NGOs: China Is Breaking Olympics Promises

I seriously feel sad about this...Being a Chinese, I don't even understand the Mainlanders, my ignorance or our big difference (HKers VS Mainlanders)? Internet censorship can really help suppressing people's thinking? You can't block everything no matter how hard you try, my fellows!


NGOs: China Is Breaking Olympics Promises
As thousands of journalists arrive in China, authorities are blocking Web sites of Amnesty International and other groups

by Bruce Einhorn (Business Week July 31, 2008)

In the months preceding the Beijing Olympics, officials from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) assured wary journalists they would have unfettered access to the Internet while reporting the Games. In April, for instance, IOC official Hein Verbruggen, who was head of the inspection team in Beijing this spring, told reporters the Chinese government would not impose Internet censorship on Olympics journalists.

Now, as athletes are arriving and the media center is up and running in Beijing, thousands of journalists are realizing that their fears have been confirmed: Chinese authorities are indeed blocking Web sites of Amnesty International as well as Tibetan and Taiwanese groups. "The Chinese government won't allow the spread of any information that is forbidden by law or harms national interests on the Internet," the official Xinhua news agency reported on July 31. "If a few Web sites are difficult to browse, it's mainly because they have spread content that is banned by the Chinese laws," Xinhua quoted Sun Weide, the Beijing Olympics spokesman, as saying at a press conference in Beijing's Olympics media center. "The Internet is regulated according to law in China, just like in other countries."

With the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies just days away, the controversy over media access is just the latest in a series of charges from nongovernment organizations (NGOs) that Beijing has been reneging (BusinessWeek.com, 7/22/08) on its commitments to the IOC. On July 29, for instance, Amnesty International published a report critical of the Chinese government's human-rights policy. According to an Amnesty statement, "there has been little progress towards fulfilling the Chinese authorities' promise to improve human rights, but rather continued deterioration in key areas."

China Condemned by Reporters Without Borders
The confirmation that the Chinese government is censoring Internet access for foreign reporters covering the Games has prompted condemnation from free-speech advocates and NGOs. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders in a statement on its Web site has condemned the Chinese government's censorship policy and the International Olympic Committee's willingness to go along with it. "The organization also condemns the cynicism of the Chinese authorities, who have yet again lied," the Reporters Without Borders statement said, "and the IOC's inability to prevent this situation because of its refusal to speak out for several years."

New York-based Human Rights Watch has also been using the countdown to the Olympics to draw attention to its concerns about Chinese persecution of critics inside the country. On July 29, the group issued a report on the government's treatment of people opposed to the demolition of housing and the eviction of residents in Beijing to make room for Games venues. Human Rights Watch focused on Ni Yulan, an activist whom it said the government will put on trial Aug. 4. "To try her on the eve of the Games is an extraordinary insult to those who lost their homes to the Beijing Olympics and shows contempt for human-rights concerns raised by the international community," said Sophie Richardson, the NGO's Asia advocacy director, in a Human Rights Watch statement.

Not all NGOs are angry with the Chinese government, however. While Beijing's air pollution (BusinessWeek.com, 7/28/08) remains a serious concern, with smog still sometimes blanketing the city, Greenpeace in a recent report praised some of the government's work to improve the environment before the Games. "A number of Beijing's achievements represent best environmental practice," a Greenpeace report published on July 28 said. "In our analysis from the information available, Greenpeace found that Beijing achieved and in some cases surpassed original environmental goals," the group added, although the NGO's report said leaders "also missed some opportunities that could have ensured a better short- and long-term environmental Olympic legacy for the city."

Getting Around Online Firewalls
For its part, Reporters Without Borders is already advising reporters unfamiliar with China how to get around the government's censors. The first item on its to-do list: Install programs such as Tor, Psiphon, or Proxify that circumvent firewalls and protect communication. "The international version of Skype (EBAY) is recommended, rather than the one available in China, which is not secure," suggests the group. "It is also advisable to encrypt e-mails with PGP."

Einhorn is Asia regional editor in BusinessWeek's Hong Kong bureau.

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