China calls for tougher Internet controls

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese military scholars are calling for stronger measures to protect the country from a U.S.-led “Internet war.”

The call, which appeared Friday in the Communist Party-controlled China Youth Daily newspaper, follows allegations from Google that personal Gmail accounts of several hundred people, including senior U.S. government officials, were compromised by computer hackers in China.

The scholars from the Academy of Military Sciences did not mention Google’s claims, but said recent computer attacks and incidents employing the Internet to promote regime change in Arab nations appeared to trace back to Washington. They said China needs to erect an “Internet border” and defend its “Internet sovereignty.”