China yesterday defended a new requirement that personal computers sold in the country carry a software that filters online content, just hours after Microsoft said the rule raised issues of freedom of expression, privacy and security that “need to be properly addressed.”
The statement by the US software giant came after a US computer industry association denounced the Chinese move and leading US personal computer makers said they were studying its ramifications.
Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) defended Beijing’s administration of the Internet, saying it was in accordance with the law and that the software “is aimed at blocking and filtering some unhealthy content, including pornography and violence.”
“If you have a child, or if you’re expecting a child, I think you could understand the concerns of parents about the unhealthy contents on the Internet,” Qin said at a regular briefing.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology posted a notice to all PC vendors on its Web site yesterday that they will be required to pre-load the “Green Dam-Youth Escort” filtering software on units to be sold in China beginning on July 1, including imported PCs.
The ministry’s notice to computer vendors said the “Green Dam” program would either be installed on the hard drive or enclosed on a compact disc. The notice said PC makers would be required to tell authorities how many PCs they have shipped with the software, which is made by a Chinese developer under contract with the government.
A Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement on Monday: “Microsoft believes that the availability of appropriate parental control tools is an important societal consideration for industry and governments around the world.”
“At the same time, Microsoft is committed to helping advance the free flow of information and to encouraging transparency, deliberation and restraint with respect to Internet governance,” the spokesperson said. “In this case, we agree with others in industry and around the world that important issues such as freedom of expression, privacy, system reliability and security need to be properly addressed.”
“Blocking access to pornography sounds like an acceptable goal,” Washington-based Computer & Communications Industry Association president Ed Black said on Monday. “But the problem is that it’s all too easy to use the same technology to expand the censorship.”
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS