Editor’s Note: WorldNetDaily international correspondent Anthony C. LoBaido recently interviewed Harry Wu, the world’s leading human-rights dissident. In this exclusive interview, LoBaido tells the tale of Lin Hai, China’s first cyber-dissident.
Lin Hai was just a young, enthusiastic student when he forged his dreams about how the Internet might benefit the people of mainland China. The communist dictators in Beijing, however, were less than thrilled with Lin’s efforts.
The story of Lin Hai is historic because he was the first person in China to be imprisoned due to Internet-related activities. In fact, it could be said that Lin is China’s first cyber-dissident. He was in prison between March 1998 and September 1999.
How did this all transpire?
Lin is an educated and ambitious man. He is a graduate of Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, where he majored in computer science. He began his professional career working for Keysoft (Shanghai) Ltd. as a webmaster and manager. His job entailed setting up intranets and websites for clients, designing webpages and Web programming.
Moreover, Lin was one of the Web pioneers in Shanghai. Today, he is the webmaster of FreeChina.com – a website seeking to promote freedom of information on the Internet inside communist China.
Lin was arrested in March 1998 after giving the e-mail addresses of 30,000 Chinese computer users to VIP Reference, a pro-democracy journal published online by Chinese dissidents in the United States. Court documents from Lin’s case showed that the Chinese government considered VIP Reference a hostile foreign organization.
VIP Reference, one of many online dissident publications to appear on Beijing’s watch list, says it sends information to 250,000 e-mail accounts in China from various e-mail addresses in the United States. The court has said the U.S. group used Lin’s data “to disseminate large numbers of articles aimed at inciting subversion of state power and the Socialist system.”
A summary of the court’s verdict said Lin had used the code name “Black Eyes” to provide information to VIP Reference, as well as to Tunnel, another dissident publication. Lin countered that he had supplied e-mail addresses to the group under a business arrangement and that he regularly bought or exchanged information to build up a database for an online job search business.
The price Lin was to pay for utilizing the Internet was steep indeed. He was fined $1,200 by the court and had his desktop and notebook computers confiscated. His company went out of business. He also was stripped of his political rights for one year – a largely symbolic penalty.
In an exclusive interview with WorldNetDaily, Lin explained how he became involved with the Internet in China and the grand adventure it would evolve into.
“I became a webmaster to make a living,” Lin began.
“I made many dreams when a teenager. And now I know I won’t have time to turn all of them into reality. Technology always came easy to me, though. I love the Internet. I believe that the Internet can help bring China towards a democratic society.”
Speaking of his ordeal with VIP Reference and the police in communist China, Lin told WND, “I was unaware that VIP Reference was considered a subversive organization and did not know how it would use the data I supplied.”
Asked about his views on the police state apparatus inside China, Lin said, “As for the police, most of them are normal people like the others. They are making a living from that career. Still, some of them enjoy doing bad things with the state’s power behind them.”
After his release from prison, Lin came to America. Lin now works as a freelance consultant on the Web. He is currently the webmaster of JobChina.Net, and webmaster of Chinadnn.com – a non-profit Chinese-language newssite based in the U.S.
Asked about China’s crackdown on the Internet, Lin said, “About 2,000 years ago, China’s emperor built the Great Wall to defend against his enemies. The Chinese government now is copying the ancient way in the new millennium. It seems a little funny, and it shows that modernization is still fiction in China. Inside China, the governors of the nation lack modern wisdom.
“Can China control the Internet? No. The Internet is designed to not be controllable; that’s the main technical principle. The Internet is turning out to be the only public media where freedom grows in China.”
Lin said that the average Chinese person views the Internet in a normal fashion.
“They just use it as communication tool and source of information. And now the Net is part of the life of young people in China,” he explained.
Asked about the Hong Kong Blondes computer hackers and their actions against the Chinese government Lin told WorldNetDaily, “Hackers show their opinions on the Net. [The Blondes are] saying ‘no’ to the PRC government. They are on the blacklist of ‘enemy of the Internet’ listed by some international Net freedom organization.”
Regarding what Americans can do to help the cause of freedom via the Net, Lin said, “Americans can make inexpensive computer products and networks so that many more Chinese people can benefit from the high-tech revolution.
“Why is the Chinese government so afraid of the Internet? The leaders are too old to get familiar with the new technology. The Internet is definitely one of the greatest inventions ever.”
Lin said that about 25 million Chinese use the Internet, and about 90 percent of those are young people and students. He added that Americans had been helpful to him and his cause of bringing the Internet into the hands of the Chinese people.
“There is no ‘Communist’ Party in China. When I was a high-school student, I came to that conclusion. The ideal [of communism] is dead. Power is only thing that is left.”
Lin said he loves the region of Tibet, which he called the Shangri-La outside the noisy cities.
“People there prefer their own living style,” he said. [Click here to see a collection of Lin’s photos from Tibet.]
“I want to help an 11-year-old Tibetan girl. She is out of school because her poor family cannot support her.”
Asked if Hong Kong will remain “free” or lose more freedoms, Lin told WorldNetDaily, “It depends on this question: Will mainland China remain ‘communist,’ or will something be changed soon?”
Concerning Taiwan Lin said, “Taiwan is a nice island. A democratic China is the only safe guarantee for Taiwan. I hope they do more to support democracy in mainland China instead of the fiction of their independence dream.”
Lin responded to former President Clinton’s policies toward China: “We see that Americans value money more than moral values. With the new President, Bush Jr., there should be some other policy except just doing business with China. … Without the further ‘political reform,’ the economy will someday reach a deadlock in China.”
Editor’s note: For those interested in sponsoring the Tibetan girl Lin spoke of, contact him via e-mail.
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