President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged multinational companies to put freedom of speech before profit when dealing with China, singling out Internet search-engine heavyweights Yahoo and Google by name.
He also repeated his long-standing pledge to propose a new constitution before he finishes his presidential term in 2008.
At a commemorative service for a human rights activist Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), Chen said there should be no compromise in the fight for free speech.
"I call on China's communist regime and on multinational corporations -- which do not refrain from sacrificing freedom of speech for commercial profit, like the well-known Yahoo and Google -- to respect freedom and democracy, because that is the right way to continuous development," Chen said.
Deng was the publisher of the Freedom Era (自由時代) weekly. He immolated himself when the police attempted to arrest him in his office in 1989 to protest against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government's oppression against freedom of the press.
Representatives for Yahoo and Google in Taiwan were unavailable for comment yesterday.
Chen's criticism of the two companies came a week after a Hong Kong lawmaker alleged that evidence used to convict a Chinese reporter sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets had come from Yahoo Inc's Hong Kong arm.
Yahoo said it was "distressed" when it learned of the facts surrounding journalist Shi Tao's (師濤) case, but stressed that only the company's China unit was involved, and it was merely complying with Chinese law.
Google has also come under heavy criticism outside China over a Web site that filters searches for material deemed subversive or politically sensitive by the country's government.
To do business with China's 110 million Internet users, foreign companies must satisfy a government that fiercely polices Internet content.
Meanwhile, with regard to his proposal for another round of constitutional re-engineering, Chen invoked Deng's legacy.
"Late democracy activist Deng Nan-jung proposed this idea and I always keep that in mind and am ready to carry it out," Chen said during his speech at the anniversary of Deng's death yesterday morning.
The president praised Deng's effort to bring to light the truth about the 228 Incident and honor its victims by fighting against the dictatorship and proposing a new constitution for the country.
"I have never forgotten about Deng's dreams, and I am planning to realize them before I finish my term," Chen said.
The president said that Deng's sacrifice led to a country that has total freedom of the press and freedom of speech.
"Although some people may abuse the freedoms we enjoy today by saying or writing things to harm this country, it will not change our determination to protect the freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which Deng tried to defend his whole life," Chen said.
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