China is infamous for blocking access to various types of content on the internet. China also forces search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo to censor their search results and has in the past forced the search engines to hand over information on users.

One of the most recent censorship issues in China was the censoring of map services like Google Maps. China said the censorship was due to security risks. Reuters reports that China has vowed it will not relax government control of the internet and will not bow down to foreign criticism of its rules and regulations for the internet.

China's vow to keep its strict censorship policies in place were part of a whitepaper published this week by the Chinese government called "a crystallization of human wisdom" that stated in part that the internet was "transforming the pattern of economic development."

China already boasts the world's largest internet-using population and the country has plans to grow that number even further. Over the next five years, China plans to give 45% of its population totaling 1.3 billion access to the internet. That would be a gain of 30% from the number of internet users in the country right now. China specifically promised no reduction in control over censoring pornographic and violent content and will continue to block access to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as well.

The whitepaper states, "Effectively protecting Internet security is an important part of China's Internet administration, and an indispensable requirement for protecting state security and the public interest. Internet administration is a process of continuous practice, and the Chinese government is determined to improve its Internet administration work."

Governments around the world have criticized China's policies on censorship including authorities from the U.S. and Europe. China states the criticisms will have no effect on how it controls access to information online. "Within Chinese territory the Internet is under the jurisdiction of Chinese sovereignty,” the whitepaper continued. “The Internet sovereignty of China should be respected and protected."