I wonder if this is just because they would like as much control over their population as possible and they want their own Internet, as they would like their own "Twitter", and own "Facebook" and so on, out of a strong sense of nationalism, or because they are worried that US wants more and more control of the Internet, and could be why they are also support getting the Internet under UN's control (among other things).
IMO it's to keep the country together. Super-large nations tend to promote separatist movements along its fringes. In the case of Russia and China they're held together with a strict regime. Other countries provide levels of autonomy on a more granular level. As a rule: monolithic = dictatorial. The moment they get true democracy in China will be the start of armed conflicts and calls for independence along the border regions. Again, just my opinion.
Except that in any "democratic vote" such a 'call for independence' would be voted down, as the number of Han chinese outnumber the ethnic minorities in those regions.
They've thought of that problem already.
True democracy... (Is that like a true scotsman? ... Who has a true democracy?)
>I wonder if this is just because they would like as much control over their population as possible and they want their own Internet, as they would like their own "Twitter", and own "Facebook" and so on, out of a strong sense of nationalism,
Nationalism, or merely, wanting control over your own country, is also at play, here.
Americans think every other country should be OK with them having control over the internet, what with ICANN, Google, Twitter, Facebook et al. Proposals such as SOPA, PIPA, etc, or the MegaUpload arrests, make it more evident why this is not the case.
