Capital punishment for hackers :: Charter'97 :: News

Chinese authorities declared that some of the Internet crimes would result in death punishment. In case you stole away some secret computer data or distributed them on-line, you bet they shoot your mind out of you. However, in the event of any extenuating circumstances the sentence may be changed into a lifelong jail term. In the mildest of cases the person will serve only ten years. So if they lock you up for some twenty years or so - lucky you!

Apparently, by doing so China seeks to scare the dissatisfied, who dare criticize the state policy through the net. Such guys are many. One Shanghai`s businessman was sentenced to 18 months of jail for providing to the Chinese dissidents abroad the list of local e-mail addresses. The man`s business was ruined and his web-site was shut down for his "anti-governmental activity".

Chinese parliament, which ratified the law, claims that the law will mostly be targeted against Internet dissidents. The decision appears to be an attempt to seize control over the Internet in China. Earlier on it was announced that they would harshly persecute for any illegal computer activities, including the creation of viruses and breaking through the computer networks (especially those of the banking and military security systems).

Moreover, they set up special groups of immediate reaction in twenty local cities. These groups will be after the Internet criminals, they will raid their houses and destroy them if necessary, even at the cost of their own lives. This is no wonder, though, taking into account the government`s interest in the Internet. Over the last year alone the number of Internet users in China grew from 8,9 mln. to 22,5 mln. persons, which is more than a twofold increase!

Anyway such barbarity on behalf of the state can hardly be justified. Tomorrow it may lead to the situation when a person, which accidentally runs into a site with important information and browses through it, may get behind bars. Nonetheless, it seems that things are developing that very way.