A February 2000 report from U.S. Embassy Beijing
Summary: The continuing explosive growth of the Chinese Internet is making massive amounts of information about all aspects of Chinese politics, economics, science and technology readily available. Students of the Internet and of the Chinese language will find recent guides to Chinese Internet resources helpful. Search engines on full-text newspaper websites such as the People's Daily make it easy to track statements by leaders, their biographical information and specific issues. A quick search of the People's Daily for the week after the Chinese New Year Holiday, February 13 - 19, turned up four articles containing "Jiang Zemin" and two articles containing "Zhu Rongji ". This report introduces several books on Internet resources, information security/hacking, and electronic commerce that have appeared in China over the past several months. Although the net itself remains the best guide to the net, these books are guides to many resources including newspapers, bulletin boards, radio stations, databases, software, and Internet telephone conversations that will be useful to all students of China and the Chinese language.
These days Chinese bookstores are filled with great numbers of books about computers, the Internet, information security, and electronic commerce. The acreage devoted to books on computers and the Internet in the larger bookstores may well have tripled over the past three years. Some of these books can be useful to people such as students of Chinese who are utterly devoid of geekish ambition. Some of these books go into considerable depth. One explained what Yahoo! really means -- Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle and then went on to described the rules for those series of numbers in Internet protocol (IP) addresses that define a location on the Internet.
The best way to get information about the Internet in China is visit portals and search engines such as the Chinese version of Yahoo! (cn.yahoo.com), Sina.com (www.sina.com.cn), Netease (www.netease.com), and Eastnet (www.eastnet.com.cn). Some PRC Internet starting points including lists of radio stations, free and sharware software download sites, computer magazines, newspapers (the People's Daily website embeds in news articles links to capsule biographies of PRC and foreign leaders) and military affairs web sites are recommended on the U.S. Embassy website at http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/english/sandt/Sandchw.htm Some free Chinese software such as IPSEARCH can associate an IP cyberspace address with a physical location (name of the city) in China for many Chinese IP addresses. Find the latest Chinese language shareware at these sites: Sina.com list of free/shareware software sites , Huajun Software Garden -- Huajun Software Garden and Netease software area and the "Computer Home" download page .
The guides described below on PRC internet resources, information security and electronic commerce provide a good comprehensive introduction to surfing (chonglang) in Chinese. The more specialized books as well as the many Chinese computer/Internet magazines on hacking/information security and on electronic commerce reflect how the Internet is transforming not only Chinese society and economy but its concepts of national security as well. Questions some see as privacy issues in the United States such as serial numbers on Intel Pentium chips and alleged secret features in operating system software are seen as national security issues in China.
Sinoliterate net surfers will find that some of the Chinese software mentioned in these books does not work very well with the English language version of Windows 95/98 running in conjunction with Chinese environment software (available at www.njstar.com) or Twinbridge. One solution to this is to partition your hard disk and install an additional operating system -- the Chinese version of Windows.
But a better solution is coming. Windows 2000 is supposed to support many languages including Chinese in the same operating system. The third Beta release of Windows 2000 will be distributed (among other places) in the Chinese software magazine called "Software" (Ruanjian) The Software magazine website is wwww.softmag.com.cn . This magazine comes every month with a CD filled with the latest public domain software and shareware.
Other computer magazines such as Computer Fan [Diannnao Aihaozhe], Popular Computer Week [Diannao Bao] with website at www.cpcw.com, Computerworld [Diannaojie] are helpful for keeping up with software, hardware and the Internet in China. Bound annuals of these magazines cost about USD 5 in Beijing. Joint Publishing Co. at 9 Queen Victoria St in Hong Kong is one source for overseas subscriptions to PRC periodicals. Search robot programs that send queries to many Chinese websites such as Inforian (www1.inforian.com.cn/iq/index.html), sold for USD 5 in Beijing, can be useful. The widely used search program Copernic (www.copernic.com) works well in Chinese perhaps because some of the big international search sites such as Yahoo! and Alta Vista actually index more PRC web pages than do some PRC search engines.
The magazine "Software World" (Ruanjian Shijie) has its website at www.swm.com.cn . The February issue of Software World came with Turbo Linux Version 4.0 on the accompanying CD-ROM. About five flavors of the Linux operating system (OS) -- Linux Turbo, the PRC government sponsored Red Flag Linux, Corel, Tommy, and Red Hat -- are sold in Chinese computer stores. As in the United States, Linux still hasn't caught on among regular users because of lack of applications software and installation difficulties. Even Linux being free may not be much of a selling point: all foreign software is widely pirated so in a sense all software is free, much to the detriment of the PRC domestic software industry.
Both Software and Software World magazines are sold on newsstands in Beijing and by subscription. Tools for cracking the code of password protected software, and software for sweeping away hidden data that tells time limited shareware to stop working often appear on the CDs that accompany these magazines. Wangmi [WebFan] magazine (www.webfan.com.cn) is a good all-round monthly magazine that follows the development of the web with interviews with business leaders, discussions of websites and new software.
CDs accompanying Chinese computer magazine regularly carry personal encryption programs such as Pretty Good Privacy in Chinese magazines as well as articles about proxy servers that enable surfers to avoid government blocking of foreign websites. Reading these articles helps put into perspective some Chinese government policy guidelines that are sometimes issued, then widely ignored after a few months have passed and then issued again as a brand new regulation.
Here are a few recent books divided into the categories of Chinese Net resources, How to Use the Internet Guides, A Directory, How to Hack/information security and electronic commerce arranged in rough order of usefulness. Many of these books can be found in the Xinhua Shudian or other large bookstore. Several of these books are published by the People's Posts and Telecommunications Publishing House (Renmin Youdian Chubanshe) which has a website at http://www.ppth.com.cn Some of these books can be ordered online from booksellers www.dangdang.com and www.aba.com.cn have very large impressive websites. Others online Chinese bookstores are listed on the Beijing Bookworm web page at wwww.usembassy-china.org.cn/english/sandt/bjbkwrm.html
Internet Websites: A Handy Guide Internet [Internet Wangzhan - Yi Chu Ji Tong] edited by Ceng Ming and Du Xiumin was published by the Renmin Youdian Chubanshe in July 1999. Renmin Youdian Chubanse publishes very many excellent guides to Internet resources and software. The two volume set is divided into the S&T/Education/Medicine volume (61 RMB) and the Social Sciences/Commerce/Entertainment volume (78 RMB). While most of the web sites in these directories are in foreign countries, one third are in China or in Chinese. The two volumes of the Internet directory each come with a CD, which is very convenient. Just put the CD into your CD drive and use your browser to read the web lists in HTML format on the CDs. If you are connected to the Internet, all you have to do is click on the site from the hierarchical list on the CD and you are there. The two volumes were published in June and July 1999.
Guides to Chinese net resources introduce Chinese language search engines, IP telephone software including Microsoft Netmeeting, websites of Chinese university libraries, online bookstores (some with the ambition to become the Amazon.com (the Yangzi.com??) of China, bulletin boards BBS, Internet Relay Chat, playing games online in Chinese and using the web to look for a job. These books are not only useful resources for the sinoliterate foreigner working in China but also a great resource for the advanced student of Chinese.
Web Unlimited [Wangluo Wuxian] by Gao Nan, published January 2000 by Renmin Youdian Publishing House. This book is especially rich in information about BBS and university library websites but is great all around.
The Book Road: How to Make Full Use of Net Resources [Shulu: Ruhe Chongfen Liyong Wangluo Ziyuan] edited by Xing Yusen and Liu Haibo. Published January 2000 by Liaoning Kexue Jishu Chubanshe. Good discussion of software utilities such as NetAnts (a program for downloading software), e-magazines and free resources (such as free mailboxes) that are available on some PRC websites.
Web Surfing Champion: You Too Can Become a Highly Skilled Surfer [Wangshang Chonglang Duoguang: Ni ye Neng Chengwei Wangshang Gaoshou] edited by Yang Qing and published November 1998 by Qinghua University Press. Includes useful guides to web-based bulletin boards, other Chinese BBS, Internet telephone and free webpage resources in China.
While overlapping with the comprehensive guides above, these "How to Use the Internet Guides" focus more on software tools and how to use them. These will be very helpful to people just learning how to use the Internet in Chinese who need a more detailed introduction to how to use the various kinds of Internet software.
Internet: One Book Does It All [Internet Yice Tong] edited by Xu Tiejun and Wang Jinhua and published by Renmin Youdian Chubanshe in January 2000. Very comprehensive at 500 pages. From introducing software to how to use web search sites such as Yahoo! Chinese, how to use Microsoft Netmeeting conferencing software as well as Internet telephone software, online entertainment using ICQ, Internet Relay Chat, online games (MUD), and useful software tools such as image and compression software. About one hundred pages of this book is devoted to introducing the most popular websites in China and foreign countries. The last hundred pages explains how to build your own personal web page.
Online Discussions: Understanding BBS and Their Applications [Wangluo Jiaoliu -- Jingtong BBS ji qi Yingyong] edited by Wu Feng and published by Renmin Youdian Chubanshe in October 1999. Some PRC online BBS are accessed using special software such as NetTerm and Telnet software while others can be accessed as a webpage by an ordinary web browser. This book explains in great detail how to use software such as NetTerm and how to register and join in the discussion on these BBS.
Internet Phone: How to Make a Telephone Call on the Web [Internet Phone: Zenyang Shangwang Da Dianhua] edited by Lin Chengjun and published by the Publishing House of the Electronics Industry (www.phei.com.cn) in July 1999. Explains how to use the popular Internet telephone programs CoolTalk, Netmeeting, Internet Phone and Web Phone. This could be very interesting to students of Chinese.
Selection of Useful Software for the Web [Wang Shang Shiyong Ruanjian Jingxuan] edited by Wang Dexiang and published May 1999 by Renmin Youdian Chubanshe. It introduces many programs not mentioned in "Internet:One Book Does It All" but "One Book" does introduce the most useful ones. "Selection" explains in considerable detail the web software most widely used by Chinese webbers. They often get the software from websites such as www.download.com Some of these programs are well known in the United States. Perhaps the best way to get an idea of the most popular software in China is to pick up the monthly issue of Ruanjian {Software] magazine on the newsstand. A book can't really keep up with this rapidly changing area.
Books on Information Security can naturally be read backwards for instructions on how to be a hacker. "Hackers and Information Security" seems to be written to serve both audiences -- hacker wannabes and people who want to protect their systems against hackers.
Meeting the Hacker Challenge [Tiaozhan Heike] edited by Li Dong, also from the Renmin Youdian Chubanshe, was published in January 2000. It comes with a CD that contain several programs that detect some viruses and the presence of hacker programs on your system. Chapters are entitled Fundamentals of Information Security, Personal Security for Web Users, Security Guide for Corporate Networks includes an example given on p. 142 - 143 is the design of a network of a small military academy since "military units require the strictest information security", a discussion of firewalls and information security under UNIX and Windows NT.
Hackers and Information Security [Heike yu Wangluo Anquan] edited by Liu Chen and Zhang Bin was published in September 1999 by the Aeronautical Industry Publishing House [Hangkong Gongye Chubanshe]. This book is written for both hackers and people who want to protect their systems against hackers. "Hackers" introduces hacker behavior, methods and tools, describes encryption techniques and the security of computer systems, electronic mail and websites. Scripts of hacker attacks on computers are provided and discussed. List of hacker/information security related newsgroups and websites in China as well as in other countries are listed.
Hacker Analysis and Incursion Prevention Techniques [Heike Fenxi yu Fangfan Jishu], planned by the PRC State Information Center [Guojia Xinxi Zhongxin] and the International Computer Security Association (ICSA], edited by Zhang Xiaobin and published by Qinghua University Press [www.tup.tsinghua.edu.cn] is a volume in a series on computer network security. This 240 page book opens with analyses of threats from various types of attacks such as Trojan Horse attacks and Denial of Service attacks. Following is an analysis of hacker behavior, and then chapters on password security, denial of service attacks, sweeping tools such as SATAN, network eavesdropping, flooding attacks, website attacks, X Windows security, email attacks, and IP spoofing. The book concludes with chapters on countermeasures including procedures and software tools and a discussion of security measures including security checks, encryption such as Pretty Good Privacy and storing system backups in a safe place.
E-commerce in China can already be seen in action at websites such as the All Sages (Wangsheng) Bookstore of Beijing and the auction site auctions.163.com The two books on electronic commerce presented below complement one another.
Fundamentals of Electronic Commerce [Dianzi Shangwu Gailun] edited by Fang Meiqi of Renmin University was published by the Qinghua University Press in September 1999. This book, after a thirty page overview of electronic commerce, explains on a quite accessible technical level how an electronic commerce system can be implemented. This explanation is not overly technical -- it is at about the design level that a businessperson would want to have. Examples discussed in the book are the Chinese National Advanced Payments System (CNAPS) that links the branches of the central bank and the commercial banks; the People's Bank of China management information system; online databases such as the S&T information base of Chinese computer periodical articles at http://168.160.224.37
Electronic Commerce [Dianzi Shangwu] edited by Qu Yunbo was published by the Qiye Guanli Chubanshe in the Pilot Marketing Idea Treasury (www.pilotmarketing.com.cn) in September 1999. This book discusses the development of electronic commerce in the United States and Europe along with more recent developments in China. The effect that electronic commerce is having on ways of doing business and on competitive business environments are examined. The effect electronic commerce is having on business, finance, taxation, law and the tourist industry are examined.
The second half of Qu's book has more information on electronic commerce in China. Topics discussed include online banking by the People's Bank of China with some commercial websites such as the China CD Supermarket (www.cdmarket.com.cn) and the China Association of Charities (www.charity-online.org.cn), stockmarket information through www.stockstar.online.sh.cn and wholesalers such as the China Commercial Trading at www.ccec.com.cn/ccecWeb/ccec3-2.htm