Freedom of Speech in China and the Bejing Olympics

Roger L. Simon writes at Pajamas Media that he will not blog about the Olympic Games in Bejing (summer of 2008). The reason, of course, is that China’s government is not exactly one of the most tolerant open governments in the world. The Communist Party oppresses its people, torture is still practiced, freedom of speech does is virtually non-existent, etc.

Roger rightfully criticized American companies like Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft in the past, for working with the Chinese government to identify dissenters. One of the cases has resulted in a 10 prison-sentence for a Chinese journalist who dared criticize his own government on the web. The latest developments are that it is impossible for bloggers to blog anonymously. They have to identify themselves. The result is, obviously, that either Chinese bloggers will be very careful with what they write, or that they will be arrested at the moment they criticize their own government.

Roger explains that, in this case too, Yahoo and Microsoft assist the Chinese government. What matters to these companies is money. The almighty Dollar is all that counts. He writes:

Perhaps you do not agree with me that it is for us to judge American corporations that are beholding to their stockholders to achieve maximum profit. I would point out, however, that these two companies are Internet giants that control the free flow of ideas in a manner undreamed of in history. Moreover, in this instance, they are abetting the control of that flow in the most populous country on Earth, one that is already the second greatest Internet user to the US and is growing as an economic and military power at a nearly unprecedented rate.

We ignore free expression in China at our peril. Besides the obvious rights and safety of the bloggers involved, a clamp down on information coming from the People’s Republic could affect areas as diverse as recent allegations of lead poisoning in children’s toys imported to us to the monitoring of our copyrights and patents, so often disregarded. As China continues to grow, so much will be at stake in commerce and international relations, it’s almost beyond comprehension.

I agree with Roger: as always, an action will cause a reaction. Letting the Chinese government oppress its people will come back to the US to bite it (in the butt). Not only financially, but also regarding its image abroad: when foreigners hear Americans speak about the need for Democracy, freedom, etc., they cannot help but laugh out loud. They will remind Americans of what is happening in China and with whose help. It is - in other words - a good way to make yourself look extremely hypocritical.

Now say that the Chinese will, in the long run, get rid of the Communist Party and turn their country into a Democracy. How do you think their attitude towards the US will be if American companies helped the Chinese government to oppress and even to arrest them?

So, Roger has decided not to write about the Olympics, “unless the subject at hand is censorship and repression in China.” The reason: although bloggers do not possess that much power, the Chinese government seemingly is afraid for us / negative attention and coverage. It does its very best to make itself look as good as possible. The OG are considered to be of great importance for China. “Fortunes are being spent to make Beijing ready. This is their moment to emerge as a global power on an equal footing, at least, with the West.”

In other words, “attacks now on their lack of freedom would be a great embarrassment to them.” So, “From this moment on, I will not write about the Beijing Olympics unless the subject at hand is censorship and repression in China. And – unless the Chinese government changes its policies – when the Olympics do come, I will not blog about them at all. I will take the opportunity to write as often as I can about the lack of Freedom of Speech on the Chinese Internet and on the suppression of bloggers and journalists in that country.”

I had to think about this for a short while - mostly because I am a sportsfan, and a big one at that - but I have decided to join Roger in his protest. I hope that many others join us as well. This is of the utmost importance. Perhaps it is not as effective as when the NYT and WaPo would do this, but I think that if hundreds of bloggers join this protest, we might make a difference. If we do not influence the policies of the Chinese government, we might at least let the Chinese people know that our thoughts are with them.