China cautions Internet companies
1/15/2010 12:02:00 AM
kenmouse
, Posted in
After Google announced it would quit China unless the nation's censors eased their grip, the government on Thursday offered an indirect but unambiguous response: Companies that do business in China must follow the laws of the land.Beijing's comments, offered by two officials on Thursday, suggested that China was unlikely to give in to Google's demands that its search engine results be unfiltered.
In announcing its decision Tuesday to possibly leave the world's biggest Internet market, Google also cited a series of cyberattacks aimed at breaching the Gmail accounts of human rights advocates.
Several of those who say their e-mail accounts were hacked provided more details about those assaults on Thursday.
After a day of silence on the issue, the Foreign Ministry said China welcomed foreign Internet companies but those offering online services must do so "in accordance with the law." Speaking at a regular news conference, Jiang Yu, a ministry spokeswoman, did not address Google's complaints about censorship and cyberattacks, and she simply stated, "China's Internet is open."
The remarks, and those of a high-ranking propaganda official who called for even tighter Internet restrictions, may speed Google's departure and increase frictions between Beijing and Washington. The Obama administration has said Internet freedom and online security are priorities.
"The recent cyberintrusion that Google attributes to China is troubling, and the federal government is looking into it," Nicholas Shapiro, a White House spokesman, said Wednesday.
Beyond voicing concern, American officials have yet to say how they might respond. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday that the White House had been briefed by Google on the company's decision. However, he declined to describe a course of action.
If the Chinese Foreign Ministry's comments were vague, those of Wang Chen, the information director for the State Council, or cabinet, were more pointed.
In a transcript of an interview posted on the agency's Web site on Thursday, Wang urged Internet companies to increase scrutiny of news or information that might threaten national stability and stressed the importance of "guiding" online public opinion.
"China's Internet is entering an important stage of development, confronting both rare opportunities and severe challenges," he said. "Internet media must always make nurturing positive, progressive mainstream opinion an important duty."
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