The regulations have kicked up little public debate, in part because they have received little publicity here during the planning stage. But fierce protests have appeared online, where many active Internet users are interpreting the new regulations as an extension of the police state.
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Some experts on China's Internet censorship say that in releasing Du recently, the government may have been making a subtle bow to China's own domestic public opinion, as expressed and increasingly channeled through online communication and debate.
International analysts who follow China's Internet scene say the government has been particularly taken aback by the explosion in a new form of online communication for China -- the Weblog, or blog. It started last year with a celebrated case of a young woman who made a running online commentary about her own sex life, and now hundreds of thousands of people take enthusiastically to this form.
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