Internet anti-trust probe shows no leniency for China's state-run companies

China's first anti-trust probe into two telecom giants will send a strong signal that the days of the country's state-controlled companies running exempt from punishment for their monopolistic behavior are dwindling. The nation's economic planning agency will soon unveil the findings of an investigation into China Telecom and China Unicom to determine whether they abused monopolistic power to overcharge rivals and consumers without improving network speeds. As there is no domestic precedent and such an anti-trust probe is technically complicated, it is not surprising that the case has drawn fierce controversy across the nation and brought investors heavy losses from the companies' plummeting share prices. The controversy and shock to the capital market, however, could not undermine the case's significance as a milestone showing that the three-year-old anti-trust law has some bite. The Chinese government has the courage, resolve and resources to curb state-directed monopolies in order to allow markets -- not central planning and state ownership -- to play a due role in economic operations. Furthermore, it shows that foreign companies need no longer worry about being the only targets for such a probe in China. Amid ballooning demands for information in the world's largest online nation, China's telecommunication infrastructure requires constant expansion and improvement. This is a proper job for the two state-owned operators, though an arduous one.