A media freedom group condemned on Thursday China’s ”censorship” in blocking access to the popular US-based Google Internet search engine, in place since the weekend.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was ”very concerned” at the apparent Chinese action, arguing it would adversely affect access to information for both journalists and other citizens in the country.
”Your government routinely blocks access to websites, including those of foreign news organisations and human rights groups, but this is the first time a search engine has been blocked,” CPJ head Ann Cooper wrote in an open letter to China’s President Jiang Zemin.
She urged Jiang to reverse the block ”and uphold the right to free expression as guaranteed in both the Chinese constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China has signed”.
Google, which has a highly-popular Chinese language version, said Wednesday it was working with Chinese authorities in an attempt to remove the block.
”Our users have confirmed that we are being blocked in China. We are currently working with Chinese authorities to restore service,” said representative Cindy McCaffrey.
The company had not received any specific information on why Google was being barred, she added.
A series of Chinese ministries dealing with the Internet and state security have pleaded ignorance over the ban, which comes just ahead of a vital Communist Party meeting during which an overhaul of the country’s leadership could be made.
A number of leaders including President Jiang Zemin could step down in a process beginning at the 16th Party Congress, starting on November 8.
Already strict controls over the country’s official media appear to have been tightened in the run-up to the Congress, with state-run newspapers and television devoting more and more attention to propaganda promoting Jiang’s theories.
China routinely blocks a large number of foreign-based sites, primarily those featuring dissident views or banned groups such as the Falungong spiritual organisation, but also certain foreign news sites and pages showing pornography.
However it is unusual for Beijing to block Internet search engines, which carry links to other sites, but do not in themselves carry information.
The search engine run by Yahoo — which is powered by Google’s software — can still be accessed. – Sapa-AFP