu of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.