Obama criticizes Internet censorship in China
By siliconindia   |   Monday, 16 November 2009, 22:35 IST   |    2 Comments
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Obama criticizes Internet censorship in China
Beijing: President Barack Obama has touched the sensitive topic of free speech and freedom of information saying that he is a strong supporter of non-censorship of Internet, while addressing a hall filled with 520 university students, during his China Visit. Obama has used a highly unusual live question-and-answer session to interact with Chinese students in Shanghai, reported Times Online. Obama was able to pace a stage in Shanghai, microphone in hand, picking out questions from an audience of 520 university students, only after painstaking, eleventh-hour wrangling. The Chinese side was nervous at U.S. requests for a live broadcast and online streaming. In the end, the town hall-style meeting was shown live only on Shanghai television, but the text was updated in real time on the state-run Xinhua news agency. Obama was asked whether he knew of the "Great Firewall" - the popular term for the blocks that China's Government imposes on the Internet to keep out content its censors deem inappropriate for its citizens. Obama said, "I have always been a strong supporter of open Internet use. I am a big supporter of non-censorship. I recognise that different countries have different traditions." It was the answer in which he came the closest to subtle criticism of his hosts, saying he believed the freedom to reprove a country's leaders helped to strengthen democracy. "I should be honest, there are times when I wish information didn't flow so freely, then I wouldn't have to listen to people criticise me all the time. People when in positions of power think 'How could that person say that of me? That's irresponsible." But Obama believes that such openness has made him a better leader, forcing him to listen to opinions he does not want to hear. China's leaders are rarely required - or have the opportunity - to be exposed to criticism. The Great Firewall filters out almost all such remarks and, in any case, few dare to post comments disparaging to the leadership, for fear of retribution. He averted possible objections from Communist Party censors who say that the Internet needs to be monitored to protect its people from harm. "The good outweighs the bad so much. That is why I am so glad the internet is part of this forum." It is far from clear whether such ideals will come up in his talks with Communist Party leaders in Beijing tomorrow and Wednesday, when disagreements over trade, how to deal with a nuclear-powered North Korea, the contentious issue of the value of China's currency and policies on Iran are likely to dominate the agenda. The session also saw Obama confess that he has never used Twitter. His account boasts of 2.6 million followers of his Twitter site. This confession has shocked many .

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