Net firms at crossroads, says blogger – Kristine Kwok

From the South China Morning Post, via Asia Media:

Foreign internet companies are facing a critical choice between giving in to Beijing’s media censorship or risking the loss of Net users, according to a prominent mainland blogger.

Zhao Jing whose popular blog was shut down by Microsoft last month under central government pressure, said international internet companies should consider the negative impact on mainland internet users if they surrendered to Beijing’s media suppression.

“Internet companies have greatly helped to encourage the free exchange of information and the freedom of communication in China. They’ve been very helpful to mainland Net users,” said Mr Zhao, a research assistant in the Beijing bureau of The New York Times.

“But now is a critical moment for them, as they must choose between further pursuing their positive contributions or going the opposite way. If they choose the second option, this would be a disaster for mainland netizens… and they will lose a large number of users.”

See also “The Freedom of Chinese Netizens Is Not Up To The Americans” by Zhao Jing (An Ti), translated by ESWN, and “Many Internet users in China unfazed by government censorship” from Knight-Ridder.

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