The US has expressed concern over a new rule that all computers sold in China be rigged with Internet filtering software, a US official said in Beijing yesterday amid fears for online freedom.
Computer makers have been told that all personal computers sold from July 1 must be shipped with anti-pornography software, a move that trade and rights groups say is a bid by Beijing to further tighten Internet controls.
“We had a preliminary meeting with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology [MIIT] and the Ministry of Commerce on Friday to lay out our concerns,” said Richard Buangan, spokesman for the US embassy in Beijing.
With the world’s largest online population of nearly 300 million people, China has a history of blocking sites it deems politically unacceptable or offensive, a system that is dubbed the “Great firewall of China.”
Overseas and domestic Internet users have viewed the new software rule as an attempt by China to filter sensitive Web sites, but state-run press has defended it as necessary to prevent youngsters from accessing pornographic Web sites.
It has also pointed out that users can choose whether to load the software — called Green Dam Youth Escort — onto their computers or not.
Buangan would not comment on the exact content of the Friday meetings, but said the US was concerned for freedom of expression, including Internet freedom.
“We think that any attempt to restrict free flow of information is incompatible with China’s aspirations to build a modern, information-based society,” he said.
The news came amid online calls for an Internet boycott on July 1 that are circulating widely on micro-blogging services Twitter and Fanfou, its Chinese equivalent, as well as blogs on popular web portal sina.com.
Netizens are urging people to stop all online activities that day, including Internet work, news, chat, blogs and games, and to refuse to receive or send e-mails “to make July 1 become Commemoration of the Internet day.”
Outspoken Beijing artist Ai Weiwei (艾未未), who helped design the landmark Olympic Bird’s Nest stadium but has become an increasingly vocal critic of the government, called on Web users to boycott use of the Internet on the day of Green Dam’s debut.
In a post on Twitter, Ai called for the low key protests to mark a day that is also the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
“Stop any online activities, including working, reading, chatting, blogging, gaming and mailing,” Ai wrote in the Chinese-language post. “Don’t explain your behavior.”
Ai said he hoped the boycott would gather support because it offered an easy way to make a stand in a country where vocal opposition to government policy can be risky.
Initial criticism of the software in Chinese media has been muted in recent days, but the editor of the influential Caijing business magazine yesterday published a commentary slamming Green Dam as lacking validity and moral authority.
“In order to prevent the transmission on the Internet of violence, and of vulgar information that harms young people ... there must be some form of public authority backing up social rights,” Hu Shuli (胡舒立) wrote.
“But the help should be a kind of service, must not be coercive, and should have the acceptance of society. Otherwise ... it will certainly be thwarted,” she said.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS