CHINA:The Internet under surveillance
(Dec. 04, 2003) Reporters Without Border challenges 14 major
Internet and computer firms about their activity (博讯boxun.com)
in China
Reporters Without Borders today called on the
heads of 14 leading international corporations
supplying computer and Internet equipment to
China to take a stand against the government's
repression of the Internet.
It said some of the firms - which are based in
North America, Europe, Japan and South Korea -
were selling material directly helping the
government to spy on and crack down on people
using the Internet, while others simply closed
their eyes to the situation. All of them, it
said, should feel responsible for the plight of
China's embattled Internet users.
The organisation sent a letter to each company's
CEO, along with the first issue of a monthly
newsletter, which they will receive regularly,
called Internet Repression News, recording the
latest government efforts to stifle freedom of
expression online.
"We are asking them to bear in mind the contents
of the newsletter when making their business
decisions," said Reporters Without Borders
secretary-general Robert Ménard.
He noted that the 14 firms targeted each do
different kinds of business with China. Cisco
Systems supplies special online spying systems
while Intel just sells its standard products.
Yahoo! agreed to change its portal and
search-engine to facilitate censorship in
exchange for access to the Chinese market, while
South Korea's Samsung is simply selling its goods
to a neighbouring country.
The letters to the CEOs outline the situation,
note the degree of responsibility each has in its
relations with China and call on them to use
their influence to get the government to allow
more Internet freedom.
The Chinese government is presently censoring
hundreds of websites - of Western media, of
political dissidents and any webpages judged to
be critical of the government or the ruling
Communist Party. It has also acquired, with the
help of foreign companies, very sophisticated
technical means to spy on the Internet, its users
and the messages they send.
The police constantly hunt down cyber-dissidents
and 46 are currently in prison for setting up
independent news websites or simply for posting
material online criticising the authorities.
Examples include:
Huang Qi, who was arrested on 3 June 2000, on the
eve of the 11th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen
massacre, after he posted on his website
6-4tianwang.com material from foreign-based
dissident groups. Former cellmates say he was
regularly beaten in prison and was refused
medication he needed.
"Du Daobin, who has written many articles about
human rights and democracy and was arrested on 28
October in Yingcheng (in the central province of
Hubei). He had launched a protest movement to
"simulate imprisonment" by asking dozens of
people to shut themselves up in darkness in their
houses for a day in solidarity with jailed
cyber-dissident Liu Di (released on the 28th of
November).
"Yang Zili, creator of the website lib.126.com
(better known as "Yang Li's Garden of Ideas"),
who has been in prison since March 2001. He had
often advocated political reforms on his site,
criticised repression of the Falungong spiritual
movement and deplored the poverty of the
country's farmworkers. He was jailed on 2
November for eight years."
Attached to this press release:
- List of CEOs and companies targeted.
- The current issue of Internet Repression News.
More details :
www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=272
(博讯boxun.com)
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