Reporters Without Borders today condemned the censorship of pro-democracy writer Wang Yi’s blog, which was closed down just days after it was nominated for the “freedom of expression” category in a blog contest being organised by the German public radio station Deutsche Welle.
The company that hosts the Tianya website closed the blog down on the orders of the Internet surveillance bureau in Hai Nan province (southwest of Guangzhou). When Internet users now try to access the blog, they see an error message saying it is “no longer accessible.”
A teacher at Chengdu university in the southwestern province of Sichuan and member of the international writers’ association PEN, Wang initially created the site to make all his writings available in one place. He gradually turned it into a blog dealing with sensitive subjects. One of his last articles was about a campaign by peasants in Guangdong province to remove a village chief accused of corruption.
The authorities had been trying for six months to block access to the blog. “As soon as I find a way to get round their filtering system, the local police use a new technique to censor my blog,” Wang said. He added that he was “very annoyed” with the Tianya company and the Hai Nan authorities for getting his blog shut down.
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Would you be available for a TV interivew today to discuss whether internet companies such as Google and Yahoo! who are doing business in China should have a corporate responsibility to spread democracy? agree to censorship, etc.
The interview can be done live via satellite from any major city and would take place around 4pm Eastern on the CNBC program “The Closing Bell”. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chris Moon
Associate Producer,
(201) 735-3124