“First of all, China’s Internet is open to all, users enjoy total freedom online. China has gained 500 million netizens and 300 million bloggers in a very short period of time, which shows the attraction and openness of China’s Internet,” Hong said.

“Secondly, the Chinese government manages the Internet according to law and regulations. Thirdly, certain reports prove again that China is a victim of internet hacker attacks.”

On Friday, searches for comments on hacking yielded re-posts of the MoFA statement: “we have an open, free cyberspace in China.'” One user on the Weibo micro-blogging site posted in response: “Open? How dare you brainwash your people that?”