The Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton has stirred up some more controversy regarding the issue of "Internet Censorship." On Janurary 22nd, 2010, the New York Times released an article that showed how upset the Chinese were when Clinton criticized their relations with the popular Search Engine company, Google. Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu stated "the criticism leveled by Mrs. Clinton on Thursday is 'harmful to Sino-American relations.'
The Chinese Foreign Ministry feels that their internet "is an open one."
However Clinton, along with many others feel that this is not the case. According to the New York Times Clinton feels that Internet Freedom is and should be "and integral" part of foreign policy. Clinton herself quotes “a new information curtain is descending across much of the world.” and she has singled out China as "one of a handful of countries that had stepped up Internet censorship in the past year". The secretary of State has called out other countries as well, but China was singled out due to the recent controversial issues with Google.
Google officals are trying to shut down their search engine in China because they are unhappy with all the censoring that the chinese have limited the company to. While they know that China is clearly an important financial factor in the company, they feel that the censorship levels have been taken too far.
one very important paragraph that the New York Times writes on its own states:
"One big question is whether ordinary Chinese will, to any large degree, accept China’s arguments justifying Internet censorship. Although urban, middle-class Chinese often support government policies on sovereignty issues such as Tibet or Taiwan, they generally deride media censorship. That feeling is especially pronounced among those who call themselves netizens. China has the most Internet users of any country, some 384 million by official count, but also the most complex system of Internet censorship, nicknamed the Great Firewall"
I feel that this is a key factor in the argument that Clinton has presented. She stands for Internet freedom and feels that Americans along with other nations feel the same as well. The fact that so many Chinese use the internet plays a huge role in the China itself, Googles profits or losses, and the World Wide Web in general.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/23/world/asia/23diplo.html?scp=2&sq=hilary%20clinton&st=cse
Another valuable article from VOANews.com describes Clinton's issues with other nations such as Iran and Egypt. It can be viewed at http://www.voanews.com/bangla/2010-01-21-voa2.cfm
Posted By Kate Ludwig