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Over the past decade there has been an explosion in the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in China. As the largest developing country in the world, China faces a severe digital divide, which exists not only between Mainland China and developed countries, but also among its own regions and social groups.〔http://socialbrandwatch.com/cwdf-using-social-media-and-ecommerce-to-educate-women/〕 Like many other indicators of development, wide gaps exist between Chinese IT "haves and have nots." The existence of these gaps is well established. Though published literature gives a general picture of the digital divide in China growing, along with other development measurements such as per capita GDP. In some cases, however, that there is some evidence to suggest that the ICT gap may, in fact, be narrowing. This trend has implications on China's future development.〔Dong Fu. (The Internet in China ) (In Depth), Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. September 2000〕 In the international context: by the middle of 2000, the United States had 164 million computers with the average availability below 2 people; Germany, 30.6 million computers with the average availability below 3 people — while the corresponding figures for China are 15.9 million and almost 80 respectively. In 2001, 10 percent of China’s population occupies more than 35 percent of its national Internet subscribers.〔Lin, Rong. Seizing the Opportunity to Cross Digital Divide, Text of a speech at Asia Society 's annual session held in India China Reform Forum, China Reform Forum, Bangalore, March 13, 2001〕 The gap caused by the digital divide in China is beginning to close. The percentage of the Chinese population using the internet has been increasing dramatically each year. In the year 2000 only 1.7 percent of the Chinese population were internet users. By 2010 that percentage had increased to 31.6 percent of the population.〔China internet telecommunications and market report. (18 July 2010). Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/cn.htm〕 This data shows that the gap separating China and the rest of the world is closing. However, the digital divide among Chinese citizens remains strong. Many Chinese citizens are faced with the issues of the digital divide because of their income, education, or location.〔Hung, C. , 2003-05-27 "Income, Education, Location and the Internet--The Digital Divide in China" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Marriott Hotel, San Diego, CA Online <.PDF>. 2009-05-26 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p111509_index.html〕 While China has made great strides in improving the country's communication infrastructure as well as narrowing the overall digital divide, there remains a divide between urban and rural areas of the country. This divide between rural and urban, developed and under developed, is illustrated in the lack of ICTs between the western (i.e., Xinjiang province) and eastern (i.e., Jiangsu province) parts of the country.〔Yuhua Guo and Peng Chen (2011). Digital Divide and Social Cleavage: Case Studies of ICT Usage among Peasants in Contemporary China. The China Quarterly, 207 , pp 580-599 〕 ==Overview== Having experienced rapid political, economic, and social change, China’s telecommunication sector has been growing at annual rates of between 30 and 50 percent for the past ten years. However, like most developing countries, the national telephone density and the Internet- user rate remain relatively low: only 23 percent and 2.18 percent respectively in 2001. Moreover, the digital divide among regions and social groups inside China is severe.〔Understanding the Digital Divide, OECD 2001, OECD Publications, 2rue Andre Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.〕 The term ''digital divide'' refers to the gap between those with regular, effective access to Digital and information technology, and those without this access. It generally encompasses both physical access to technology hardware and, more broadly, skills and resources which allow for its use. It can refer to both international as well as domestic disparities in access to information technology. Since the implementation of China’s Tenth Five Year Plan (2001-2005), the PRC has stressed the importance of information technology in its economic development. There is an optimism within the government that the "Internet and information technology (IT) are crucial factors for building international economic competitiveness and overcoming interregional development gaps at home."〔Giese, Karsten. "Internet Growth and the Digital Divide". China and the Internet. RoutledgeCurzon, 2003. Pg. 30〕 The plan classifies the building of an information society as key to China’s economic development and modernization, with the belief that the development of IT will naturally pull the economy in the least prosperous areas out of poverty. Statistics show that many parts of rural China are being left behind while the urban areas reap the benefits of the internet and IT. The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has released statistics which show continuous annual growth in internet users; yet "such growth has been a predominantly urban phenomenon". The majority of China’s internet users are located almost exclusively in China’s big cities. Furthermore, there is little economic incentive for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to expand into regions with low purchasing power and/or population densities. Thus, it is left to China’s government to bridge the ever-expanding gap of the digital divide. Another digital divide is that between the richer and poorer members of Chinese society, which is exacerbated by the comparatively high cost of Chinese internet access.〔(The Growth of the Chinese Internet market )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Digital divide in China」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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