A Chinese online encyclopedia has closed down due to government pressure as China continues to crack down on Internet information it sees as dangerous, an international rights group said.
e-Wiki, a collaborative Internet encyclopedia modeled on the hugely successful Wikipedia, closed itself down late last month, Reporters Without Borders said in a statement received yesterday.
e-Wiki decided to close after it called Taiwan the "Republic of China" and posted information on James Lung (
"It is regrettable that government threats forced e-Wiki's editor to censor himself," Reporters Without Borders said. "We understand that he felt in danger in the current context, as the authorities have significantly stepped up their control over online publications."
A notice on e-Wiki's now otherwise non-functioning Web site appeared to confirm the media watchdog's assertions.
"We all aspire to freedom, but we live in the embrace of the motherland so we have to be subjected to relevant restraints and cannot cause trouble for others," the notice said. "e-Wiki has temporarily shut down and we apologize for the inconvenience."
Wikipedia has been blocked in China since late last year, although a similar but heavily censored online encyclopedia was launched by popular Chinese Web portal Baidu this year.
The Chinese-language version of Wikipedia, which relies on voluntary users and contributors, was enjoying soaring popularity until Beijing blocked access to the site.
The government maintains a tight grip over information flow on the Internet, fearing it could sow the seeds of thoughts and ideas it regards as dangerous.
Reporters Without Borders ranks China 159th on a list of 167 countries in its global press freedom index and describes the Chinese government as an "enemy" of the Internet.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS