Online Media Chronicle

　　1994

　　April 20China has achieved full-functional access to the internet and became the 77th member of the internet family

　　1995

　　January 12China Scholars Abroad (Chisa.edu.cn) was put onto the Internet

　　April Hong Kong China News Agency was put onto the Internet

　　October 20China Trade News (Chinatradenews.com.cn) was put onto the Internet

　　DecemberChina Daily (Chinadaily.com.cn) was put onto the Internet

　　1996

　　January 2Guangzhou Daily was put onto the Internet

　　AprilBeijing Stone Rich Sight Information Technology Co. Ltd, predecessor of Sina.com, founded the website of Srsnet.com

　　AugustBeijing Internet Technologies China (ITC), predecessor of Sohu.com, was founded

　　DecemberRadio Guangdong and CCTV connected to the Internet

　　1997

　　January 1People’s Daily connected to the Internet

　　January 1China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn) started to operate

　　May 25Huasheng News was put on the Internet

　　May The State Council Information Office issued Notices on Using International Internet to Publish News Information

　　May Netease.com company was founded

　　October 16’97 Seminar on Current Situation and Development Trend of National E-Newspapers and E-Journals was held in Beijing. The initiators and organizers of the event were China Newspapers and Journals Monthly (GotoRead.com), a subsidiary of the State Press and Publication Administration, News and Media Institute of China Academy of Social Sciences, and CCTV Central Viewer Survey & Consulting Center

　　November 7Xinhua News Agency was connected to the Internet

　　1998

　　January 1 Guangming Daily was put onto the Internet

　　February Sohu.com launched the first large-scale categorized searching engine in China

　　September 25Henan Press Group Online (Hnby.com.cn) began to operate.

　　OctoberThe State Council Information Office and the State Press and Publication Administration jointly issued Supplementary Regulations on Using International Internet to Publish News Information

　　October 7 China Youth Online (Cyol.net) began to operate

　　December 1Stone Rich Sight Company purchased SinaNet, the largest oversea Chinese website, and officially launched Sina.com

　　December 26Website of China Radio International officially started to operate

　　1999

　　January 1 Website of China News Service (Chinanews.com.cn) began to operate

　　January 1 Website of CCTV (cctv.com.cn) began to operate

　　January Newssc.com.cn, key news website of Sichuan Province began to operate

　　March Website of China National Radio began a trial operation

　　April 1523 domestic press websites gathered together in Beijing and proposed Chinese Journalistic Circles Network Media Joint Pledge

　　May 9People’s Daily Online opened BBS Forum Protesting against NATO Violence; on the evening of June 19, the name of the Forum changed into “Qiangguo Forum.”

　　July 1China Journalist Association organized 1999 China Internet News Media Seminar in Hangzhou

　　July 13ChinaNet, whose major founding shareholder is Xinhua News Agency, went public on NASDAQ in US

　　OctoberThe State Administration of Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SARFT) issued “Notice on the Administration of Transmitting Radio, Film and Television Programs to Public through Information Network.”

　　November 5Website of China Journalism Review (cjr.com.cn) established by Zhejiang Online (zjol.com.cn) began to operate and this was the first academic website on journalism

　　DecemberGuangzhou Daily Online was renamed Dayoo.com

　　December 3036 websites signed Proposal for China Summit Conference on Internet Development Strategy.

　　2000

　　January The 2nd China Internet Contest listed News and Media as one category in choosing the best websites. News sites winning Excellent Award include: People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, Huasheng News, China News Service, China Radio International, CCTV, Zhejiang Online, Computer World News, and China Computer News.

　　January 27The State Council Information Office held the first working meeting on Internet journalism of China in Beijing

　　March Website of Xinhua News Agency was officially named XinhuaNet.com

　　April Internet News Administration Bureau of the State Council Information Office was established

　　April 13Sina.com was listed on NASDAQ

　　April 20“21 Century China Internet Conference” was held in Beijing, it was jointly organized by China Internet Network Information Center, XinhuaNet, Sina.com, and China Information Economics Society

　　April 21CCTV Online, Guangming Daily Online, Beijing Information Harbor (bta.net.cn) and Fuwai Cardiovascular Disease Hospital under the China Medical Science Academy jointly conducted the first live broadcasting of the bridging operation for a coronary heart patient through network in China

　　April 30Beijing Broadcasting Institute founded the first Network Media College in China

　　May 8 News website of E23.com.cn in Jinan City started to operate

　　May 9Central Publicity Department and the State Council Information Office jointly issued Guidelines for the Development of International Internet Information Publicity (2000-2002), in which the first approved key websites for information publishing were: China.org.cn, People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Radio International and China Daily. Later, CCTV Online, China Youth Online and China Economic Net were added to the list.

　　May 15China Youth Online was revised as cyol.net, managed by China Youth Online Network Information Technology Co. Ltd.

　　May 25Qianlong.com, one of the key news websites in Beijing, started to operate

　　May 28Eastday.com, one of the key news websites in Shanghai, started to operate

　　JunePublicity Department of Beijing Municipal Government officially founded Network Publicity Administration at the Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government.

　　June 18China Association of Journalists and the Department of Publicity of Shanghai Municipal Government jointly held “2000 China Internet News Media Seminar”

　　June 26cnhubei.com, a key news website in Hubei Province, started to operate

　　June 28Beijing Youth Online introduced ynet.com, which managed by newly founded Beijing Youth Network Transmission Technology Co. Ltd.

　　June 30Netease.com was listed on NASDAQ

　　July 12Sohu.com was listed on NASDAQ

　　July24Li Lanqing, member of the standing committee of Central Political Bureau and the vice premier of the State Council, visited the Eastday.com

　　August 9People’s Daily published an article by staff commentator on front page: To Further Promote the Construction of Internet Media in China

　　August 21People’s Daily Online went public in the name of people.com.cn

　　August 24The MSL station with 100M bandwidth began to operate for China.org.cn, People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Radio International, and China Daily in US

　　September 28Jxnews.com.cn, a key news website in Jiangxi Province, started to operate

　　November 7The State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry jointly issued Provisional Regulations on the Administration of Internet Website Engaging in News Publishing, on the same day, the Ministry of Information Industry issued Regulations on the Administration of Internet BBS Service

　　November 15Hu Jintao, member of the standing committee of Central Political Bureau, vice president of PRC, and vice military chairman, visited Eastday.com

　　November 24China.org.cn was officially founded

　　November 28Gog.com.cn, a key news website in Guizhou Province, started to operate

　　November 28Lasa Evening News connected to the Internet with independent domain name of Lasa-eveningnews.com.cn

　　December 5Yang Zhengquan, vice minister of the State Council Information Office, and Long Xinmin, deputy secretary general of Beijing Party Committee, investigated the Internet administration conducted by Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government

　　December 19Enorth.com.cn, a key news website in Tianjin, began to operate

　　December 20cqnews.net, a key news website in Chongqing, began to operate

　　December 26the official name of CCTV website is cctv.com

　　December 27Sina.com and sohu.com obtained approval to publish news

　　2001

　　February 5 Netease.com obtained approval to publish news

　　February 7 Anhuinews.com, a key news website in Anhui Province, began to operate

　　February 9Yang Zhengquan, vice minister of the State Council Information Office, and Long Xinmin, deputy secretary general of Beijing Party Committee, investigated the website of Beijing Daily

　　February 28Xinhua.net introduced Development Forum and Unification Forum before revision

　　March The State Council Information Office approved Daynews.cn, the website of Shanxi Daily that began to operate in 18 May 1998, as a key news website in Shanxi Province

　　March 7 Runsky.com, a news website in Dalian City, began to operate

　　March 16Qianlong.com introduced a weekly program of Seven-Day Flash, using flash to review top news in a week

　　March 30“National Internet News Website Experience Seminar” was held in Beijing

　　AprilPortal websites of Sina, Sohu, and Netease introduced many services for mobile phone users including sending top news message, classified news and theme news subscription

　　May 10Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government, cooperated with Organization Committee of the 21st World College Students Games, national major news websites　including people.com.cn, and key commercial websites including sina.com, jointly established the Internet Publicity Association for the 21st World College Students Games

　　May 28Dzwww.com, a key news website in Shandong Province, began to operate

　　May 30China International Publishing Group (China.org.cn) held the “8th Foreign Books and Magazines Internet Publicity Liaison People Conference” in Changsha, Hunan Province

　　June 1Cnnb.com.cn began to operate

　　June 6 Zhao Qizheng, minister of the State Council Information Office, Cai Mingzhao, vice minister of the State Council Information Office, and Long Xinmin, deputy secretary general of Beijing Party Committee investigated the construction of Beijing wideband network in Beijing Jinxiuyuan Community and Gehua Optical Cable Co. Ltd.

　　June 13Cai Mingzhao, vice minister of the State Council Information Office investigated Qianlong.com

　　June 22The first China Internet Media Forum organized by China Association of Journalists and sponsored by Xinhua.net was held in Qingdao

　　June 24The State Council Information Office held a national symposium on the administration of BBS on internet websites in Beijing

　　May 30Rednet.com.cn, a key news website in Hunan Province, began to operate

　　July 17Northeast.cn, a key news website in Heilongjiang Province, began to operate

　　July 31The exclusive coverage of Mysterious Accident of Nandan Mine in Guangxi by People.com.cn and its following theme reports of Serious Accident at Nandan directly promoted the investigation and final settlement of the accident.

　　August 10Qhnews.com, a key news website in Qinghai Province, began to operate

　　August 14The State Council Information Office held a symposium in Shanghai to discuss the development of key national websites

　　September 62001 Beijing Internet Development Forum organized by Beijing Municipal Government Information Office and co-sponsored by the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry was held in Beijing

　　September 12Chinawestnews.net jointly established by government information offices of 12 provinces in west area, news websites and China Intercontinental Communication Center (Cicc.org.cn) started to operate

　　October 12Network Committee of Zhejiang Association of Journalists established and was the first in China as an organization of news websites inside the working system of journalist association

　　October 19Fjsen.com, a key news website in Fujian Province, started to operate

　　November 20Internet News Publishing Experience Exchange Conference was held in Beijing

　　December 13Southcn.com, a key news website in Guangdong Province, began to operate

　　December 18Tianshannet.com.cn, a key news website in Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, began to operate

　　December 28China.org signed National Network Protocol with 28 news websites

　　December 29Jschina.com.cn, a key news website in Jiangsu Province, began to operate

　　2002

　　January 1 China National Radio Online was revised and officially adopted new domain name of cnr.cn

　　January 21Hebei.com.cn, a key news website in Hebei Province, began to operate

　　February 14China Radio International Online was revised and officially adopted new name of Chinabroadcast.cn (CRI Online)

　　May 28Qianlong Institute, the first Internet media enterprise institute (Qianlong.com) in China, was founded

　　June 27the State Administration of Press and Publication and the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) jointly issued “Interim Regulations for the Administration of the Internet Publications.” The regulation was formally put into force on August 1, 2002.

　　July 1Gxnews.com.cn, a key news website in Guangxi Province, began to operate

　　July 11The first intelligent central control platform for Internet bar developed and invested by Shanghai Eastday.com passed authentication; at the end of the year, the chain stores of East B@r became popular in the city

　　August 172002 China Internet Media Forum was held in Suzhou and undertaken by People.com.cn; the theme topic was Development Trend of Internet Media and the Construction of Content. All participating websites signed Common Pledges of Protecting Rights and Information of Internet Works

　　September 25Searching Network proposed by China.org.cn was initiated and started the trend of uniting all national news websites in creating Chinese searching engine

　　October 1Chinatibetnews.com began to operate

　　November 6President and Secretary General of Party Committee, Jiang Zemin, said: “The development of Internet is fast and it has become an important part of news media in China.” This was the first time that top party and state leader confirmed the importance of Internet media.

　　November 25On the invitation of Taiwan United Press Culture Foundation, a delegation of Internet media organizations of China’s mainland first visited Taiwan and the members of the delegate included: Eastday.com, Enorth.com.cn, Zjol.com.cn, Cqnews.net, Fjsen.com, and Huaxia.com.

　　November 26Nmgnews.com.cn, a key news website in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, began to operate

　　December 22002 Beijing Internet Development Forum organized by Beijing Municipal Government Information Office and sponsored by the State Council Information Office was held in Beijing

　　December 12A seminar on the construction of news website for central state organizations was held in Beijing

　　December 17Longhoo.net, a key news website of Nanjing was revised and Nanjing Longhoo Network Media Co. Ltd. was founded

　　December 28Three main news websites in Zhejiang Province, namely Zzjol.com.cn (founded by Zhejiang Daily Press Group), Zhejiang.gov.cn (founded by Zhejiang News Office), and new website of Zhejiang TV Station Cztv.com, began to operate

　　December 30Sznews.com, the news portal website constructed by Shenzhen Daily Press Group, was revised and began to operate

　　2003

　　January 1 Nen.com.cn, a key news website in Liaoning Province, began to operate

　　JanuaryThe State Administration of Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SARFT) issued “Measures for the Administration of Broadcasting Audio and Video Programs through Information Network including Internet” (No. 15 order, and took effect on February 10, 2003)

　　JanuarySeries of CCTV New Media Culture edited by CCTV were published by Zhonghua Book Company

　　February 18On the invitation of China Times in Taiwan, many Internet media organizations in China’s mainland, including People.com.cn, China.org.cn, China Daily Online, Chinabroadcast.cn, CCTV.com, Chinanews.com.cn, Huaxia.com, Chinataiwan.org, and Haixia.net, sent delegation to visite Taiwan

　　April1 7Beijing Municipal Government Information Office and Beijing Youth jointly organized a seminar on the Function of Internet Media in Coverage of Major News

　　May 10the Ministry of Culture issued “Provisional Regulations for Administering Internet Culture” (No. 27 order of the Ministry of Culture and took effect on July 1, 2003)

　　July 24Beijing Municipal Government Information Office and Beijing Youth jointly organized a seminar on the Function of Internet Media in the Globalized World

　　July 28Ce.cn officially started to operate and became the 8th key central-level news website

　　August 6 Nxnews.net, a key news website in Ningxia Province, began to operate

　　August 7Cai Mingzhao, deputy minister of the State Council Information Office, and Cai Fuchao, member of standing committee of Beijing city Party Committee and minister of the Department of Publicity investigated the administration of the website at Beijing Municipal Government Information Office

　　SeptemberBeijing Municipal Government Information Office and Beijing Soccer Association jointly organized the first Li Ning Cup WWW Soccer Games

　　September“Best Message for Golden Fall”, The first Nokia Short Message Contest was organized by Beijing Municipal Government Information Office, sponsored by the Internet News Administration Bureau of State Council Information Office, Organization Committee of Network Civilization Project and China Mobile Communication Group Corporation, and was participated by many portal websites as well as information service providers

　　September 24Jointly organized by Henan Information Office and Henan Daily Press Group, sponsored by Henan Newspaper Network Center and He-nan.com, Songshan Summit Forum on China Internet News Media was held in Songyang Academy and Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng

　　October 102003 China Internet Media Forum was held in Beijing, and the theme topic was Social Responsibilities of Chinese Internet Media; the event was organized by CCTV

　　October 23China Daily cooperated with US X3D Technology Corporation and constructed Chinaculture.net in US

　　October 28Yunnan.cn, a key news website in Yunnan Province, began to operate

　　November 26Nmgnews.com.cn, a key news website in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, began to operate

　　December 1Xinhua Network Institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University was established in Lanzhou

　　December 8Internet News Information Service Committee of China Internet Association was founded in Beijing

　　December 29Internet Media Research Center at Jiangsu Internet News Center was founded at Nanjing University

　　DecemberChinabroadcast.cn (the website of China Radio International) was published in 38 foreign languages, became the website using the most foreign languages in China and in China (39 languages including Chinese)

　　2004

　　April 20New Media, the first special magazine in the field of Internet information publishing in China, was published in Beijing

　　May 23The first annual conference of China Internet Media Studies, jointly organized by Jschina.com.cn and News Media College of Nanjing University, sponsored by Internet Media Research Center, was held in Nanjing

　　June 10The website of Reporting Center for Illegal and Unhealthy Information constructed by Internet News Information Service Committee of China Internet Association started to operate in Beijing and its aim is to “maintain public interest by reporting illegal information”

　　June 15Joint Conference of Editors-in-Chiefs for Preparation of Founding China City News Website Alliance and the First China City News Website Development and Cooperation Forum was held in Ningbo

　　June 30Dahew.com (its predecessor is he-nan.com), a key news website in Henan Province, began to operate

　　July 9The Shanghai Station for the website of Reporting Center for Illegal and Unhealthy Information started to operate

　　July 16Special act of striking pornographic website in China was carried on

　　August 18The heads of key news websites in five autonomous regions of Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Guangxi (Gxnews.com.cn and Newgx.com.cn), and Xinjiang (Tianshannet.com.cn) met in Yinchuan, Ningxia, and signed Agreement of Key News Websites Alliance in National Autonomous Regions

　　September 19In Decisions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Strengthening the Construction of Party’s Power of Administration adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of Communist Party of China, it clearly pointed out that it was required “to pay special attention to the influence of new media including Internet on public social opinion, to speed up the pace of legal administration, to realize a management system combining executive supervision, industrial self-discipline and technical support, to emphasize the construction of Internet professional team, and to maintain the superiorities of mainstream public opinion on Internet.”

　　September 202004 Beijing Internet Media Journey to Revolution Cradle, supported by Internet News Administration Bureau of the State Council Information Office and organized jointly by Beijing Municipal Government Information Office and Beijing Network Media Association, was held in Jinggangshan, Jiangxi Province

　　October 1PLA Daily Online was officially renamed Chinamil.com.cn

　　October 26Beijing Network Media Association proposed and approved by Beijing Municipal Government Information Office was officially established, its direct administrative authority was the Department of Publicity of Beijing city Party Committee

　　November 82004 China Internet Media Forum was held in Nanchang and organized by China.org.cn; its theme was “Creating a Healthy and Inspiring Network Environment”

　　December 22Internet News Information Service Committee of China Internet Association held its second committee meeting in Beijing and adopted “Self-Discipline Regulations on Refusing Illegal and Unhealthy Information including Obscene and Pornographic Messages in Internet Searching Engine Service”

　　2005

　　JanuaryIn January 22 and 23, 2005 before Beijing People's Political Consultative Conference and Beijing People’s Congress, the portal website of Beijing Municipal Government “Window of Capital” (Beijing.gov.cn) opened an interactive channel of “2005 Survey on Hot Topics for Conference and Congress” for citizens to present their suggestions and opinions

　　January 1The Association of Key News Website in National Autonomous Regions (Minzunews.net) including nmgnews.com.cn, Tianshannet.com.cn, Chinatibetnews.com, Gxnews.com.cn, Newgx.com.cn, Nxnews.net started to operate

　　January 6China Tietong Online 2004 Chinese Internet Media News Award, organized jointly by 14 national and local news websites including People.com.cn, Xinhua.net, China.org.cn, CCTV.com, Qianlong.com, undertaken by people.com.cn, was held in Beijing; this was an important move in creating brand Internet news media in China

　　February 8Beijing Radio and BBC jointly organized a special radio program of Spending the Spring Festival in Your Favorite Songs, as well as online greetings for the Chinese all over the world; In 8 February 2005 (China Lunar New Year Eve), the audio and video recording of the special program was broadcasted both on radio and websites

　　February 24The wireless news website (Wap.people.com.cn) for National People’s Congress and Political Consultative Conference, jointly established by People.com.cn, Npc.gov.cn and Cppcc.people.com.cn with mobile phones as terminals, held official inaugural ceremony at the People’s Congress Hall.

　　February 25The website of National People’s Congress (Npc.gov.cn) held official inaugural ceremony at the People’s Congress Hall.

　　February 28Several Chinese organizations in US were among the first to protest against the proposal for Japan to be the permanent member of the United Nations Security Council by initiating a global campaign to collect a million signatures. In mid-March, many website in China joined in the campaign and started a massive movement. On April 4, more than 28 million signatures had been collected

　　March 14 Premier Wen Jiabao started his speech on the Press Conference after the closing of the Third Session of the Tenth National People’s Congress with these words: “Yesterday I browsed the Xinhua.net and found out that, people knew that I was to attend a Press Conference today, they raised several hundreds questions for me. Their concern for national issues moved me deeply. Many of their suggestions and opinions deserve serious consideration by me and our government.” His speech aroused heated response among Internet community in China.

　　April 1Electronic Signature Act of the People’s Republic of China, the “first significant law on e-business in China,” took effect.

　　April 6 The website of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) (Cppcc.people.com.cn) was revised and reputed as an important measure to construct “new political consultative platform, new channel for democratic supervision, and new field in participating in and discussing government and political affairs” through Internet, as well as to create flagship of media on political consultative news. The CPPCC website was constructed on 20 September 2004.

　　May 23 to 27Beijing Association of Network Media cooperated with Qianlong.com, Sina, Sohu, Netease, Tom, China.org, Phoenix, Yahoo China, Baidu, Hexun, and Zhongsou in organizing Network Media Exhibition at the 8th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo

　　Min Dahong,

　　Director

　　Internet and Digital Department

　　Journalism and Communication Institute

　　Chinese Academy of Social Sciences