Below is a letter from 100 people, led by Liu Xiaobo, appealing for the unblocking of Century China (www.cc.org.cn), an online community of China’s intellectuals.
For many days since July 25, 2006, Chinese intellectuals and other netizens have been living in misery because the Web site that had been their spiritual home for six years, Century China , was shut down by the Chinese authorities.
On July 19, the Communication Administration Bureau of Beijing issued a “Notice to shut down Century China” (No. 2006-242). It stated that the Web site “illegally provides Internet news without proper qualifications” and “has violated the ‘Regulations of Internet News Service’ and Article 19 of ‘Regulations of Internet Information Service.’ Accordingly, Century China Web site and its chat forum Century Salon shall be shut down immediately.”
Throughout history oppressive governments worldwide have suppressed freedom of speech, but in today’s world, this type of suppression is becoming increasingly intolerable. The shutdown of Century China is just another instance of the Chinese government’s suppression of the freedom of its people. Therefore we must stage a focused and unyielding protest against the government’s abuse of power.
Since its launch on July 20, 2000, Century China became one of the most influential nongovernmental Web sites in Mainland China. Strictly observing its doctrine to be “free, independent, democratic, tolerant, and rational,” it attracted many prominent Chinese intellectuals within China and abroad. The Web site made a unique contribution to promoting China’s freedom of speech, political and social liberalization, and served as a communication forum for Chinese people worldwide.[Full Text]
