Government and Policy
Xinjiang plugs back into the online world
By Qian Yanfeng and Cui Jia (CHINA DAILY)
Updated: 2010-05-15 08:36
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Urumqi - The ban on Internet service in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was fully lifted on Friday, after 10 months of limited access in the wake of last year's riot in Urumqi, the regional government said.
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 A child at an Internet cafe in Urumqi on Friday chats with her mother, who works in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province. Internet service has been fully restored in Xinjiang. [Liu Xin/China News Service] |
"I feel like I've been brought back to life," exclaimed 30-year-old Wang Zhiyong, a local airport employee, who got in touch with friends via online chatting tool QQ immediately after the ban was lifted.
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The Xinjiang regional government said services were fully restored and the resumption was in line with maintaining stability and boosting social and economic development.
An Internet bar owner surnamed Zhang said the first thing he did after learning of the news was to upgrade anti-virus systems on his computers, which he hadn't done for 10 months.
He also expected to have better business as netizens can once again play online games.
The announcement came three weeks after Zhang Chunxian was appointed Party chief of Xinjiang, replacing Wang Lequan, who had led the region for nearly two decades.
Zhang's appointment was interpreted as a sign the central government's priority in Xinjiang has shifted to promoting social and economic development, and improving people's livelihoods.
For 53-year-old Uygur businessman Jumur Memet, the news shows Xinjiang is now "on track". He also said the newly appointed Zhang, by restoring full Internet service, had made a "good impression" on him personally.
The resumption of services comes days before the upcoming central government's working conference on issues affecting Xinjiang, in which detailed and massive investment plans are expected to be introduced to boost Xinjiang's economic growth.
After last year's July 5 riot in Urumqi, which left 197 dead and 1,700 injured, the government blocked access to the Internet and suspended international calls and text message services in the region because they were believed to be vital tools used to instigate the incident.
The government began to progressively lift the ban on the Internet in December last year by allowing partial access to 31 websites. International phone calls and mobile phone text messaging services were also reinstated.
The regional government expressed appreciation for netizens' understanding and support during the time Internet connections, international long-distance calls and mobile phone text messages were cut. The resumption ensures residents have access to information and can contribute to a more open and prosperous Xinjiang, said the government.
But it also urged Internet users to refrain from posting content harmful to stability and national unity.
"The overall situation in Xinjiang is quite stable now. The region is to usher in a new era of economic and social development in which the Internet plays a very important role. So the timing is right," Hou Hanmin, spokesperson of the regional government, told China Daily on Friday.
She said a number of important policies and plans to boost economic development in Xinjiang would be unveiled during the central government's conference next week.
The central government has already paired up a number of municipalities and provinces in different parts of Xinjiang to provide the latter with large sums of capital, technology and talent.
CHINA DAILY
