Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered an address this morning on Internet freedom around the world, in which she called on Chinese authorities to launch an investigation into the cyber attacks on Google and other U.S. corporations. From BBC:
In a wide-ranging speech at the Newseum journalism museum in Washington, Mrs Clinton said the internet had been a “source of tremendous progress” in China, but that Beijing should investigate the attacks on Google.
“We look to Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the cyber intrusions,” she said.
“We also look for that investigation and its results to be transparent.”
Again in reference to China, she said that any country which restricted free access to information risked “walling themselves off from the progress of the next century”.
The US intended to address issues of internet freedom within its relationship with Beijing, she added.
The prepared text of Clinton’s remarks is here, or just read the highlights of the talk via Reuters. See reactions from Evgeny Morozov in Foreign Policy; Ethan Zuckerman; and James Fallows.
Follow tweets about the speech @netfreedom.
The follow image, a photo-shopped version of Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, is making the rounds of Chinese twitterers and bloggers:
The following video is from AP:
Also, see footage of Clinton’s meet-and-greet with bloggers from around the world, including Isaac Mao and Michael Anti from China, after her speech, via RFA. (Scroll down to see the video in English.)
Update: The State Department has posted video of Clinton’s speech here.
See also “The US-China relationship is strong enough to withstand disputes like this” from Times Online.
