Information-poor environments: Asian tigers - Environmental Reform in the Information Age - page 265

in China and Vietnam (where the state uses its authoritative resources
to command), and the informational governance practices in OECD
countries, these first sprouts of Chinese and Vietnamese informational
governance are rather bleak. In an interesting analysis of environmen-
tal governance towards GMOs, Keeley ( 2006 ) identifies what he calls
a proto-public sphere, in which there are increasing possibilities and
civil society interests to discuss and debate on such controversial and
economically important developments as GMOs, but in which, at the
same time, most relevant information with respect to tests, risk assess-
ments and environmental consequences remains secret.

The new media

The new media - in contrast - proves more difficult to be controlled
by the transitional state, let alone owned and monopolised. Wilson
( 2004 : 223-97) extensively analyses the efforts in China to both stim-
ulate ICT as a key motor for technological development (with annual
sectoral growth figures of 25 percent) and control the Internet in ways
not too dissimilar from the old media. 52 In China, the temporary Inter-
net restriction issued in 2000 has been further tightened with a new
set of policies and measures in 2005. This is not different in Vietnam,
although in that country state regulatory control seems tighter at the
time of writing. 53 Both states have their policies and efforts to try to
remain in control of Internet, for instance, via monitoring Internet use
by consumers, requiring registration at local security agencies, limit-
ing links or gateways between national and international networks,

52

As most developing and industrialising countries, both China and Vietnam are
eager not to lag behind - or even to take a competitive advantage over - other
industrialised nations. Regions and countries at the margins of the global flow
of financial and economic capital know what it is like to be delinked from such
global developments, networks and flows. Hence, we see in most developing
countries active plans, policies and investments on information technologies,
contributing to a digital race in cyberspace (cf. Wilhelm, 2004 ).

53

Decree No. 55/2001/ND-CP is the main regulatory framework for the
management, provision and use of Internet services in Vietnam. Although this
decree has quite strict regulations on Internet service provision and Internet
access, implementation seems not that strict. But, compared to China, ICT is
still largely in hands of state agencies (see also GIPI Vietnam [2004],
Promoting Internet Policy and Regulatory Reform in Vietnam , The European
Union's Asia IT&C program, Global Internet Policy Initiative Vietnam: HaNoi
[http://www.internetpolicy.net/about/20040300vietnam.pdf]).