The Golden Projects were intended not only to make China more efficient economically, but also to respond to the breakdown in control and coordination that had come about as a result of Deng Xiaoping's economic liberalization and decentralization. The government's projects included using information networks to advance reform of banking and the financial sector, customs, tax, and state-owned enterprises. But these were integrally related to other objectives. Senior leaders believed that information networks would allow them to sit in Beijing yet be present in each and every administrative troublespot throughout the country. Not surprisingly, Chinese leaders gave priority to creating a restricted information network connecting themselves to each other.
Internet access is controlled by state owned or related companies with links to the bureaucracy.
Smaller Internet service providers depend on access to these state-owned networks, and consequently must stay in the good graces of the state politically and financially to survive. China has made efforts to develop a China-only Internet. While working to improve the use of the Internet for government and business, China has devoted considerable resources to monitoring, blocking, and censoring the information it considers subversive. According to the State Department's annual human rights report, special police units monitor and control access to the Internet as well as content. Internet cafes are required to register and monitor and report on customers.