· February, 2007

Stories about Freedom of Speech from February, 2007

China: failed online question to Preimer Wen

  28 February 2007

Sohu.com has a special section to ask Preimer Wen questions for the upcoming two Meetings, positive solutions asked: When will China become a democratic country with a free press? I believe this would be beneficial to China’s sustainable development and peaceful rise. And his question is no where to be...

Taiwan: the death of twblog.net

  28 February 2007

Inertia announced in his blog that twblog.net has officially died because the domain name has been took by other internet company. Bloggers under blog.twblog.net would be affected. He explains the current situation that “in taiwan blogosphere, it is simple to be independent, but to maintain that independence alone is difficult…”...

Poland: On “The Lives of Others”

  27 February 2007

Traveling Life writes this about the foreign film that got this year's Oscar: “Anyway, Lives of Others did make me appreciate a little more the hate felt by many towards the proponents and tools of the old systems. Even I can remember my mother being taken in for questioning to...

Meet Sami Ben Gharbia, Global Voices’ new Advocacy Director

  27 February 2007

Global Voices is delighted to announce the appointment of Sami Ben Gharbia as Advocacy Director, and the attentive reader will already have noticed his posts on anti-censorship and free-speech issues. Sami pictured next to a free-speech campaign slogan Sami is an experienced human rights campaigner, a Tunisian who has lived...

Egypt: Has Sadawi Escaped?

  27 February 2007

Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey is wondering about whether writer and feminist Nawal Al Saadawi is ever returning to Egypt here. “There are rumors floating around that Nawal el Seadawy, the prominent egyptian femenist, had escaped Egypt to Belgium and then the US after she was charged with dsidain for religions. She...

Egypt: Kareem Case Appeal Date Set

  27 February 2007

An appeal hearing has been set for convicted Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman, who has been sentenced to four years in prison, according to his support website Free Kareem. The appeal court hearing will be on March 12.

Bermuda: Blogger picketed

  26 February 2007

Bermudian blogger Christian S. Dunleavy has been the victim of a picketing as a result of views expressed in his newspaper column: “Evidently I was a little too close to the subject matter because a number of people have emailed me with the observation that this guy is so clueless...

Senegal Elections: Towards Another Wade Term?

  26 February 2007

“Senegal Wants Its Freedom Back” headline. By R-Nesto. Yesterday was election day in Senegal. A campaign marked by some violent clashes started about a month ago and most of the Senegalese bloggers were hoping to see the incumbent, PDS  [Social Democratic Party] leader Abdoulaye Wade, defeated. Wade has been in...

Lebanon: Academia, Agriculture and Construction

  26 February 2007

Let us begin this week’s roundup of the Lebanese blogosphere with non–political posts. Let us start from a post about two Lebanese salads that are used as appetizers during meals: Skylark shows us (Fr) how to prepare Fattush and Tabboule, which are two delicious Lebanese salads that are usually found...

China: Chinese People Misread The World, Especially Japan

  26 February 2007

ESWN translates an article written by Wang Jinsi, a director of the China War-of-Resistance-against-Japan Historical Society, which explains why Chinese people tend to misread the world, especially Japan. Some hostilities are self-generated, such as a BBS post in 2000.

Bahrain: Workshop on Press Freedoms

  26 February 2007

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights will be conducting a training workshop about Press Freedoms, the law and how it views freedoms of expression, practical demonstrations and tutorials on blogging and how to circumvent blocks to reach the content you require from March 1 to 5, announces blogger Mahmood...

China: not a heroine

  26 February 2007

Li Yinhe explains why she is not a heroine (zh): 1. all real heroes were dead; 2. she doesn't like to fight (has closed down her blog's comments); 3. not an heroic age in China.

China: blogsphere characteristic

  26 February 2007

Wang Ning jokingly said that the characteristic of blogsphere in China is guerrilla kind of blocking and reopening, like the statement against cencorship of Sina blog, it has been closed in Sohu.com twice, but reopened again and again (zh).

Egypt: TV Station Closed

  25 February 2007

Egypt has closed a television station, according to Zeinobia. It seems that Egypt at last listened to the American demands and closed the channel after warning(s) and threats, she writes.

Free Kareem: Egyptian Bloggers Speak Out

  25 February 2007

The sentencing of Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman to four years in prison for articles he wrote in his personal blog may have come as a shock to many around the world, but for Egyptian bloggers the lesson is just too close to home for comfort. Kareem was sentenced by...