Since its first Internet connection with the global computer network in 1994, China has witnessed explosive Internet development. By the end of 2008, China replaced the United States as the largest Internet user of the world. Although China enjoyed tremendous economic benefits from Internet development, the Chinese government has tried to maintain tight control over the telecommunications industry and the public Internet use, and fight increasing cyber crimes. In this article, we first review historical development of Internet use in China and then focus on China's Internet censorship and its regulatory control. Next, we explore how the Internet is actively utilized by both the government and the public to serve political and civic functions. Finally, we discuss cyber crimes as an emergent form of crime in China and examine how the Chinese government reacts to these offenses. Lessons from Internet use and regulation in China are also discussed within the context of China's economic, political, and legal conditions.

Past studies of Drug/DUI courts primarily focused on outcome evaluation and policy-driven issues, but lacked an effective theoretical framework for understanding drug court programs, in particular the interaction between the program and clients. In this study, we apply structural ritualization theory (SRT) to the Drug/DUI program and argue that such programs serve two key functions, to disrupt clients' old rituals (e.g., drug/alcohol abuse, committing crimes), and to help lay a foundation for building new abstinent and noncriminal ritualized practices for clients both in and after the drug court program. We further argue that the effectiveness of drug program functions and services at the organizational level and the success of clients' transformation at the individual level can be empirically measured and studied by four elements of SRT, including salience, repetitiveness, homologousness, and resources. Policy implications are drawn based on the contribution of SRT.

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Suicide is one of the leading causes of inmate death, and many studies have explored suicidal risks among inmates in Western countries. Such studies, however, have been extremely rare in China. Because of China's unique cultural and social conditions, suicide displays many distinctive features and one of them is the greater percentage of women (than men) who commit suicide. With data collected from three adult prisons in China, this study tests gender differences on prison inmates' suicidal risk factors and explores the correlation of gender's impact with other factors. Findings show that male and female inmates present distinctive patterns of suicidal ideation, although gender fails to exert a significant direct impact on the outcome. The results call for different approaches and treatments toward both gender groups for suicide prevention in Chinese correctional facilities.

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This article reviews studies of China's correctional system and recidivism in approximately the last two decades. Studies on the Chinese correctional system may be grouped into two subfields, one on studies of the correctional system itself (e.g., the composition and the function of the system), and the other on studies of prison inmates in other related topics (e.g., their criminal behavior). Studies on China's recidivism showed a very low recidivism rate, and China's crime prevention strategies were closely related to its societal structure and social control. Future studies in these two areas need to focus on the most recent changes in the Chinese criminal justice system, and gain more access to Chinese prisons to do empirical testing.

Cybercrime has become a growing national and international concern because of its potential for widespread and devastating financial impact. Gauging the effect of cybercrimes is extremely difficult because of its multi-faceted nature and evolving definitions, especially in cross-culture analyses. Using data generated from cybercrime reports from two leading national newspapers during the past ten years, this study compares major cybercrimes and law enforcement in China and the United States. Similarities and differences between the two nations are highlighted and policy implications are presented based on these findings.

Notwithstanding the role that opium and narcotics have played in China’s history, drug use, trafficking and other drug-related problems have been consistently condemned by the Chinese government as social vices. After being a ‘drug-free’ nation from the 1950s to the 1970s, drug problems resurfaced in the 1980s and China was forced to deal with such problems once again. The Chinese government is well known for its tight control over the media, and for its ability to utilize propaganda to win public support and carry out its policies. However, the Chinese government’s use of the media and propaganda to deal with drug issues has never been explored. Based on longitudinal data collected from the People’s Daily (from 1946 to 2009), this study examines two key issues: the ways in which the government has utilized ideology in its official stories over time, and the means through which the government has tried to re-establish its drug control in the 21st century. The data suggest that the use of ‘hard-core’ ideology as a tool has not only drastically declined over time but also undergone significant modifications. The Chinese government has adopted a multifaceted approach to drug control and it has managed to present a unified voice in the media in combatting drug problems.