Reuters reports that China has shut down two blog websites because content has been deemed “objectionable.”
Unlike the US Federal Communications Commission — which has been cracking down on objectionable “indecency” since the Jackson/Superbowl fiasco — the Chinese government objects to political free speech.
One of the sites, BlogBus.com, hosted more than 15,000 weblogs.
The timing of the censorship is ironic; it falls on the heels of legislative approval of an amendment to the Chinese constitution stating, for the first time, that the state respects and protects human rights. It also coincides with the opening of the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission; China is a member, although not without criticism.
This is not the Chinese government’s first attempt at online censorship. The government has regularly blocked access to foreign media like Deutsche Welle and the Wall Street Journal; last year it blocked access to U.S.-based “Blogspot.”
Links:
ABC (Australia – 18 Mar); Channel News Asia (18 Mar); Reuters (18 Mar); Reporters Without Borders (17 Mar)
