Internet: June 2008 Archives

By Joe McDonald, Associated Press Business Writer | The San Francisco Chronicle
June 26, 2008

The government has ordered China's fast-growing phone companies to stop adding new customers in August so they can better focus on ensuring service for the Beijing Olympics, company employees said Thursday.

The moratorium on new phone and Internet connections adds to sweeping measures, including traffic bans and factory shutdowns, that are meant to provide better conditions for the games, a major prestige event for the communist government.

"We simply won't touch the network any more to ensure its stability for the Olympic Games," said an employee of China Telecom Ltd., China's main fixed-line carrier, who said he had seen an internal company memo on the subject. He asked not to be identified further because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

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By Agence France Presse
June 21, 2008

It is unacceptable for China to block Internet content, a European Commissioner said Friday, calling the Internet a free and open medium.

"We say for instance to the Chinese, very clearly so, that their blocking of certain Internet content is absolutely unacceptable," said Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Information Society and Media.

"So Europe speaks up in this sense, and is fighting for the freedom of speech and the freedom to receive the news," she said.

Her comments to the Foreign Correspondents' Association of Singapore came after she was asked what concerns she had about freedom of expression in Asia.

China maintains some of the strictest Internet censorship in the world with its "Great Firewall" regularly blocking any kind of information or content that the ruling communist party views as improper, unhealthy or anti-China.

An activist said in Tokyo on Thursday that Chinese censorship of the Internet and restrictions on reporting have worsened despite Beijing's pledge to improve media freedom ahead of the August Olympic Games.

China has actually tightened control of the Internet as the Olympics approaches, said Zhang Yu, a member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, a branch of International PEN, a writers' association.

By The Associated Press | USA TODAY
06 June 2008

China on Friday denied allegations that its operatives secretly copied the contents of a U.S. government laptop computer and used the data to try to hack into Commerce Department computers.

U.S. authorities say they are investigating whether surreptitious copying took place when a laptop was left unattended during a visit to China by Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez for trade talks last December.

Shortly afterward, three serious attempts at data break-ins at the Commerce Department were reported, according to U.S. officials.

In Beijing's first comments on the allegations, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Chinese officials knew nothing about the laptop cited in the reports. He repeated China's claim that it too was a victim of cybercrime.

"These reports are totally groundless," Qin told reporters at a briefing for a new round of U.S.-China trade talks later this month.

The reported incident is the latest in a series of cybersecurity problems blamed on China. Reports last year cited officials in Germany, the United States and Britain as saying government and military networks had been broken into by hackers backed by the Chinese army.

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By USA TODAY
June 02, 2008

Foreigners attending the Beijing Olympics better behave -- or else.

The Beijing Olympic organizing committee issued a stern, nine-page document Monday that covers 57 topics. Written in Chinese only and posted on the official website, the guide covers everything from a ban on sleeping outdoors to the need for government permission to stage a protest.

Visitors also should know this:

• Those with "mental diseases" or contagious conditions will be barred.

• Some parts of the country are closed to visitors -- one of them Tibet.

• Olympic tickets are no guarantee of a visa to enter China.

Fearing protests during the Aug. 8-24 Olympics, China's authoritarian government has tightened controls on visas and residence permits for foreigners. It has also promised a massive security presence at the games, which may include undercover agents dressed as volunteers.

The guide said Olympic ticket holders "still need to visit China embassies and consulates and apply for visas according to the related rules."

The government hopes to keep out activists and students who might stage pro-Tibet rallies that would be broadcast around the world. It also fears protests over China's oil and arms trade with Sudan, and any disquiet from predominantly Muslim regions in western China.

"In order to hold any public gathering, parade or protest the organizer must apply with the local police authorities. No such activity can be held unless a permit is given. ... Any illegal gatherings, parades and protests and refusal to comply are subject to administrative punishments or criminal prosecution."

The document also warns against the display of insulting slogans or banners at any sports venue. It also forbids any religious or political banner at an Olympic venue that "disturbs the public order."

The guidelines seem to clash with a pledge made two month ago by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, who said athletes could exercise freedom of speech in China. He asked only that athletes refrain from making political statements at certain official Olympics venues.

"Freedom of expression is something that is absolute," Rogge said in Beijing in April. "It's a human right. Athletes have it."

The detailed document is titled: "A guide to Chinese law for Foreigners coming to, leaving or staying in China during the Olympics." This appears under the slogan of the Beijing Olympics: "One World, One Dream."

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