Published September 4, 2002

BEIJING -- China's government is regularly accused of trying to quash criticism and control the flow of information, but even by that standard Tuesday was a remarkably bad day for its public relations machine.

First came news that the government had shut down access to the popular Internet search engine Google because it opened a window too widely to the outside world.

Then there were reports that security forces had beaten and kicked a German camera operator and confiscated his videotape for filming a group of North Korean asylum seekers trying to dash into a foreign embassy compound in Beijing. Days earlier, police searched the home of a South Korean journalist.

And finally, there were more questions--but no answers from Beijing--about why an internationally recognized AIDS activist disappeared last week into state custody.

These separate incidents illustrate in different ways the government's unpredictable level of tolerance for dissent or challenge to its authority.

While there have been no overt signals from the government that a new crackdown on expression is under way, China watchers suspect there has been a general battening down before the Communist Party's 5-year congress in November.

Beyond that, dissecting the motives of a government that does not answer directly to the public is not possible, and diplomats often speculate that China does not always act according to one vision. Hard-liners and moderates may disagree on what constitutes a threat to government authority.

Experts said the decision to block the Chinese- and English-language Google search engine sites fits with government policy to rein in the power of the Internet, though that clearly will be a difficult task that might hurt China's reputation.

The government has always been conflicted about the Internet. Although the World Wide Web represents an extraordinary tool for business, technology and education, it terrifies the Communist Party by allowing for the free flow of ideas.

In the past year the government has taken greater steps to maintain control by developing an Internet police force to block information considered objectionable and keep closer track of users.

This summer, in the aftermath of a fire at an Internet cafe in Beijing, it closed thousands of such centers across the country, reducing the number in the capital to about 30 from more than 2,000. Those that reopened require users to register their names and government identification numbers.

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Some Internet users quickly challenged the government's decision, and raised questions about the government's ability to control the flow of information by posting critical messages on Web sites. They also shared tricks for circumventing the ban by accessing Google via alternate Web addresses in China.

"Is the Chinese government crazy?" one critic posted to a Web site Tuesday. "Do they really think they can do anything they want?"

A Google spokeswoman said the company was notified by its users that "access to Google in China had been blocked. We are working with Chinese authorities to resolve the issue."

Duncan Clark, managing director of BDA China, a technology consulting firm, said China will have a difficult time reconciling its fear of the Internet with its desire to become part of the global economic mainstream.

"It's fundamentally irreconcilable," he said. "This shows what it's like to do business in China, especially in the run-up to the party congress. There is built-in instability in terms of predicting government policy."

China's government reacted to the recent negative reports at a news conference Tuesday that grew intense enough for a spokesman to joke that he didn't want to take any more questions.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0209040267sep04.story