FC: Journalist group asks China about blocking access to Google

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

News report:
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-956243.html

----

Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 14:54:51 +0000
To: declan () well com
From: Greg Walton <jamyang () openflows org>
Subject: Your Excellency: Where is Google?


Declan,

From the world-beyond-D.C. dept.


> September 4, 2002
>
> Committee to Protect Journalists
> 330 Seventh Avenue, 12th floor
> New York, NY 10001
>
> His Excellency Jiang Zemin
> President, People's Republic of China
> C/o Embassy of the People's Republic of China
> 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW
> Washington, D.C. 20008
>
> Via facsimile: (202) 588-0032
>
> Your Excellency:
>
> The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is very concerned by the Chinese
> government's apparent blocking of domestic access to the Google Internet
> search engine. Such censorship directly affects China-based journalists'
> ability to conduct research and impedes citizens' access to news that is
> unavailable in China's tightly controlled domestic media.
>
> On August 31, both the English and Chinese-language search engines operated
> by Google became inaccessible to Internet users in China. In a public
> statement, a spokesperson for Google confirmed that the site was blocked
> inside China and said that the government offered no explanation.
>
> Google is one of the most popular Internet search engines in China and one
> of the only sites that allows users unfettered access to information. Your
> government routinely blocks access to Web sites, including those of foreign
> news organizations and human rights groups, but this is the first time a
> search engine has been blocked.
>
> Legislation enacted on August 1 requires all China-based Web sites to censor
> their content or risk being closed down. As a result, most major
> Chinese-language search engines, including Yahoo's Chinese-language site,
> have filtered out the majority of sites containing information that is not
> sanctioned by your government, including independent reporting on political
> developments, human rights abuses, and the banned spiritual group Falun
> Gong. The U.S.-based Google has therefore become Chinese citizens' only
> means to access thousands of Web sites containing news and information that
> is unavailable inside China.
>
> We respectfully urge Your Excellency to take steps to ensure that
> authorities restore access to Google immediately and uphold the right to
> free expression as guaranteed in both the Chinese constitution and the
> International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China has
> signed. We also call on you to ease restrictions requiring Internet
> companies in China to censor information in order to conduct business in
> your country.
>
> Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We await your
> response.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Ann Cooper
> Executive Director
>
>
> CC:
> Premier Zhu Rongji
> Yang Jiechi, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S.
> Clark T. Randt, U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China
> Eric E. Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, Google Inc.
> merican Society of Newspaper Editors
> Amnesty International
> Article 19 (United Kingdom)
> Artikel 19 (The Netherlands)
> Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
> Freedom Forum
> Freedom House
> Human Rights Watch
> Index on Censorship
> International Center for Journalists
> International Federation of Journalists
> International PEN
> International Press Institute
> Lorne W. Craner, United States Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human
> Rights, and Labor
> The Newspaper Guild
> The North American Broadcasters Association
> Overseas Press Club
> Reporters Sans Frontières
> Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
> The Society of Professional Journalists
> World Association of Newspapers
> World Press Freedom Committee
>
> *************************
> Committee to Protect Journalists
> 330 Seventh Avenue, 12th floor
> New York, NY 10001
> Tel: 212-465-1004
> Fax: 212-465-9568
> E-mail: asia () cpj org
> Web: www.cpj.org






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