China defends Internet censorship

[onesp1ng]

China defends Internet censorship

Wasn't it daffy duck who said, "very very interesting?" Or was that bugs bunny?

[zachsan]

Yeah, I don't even understand why they would bother to defend it. That's like a democracy defending the fact that it holds elections. They're Communists, censorship is what they do.

[onesp1ng]

to me, the logic of the chinese offical was the most interesting part.
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"Liu said the major thrust of the Chinese effort to regulate content on the Web was aimed at preventing the spread of pornography or other content harmful to teenagers and children. He said that its concerns in this area differ minimally from those in developed countries.

Human rights and media watchdog groups maintain that Chinese Web censorship puts greater emphasis on helping the ruling party maintain political control over its increasingly restive society. Such groups have demonstrated that many hundreds of Web sites cannot be easily accessed inside mainland China, mainly because they are operated by governments, religious groups or political organizations that are critical of Chinese government policies or its political leaders.

Liu said that Chinese Internet users were free to discuss many politically sensitive topics and rejected charges that the police had arrested or prosecuted people for using the Internet to circulate views.

Human rights groups argue, and Chinese court documents show, however, that the legal authorities have cited e-mail communications and postings on domestic and foreign Web sites as evidence against Chinese dissidents accused of "incitement to overthrow the state" and "leaking state secrets."

Liu objected to what he suggested were biased criticisms of Chinese Internet controls that ignored similar restrictions imposed by foreign governments and private companies on their own Web sites.

He cited, for example, statements on Web sites run by The New York Times and The Washington Post that reserve the right to delete or block content in reader discussion groups that editors determine to be illegal, harmful or in bad taste. Chinese media Web sites are also monitored in that way, he said.

"Major U.S. companies do this and it is regarded as normal. So why should China not be entitled to do so?" Liu said.

Liu added that "it is clear that any country's legal authorities closely monitor the spread of illegal information. We have noted that the U.S. is doing a good job on this front."

[zachsan]

He said that its concerns in this area differ minimally from those in developed countries.

The really bad news is that he's 100% right.

"It is clear that any country's legal authorities closely monitor the spread of illegal information. We have noted that the U.S. is doing a good job on this front."

Sign that your country is going downhill #156: Communists praise its law enforcement tactics.