Deutsche Welle, 24 Sep 2013
Chinese
leaders have been quoted as saying that the planned Shanghai Free Trade Zone
will be completely void of Internet censorship. Beijing wants foreign investors
to feel "at home" in the pilot area.
Hong Kong's
South China Morning Post reported Tuesday that the ruling Communist Party had
decided to lift all Internet controls in a pilot free trade zone in Shanghai to
be opened on September 29.
It quoted
party leaders as saying that free access to online content would be pivotal in
luring foreign investors to the zone.
"In
order to welcome foreign companies to invest and to let foreigners live and work
happily in the free trade zone, we must think about how we can make them feel
like at home," an unidentified government representative said.
Flying a
kite
The South
China Morning Post also said the official had warned that investors might doubt
the seriousness of the pilot project, if they couldn't get onto Facebook or
read the New York Times online.
China has
aggressively censored the Internet so far, routinely deleting online postings
and blocking access to websites it deems inappropriate or politically
sensitive.
The
Shanghai Free trade Zone is widely seen to be pivotal in the government's drive
to introduce more financial reforms underpinning China's endeavors to enact
vital economic changes. The project is also a test bed for convertibility of
China's yuan currency and further liberalization of tax rates as well as for
reforms related to foreign direct investment.
hg/msh (dpa, Reuters)
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