US media reported on Tuesday that search engine Google was rumored to have lifted restrictions on its Chinese search engine at www.google.cn.
“Web sites dealing with subjects such as the Tiananmen Square democracy protests, Tibet and regional independence movements” could be searched and accessed through Google.cn, the Epoch Times newspaper quoted MSNBC as saying.
NBC said that while search results were “erratic” and access to certain Web sites was occasionally denied, the improvement from just six months ago was nevertheless significant.
Performing searches using keywords such as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the Times said that some photos and related material were accessible.
A search for “Falun Gong” — the spiritual group with ties to the Times — resulted in one image of anti-torture exhibits held by Falun Gong adherents, the Times said. While official Falun Gong Web sites did not show up in search results, a link to Tian Ti Books, which sells Falun Gong books, showed up at the top of the search results, the paper said.
Most of the keywords were in Chinese, the Times said.
Searches conducted by the Taipei Times last night revealed that English searches for Falun Gong returned results for Tian Ti Books, the English Wikipedia page on the organization, various videos and the Web page of the Falun Dafa in Singapore. Searches using Chinese keywords were not as successful, while searches for the Tiananmen Square Massacre or “Incident” in Chinese and English appeared to be censored again.
Searches for key student leaders during the Massacre, including Wang Dan (王丹), provided some results, including a picture of him standing in front of a board reading “Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.” Searches for Taiwanese independence, using both Chinese and English keywords, yielded several results, including blogs.
Also See: Chinese advertisers call on Google for compensation talks
LANDMARK: Taiwan and Haiti are set to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the president said, adding that the two would deepen bilateral ties President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged continued support for Haiti, particularly in food aid and healthcare, as the Caribbean nation faces ongoing social and economic challenges. Speaking at a meeting with Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste, Lai said Taiwan would step up bilateral cooperation to help improve Haiti’s social infrastructure. Taiwan would continue supporting Haiti through initiatives aimed at improving healthcare, food security and overall development, he said. Taiwan and Haiti are set to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the president said, adding that the two nations would continue to support each other and deepen bilateral
MONTHS OF WORK: The core mission of Taiwan’s negotiators is to safeguard the national interest, public health and food security, President William Lai said Taiwan is still hoping to reach a deal with the US in ongoing tariff talks after it was not among the first batch of 14 nations to receive tariff notification letters. The US issued its first batch of tariff notification letters on Monday, but Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) yesterday confirmed that Taiwan has yet to receive one. Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), who lead the Office of Trade Negotiations, are in the US negotiating the tariff issue, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US in early April announced sweeping tariffs on imported goods, including
‘A SERIOUS THREAT’: Japan has expressed grave concern over the Strait’s security over the years, which demonstrated Tokyo’s firm support for peace in the area, an official said China’s military drills around Taiwan are “incompatible” with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (王毅) on Thursday. “Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is important for the international community, including Japan,” Iwaya told Wang during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Kuala Lumpur. “China’s large-scale military drills around Taiwan are incompatible with this,” a statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday cited Iwaya as saying. The Foreign Ministers’ Meetings are a series of diplomatic
The New York Yankees are to host Taiwanese Heritage Day for the first time this year, the event’s organizer announced on Monday. The annual event, which has been held nearly every year since 2005, has often been hosted by the New York Mets at Citi Field, but this year it would be hosted by the New York Yankees on Sept. 10 at Yankee Stadium, organizer ROF International Sport Marketing wrote on social media. The event, which is being co-organized by the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America (TCCNA), is one of many cultural events hosted by the Yankees, the announcement said,