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                Date: 2000-08-12
                 
                 
                China: Wieder mal WebZensur
                
                 
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      q/depesche 00.12/1 
 
China: Wieder mal WebZensur 
 
Anlässlich dieser Meldung soll wieder einmal die Frage wiederholt  
werden: Wie lange wird es dauern, bis derartige Aktionen der  
gesetzlich ermächtigten Behörden die einzig logische Antwort  
erhalten, die auf einem der ältesten KommunikationsProtokolle  
humanae conditionis basiert: Lachen. 
 
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relayed by  
Martin Mair, Reporter ohne Grenzen 
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In a 10 August 2000 letter to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, CPJ  
strongly condemned the recent banning of the New Culture Forum's  
Web site http://www.xinwenming.net, which featured essays and  
articles advocating a fresh approach to dealing with China's social  
and political problems. CPJ fears that the site's former staff may now  
face political persecution by Chinese authorities. 
 
On 3 August 2000, the Ministry of State Security ordered the site's  
host, the Beijing-based Million Internet Company, to shut down New  
Culture Forum due to its excessively "sharp and anti-government  
content," the company's general manager, Li Tao, told The  
Associated Press. 
 
The articles posted on the site were written by veteran dissidents  
from Shandong Province, but were not directly critical of the Chinese  
government, according to CPJ sources. Rather, the site promoted  
the idea of a "new culture" (xin wenming) and featured essays  
developing the theme that the beginning of a new century should be a  
time for both citizens and public officials to find new strategies for  
dealing with social problems. 
 
One of the most prolific contributors to the site was author and  
lawyer Mu Chuanheng, a well-known political dissident from the city  
of Qingdao. Mu has been barred from practicing law since 1985 due  
to his controversial books, all of which have been banned by the  
authorities, according to CPJ sources. The organisation is concerned  
for Mu's safety in light of news reports that police are now searching  
for New Culture Forum's staff. 
 
CPJ also deplores the harassment of employees at the Million  
Internet Company, particularly general manager Li. Police  
interrogated Li on four separate occasions between 4 and 7 August,  
according to the New York-based organization Human Rights in  
China (HRIC), and ordered him to identify the staff of the New Culture  
Forum site. 
 
Li told reporters that police had asked him to monitor more closely  
the sites his company hosts, and to report any suspicious content to  
the authorities. 
 
In just over a year, seven people have been imprisoned for  
exchanging news and information online. Authorities have also  
stepped up efforts to police and regulate Internet content. According  
to a 4 August report by the state news agency Xinhua, a special  
Internet police force was established in Anhui Province several weeks  
ago; it is reportedly intended as a model for similar forces across  
China. 
 
RECOMMENDED ACTION: 
 
Send appeals to the president: - respectfully urging His Excellency  
to abandon the Chinese government's repressive Internet policies -  
expressing the belief that frank, public discussion of social and  
political issues contributes greatly to a country's stability, and is by  
no means evidence of "subversion" -an accusation often leveled  
against journalists and political dissidents - respectfully reminding  
His Excellency that China has signed the International Covenant on  
Civil and Political Rights, under which his government is obliged to  
ensure that citizens are free to seek, receive, and impart information  
and ideas of all kinds, without interference - requesting that the New  
Culture Forum's Web site be allowed to resume publishing online,  
with no restrictions on its content - also asking His Excellency to  
guarantee that Mu and his colleagues will not be persecuted for their  
contributions to the site 
 
APPEALS TO: 
 
His Excellency Jiang Zemin President, People's Republic of China  
Beijing 100032 People's Republic of China Fax: +86 10 6512 5810 
 
Please copy appeals to the source if possible. 
 
For further information, contact Kavita Menon (x140) or Areta Lloyd at  
CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212  
465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: asia@cpj.org,  
kmenon@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/
                   
 
The information contained in this action alert update is the sole  
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or  
publication, please credit CPJ.  
_________________________________________________________ 
________ DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF  
EXPRESSION EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE 489 College  
Street, Suite 403, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA tel: +1 416 515  
9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879 alerts e-mail: alerts@ifex.org general e- 
mail: ifex@ifex.org Internet site: http://www.ifex.org  
_________________________________________________________ 
________  
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edited by  
published on: 2000-08-12 
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