主题：伪自由主义者的学术专制：安替辱骂新闻系学生"五毛” -- alpen

外链出处

The Freedom of Chinese Internet Users is Not a Slave Girl of the Americans

A statement regarding the proposed information bill to be submitted to the U.S. Congress

TOOLBOX

Resize Print E-mail

COMMENT

0 Comments

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED

Your browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem.

Discussion Policy CLOSEComments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

Who's Blogging Links to this article

Translated by The Washington Post Beijing Bureau

Sunday, February 19, 2006; 6:54 PM

The following was posted on "Anti's Blog" on Feb. 17, 2006, by Zhao Jing:

Before the U.S. Congressional hearings on the cooperation of four large Internet companies (Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Cisco) with the Chinese government opened, I stated that I thought this had nothing to do with us, that it was the Americans' own affairs. When those of us who deeply love freedom use ourselves to promote freedom of expression for our compatriots, we never think that the Chinese people's right to free speech needs the protection of the U.S. Congress. I write all of my blog entries in Chinese. Each sentence is directed for my compatriots to understand. I have no interest in playing to the interests of foreign readers.

I have always had a kind of strong belief: A country is great because even in its darkest and most trying days, there are young people who love this land, and who are absolutely unwilling to give up their pursuit of the dream of freedom, democracy, peace and prosperity for the nation. This kind of dream is not bestowed upon us by some United States. We can only realize this kind of dream ourselves. Only Chinese people can preserve the hope of struggling in the face of a hopeless political situation. Only Chinese people can continue to have faith that the polluted river will be cleaned.

This is our country; this is our land. We must make China free, democratic, peaceful and prosperous because this is where we and our children belong. The failure of China is the failure of our entire lives. Fortune has no favorites in troubled times. A citizen of a failed country, no matter where he or she goes, will suffer the discrimination of others. When foreigners use "autocratic" to describe China, I feel deep humiliation as a Chinese. This kind of shame, one remembers for the rest of his life.

This is the reason for the explosion of free expression by Chinese journalists and bloggers. Since we lack freedom of the press, we as individuals need to make great efforts to help our compatriots believe that we have a beautiful future.

This emotion and pain might not be understood by foreigners. For the U.S. Congress to hold a hearing on the freedom of Internet information of Chinese, this is indeed an issue for the American people. But the bill to be submitted about freedom of Internet information treats the freedom of Chinese Internet users as a slave girl to be dressed as you please.

The bill includes the following: American companies will face large fines if they assist in blocking information broadcast by the U.S. government (such as the Congressional human rights report, Voice of America and Radio Free Asia), and the people responsible will be imprisoned. People with the least bit of common sense know that this immediately implies the withdrawal of the Internet services of companies like Google and Microsoft from the Chinese market. Then we could only use wretched Baidu, domestic blog service providers brimming with keyword censorship and email boxes that can be monitored at any time.

I can't help but ask: Mr. Congressmen, this bill of yours, is it meant to protect the freedom of information of Internet users, including the Chinese, or is it meant to protect the freedom of information of the U.S. government? If it is the former, why is it that after being "protected" we will be deprived of freedom? If the latter, why are you using the freedom of information of Chinese Internet users to make your point?

Companies like Microsoft and Google have won much freedom of information for Chinese Internet users in recent years. That today they have begun to compromise is not only humiliation for Americans, but also for the Chinese people. The way for Americans to solve this problem is that these companies must observe a moral bottom line and shoulder greater responsibilities, because not only do you need the Chinese market, but China also needs American companies. Your negotiating position is not weakening but strengthening. What Chinese Internet users need is the gradual increase of freedoms.

But Capitol Hill gentlemen who see things in black and white dredged up an absurd "compromise means withdrawal" bill, treating the freedom of Chinese Internet users for a slave girl to dress up however you please. This again proves: The Chinese themselves are the only people who can fight for their rights and freedoms.

The real way to resolve the situation of the blocking of the Chinese Internet is for all Chinese youth with a bit of conscience to exercise and expand our freedoms every day, and protest blocking and suppression in any sense. Because this is the country we love, no one hopes for her freedom more than we do. I am proud to be your compatriot.

Finally, at the end of this statement, I will explain again: the American companies mentioned above are companies like Microsoft and Google. I am absolutely not referring to Yahoo. For a guy that sells out information like Yahoo, the crime cannot be pardoned. If the company collapsed immediately, or beat it from China forever, that would be the good fortune of Chinese Internet users.