Google – AFP, Jo Biddle (AFP), 15 February 2015
 |
US
Secretary of State John Kerry during a discussion with Chinese bloggers
in
Beijing on February 15, 2014 (Pool/AFP, Evan Vucci)
|
Beijing —
Chinese bloggers urged US Secretary of State John Kerry to push for greater
freedom online in China during a rare meeting in Beijing Saturday, asking for
help to "tear down the great Internet firewall".
The
roundtable discussion, organised by the US Embassy, was a unique opportunity
for the top diplomat to hear directly from China's bloggers amid reports that
Beijing is stepping up its efforts to clamp down on political dissent.
The meeting
came a day after Kerry held talks with senior Chinese leaders including
President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which he called on
Communist Party authorities to improve their human rights record.
Zhang
Jialong, a reporter at Tencent Finance who was one of four bloggers taking part
in the discussion, urged the United States to support "Chinese who aspire
for freedom" and help "tear down the great Internet firewall".
 |
US
Secretary of State John Kerry meets with
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at
the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on February 14, 2014
(Pool/AFP,
Diego Azubel)
|
Zhang also
accused US companies of helping China block access to social networking sites
such as Twitter and the Internet in general.
Kerry said
he had not heard of such moves, but promised he would check.
In the
40-minute meeting, Kerry also heard from Ma Xiaolin, a former journalist at
Chinese state news agency Xinhua, who said that the Internet was his main form
of communication.
He
complained about the limits on Internet freedom in China, and urged Washington
to use its sway to ease the squeeze.
Kerry told
reporters Friday that in his discussions with the Chinese leadership he had a
"frank discussion about some human rights challenges... and the free flow
of information in a robust, civil society" which included some of
"the challenges of the cyber world that we live in today".
"I
emphasised that respect for human rights and for the exchange of information in
a free manner contributes to the strength of a society in a country," he
told reporters after his meetings in Beijing.
Chinese
microblogs similar to Twitter have become key drivers of public opinion in
recent years, with bloggers drawing attention to official corruption, pollution
and other issues that challenge China's ruling Communist Party.
- Less
freedom online? -
The rising
influence of microblogs has been accompanied by the emergence of celebrity
users with verified accounts, known as "Big Vs".
Wang Keqin,
who was fired from his job at the Economic Observer last year after he reported
on the cause of flash floods that hit Beijing in 2012, said at times he
believed he had a price on his head for his work as an investigative reporter.
Internet
freedom "was going backward, there is less of it", he told Kerry.
China's
ruling party, which has provided more room for public debate in recent decades,
has long been engaged in a "cat and mouse" game with Internet users,
tightening restrictions in periodic crackdowns before new forums emerge to
challenge such restraints.
 |
US
Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
at the
Zhongnanhai Leadership Compound in Beijing on February 14, 2014
(Pool/AFP, Evan
Vucci)
|
And the
rising popularity of microblogs such as Sina Weibo has triggered a
government-backed campaign to assert greater control over social media.
Last year
Chinese-American investor Charles Xue, who had more than 12 million followers
on his microblog which was heavily critical of the government, was arrested on
charges of soliciting prostitutes.
State media
insisted at the time that his arrest had no connection with his online
presence, but government-run broadcaster CCTV showed him in prison clothes
while under detention, confessing that he had used microblogging to
"gratify my vanity".
In August,
Xi called on propaganda officials to "build a strong army... to seize the
ground of new media", while China's press regulator has ordered
journalists to undergo Marxist training classes, state media reported.
China's
Supreme Court in September said Internet users could face three years in jail
if "slanderous" information spread online was viewed more than 5,000
times or forwarded more than 500 times.
Kerry also
visited a joint venture between Indiana-based Cummins and China's Foton company
producing diesel engines which produce fewer emissions in Beijing, before then
heading to Jakarta on the next leg of his Asia trip.
Related Article:
Related Article:
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)
“… Government
Let us speak of government. We're not speaking of your government, but of any government - the way it works, how it survives, how it has survived, the way it campaigns, and how it elects leaders. It's going to change.
Years ago, I told you, "When everybody can talk to everybody, there can be no secrets." Up to this point on this planet, government has counted on one thing - that the people can't easily talk to each other on a global scale. They have to get their information through government or official channels. Even mass media isn't always free enough, for it reports that which the government reports. Even a free society tends to bias itself according to the bias of the times. However, when you can have Human Beings talking to each other all at once, all over the planet without government control, it all changes, for there is open revelation of truth.. ”
Years ago, I told you, "When everybody can talk to everybody, there can be no secrets." Up to this point on this planet, government has counted on one thing - that the people can't easily talk to each other on a global scale. They have to get their information through government or official channels. Even mass media isn't always free enough, for it reports that which the government reports. Even a free society tends to bias itself according to the bias of the times. However, when you can have Human Beings talking to each other all at once, all over the planet without government control, it all changes, for there is open revelation of truth.. ”
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