--- From: "James Lucier" <vze29z9kat_private> To: <declanat_private> Subject: For FC: New Amnesty Int'l Report Shows China's Internet Police Are Brutally Efficient Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 22:06:39 -0500 Hi Declan: Thought I would pass this on for the benefit or fellow Politechnicals. You may need a Chinese language version of the Politechbot. Jim Lucier http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/040yffaq.asp Caught in the Web A new Amnesty International report reveals that China's Internet police force is brutally efficient--and becoming more so every day. by Katherine Mangu-Ward 12/19/2002 1:45:00 AM Katherine Mangu-Ward, editorial assistant NO ONE CAN BE SURE of the exact size of China's Internet police force, but estimates hover between 30,000 and 40,000 officers. And their back-up is impressive--China has just spent $200 million on new firewall technology as well. But for those who still try to access forbidden material, China's punishment is swift and severe. Amnesty International recently released a report compiling records of 33 "prisoners of conscience who have been detained for using the Internet to circulate or download information." One of the cases Amnesty highlights is the story of Chen Shaowen, charged with "subverting state power." He was caught "browsing repeatedly reactionary web sites" as well as "sending in numerous articles of all sorts, fabricating, distorting and exaggerating relevant facts, and vilifying the Chinese Communist party and socialist system." Chen's most recent article was about a group of workers in his hometown of Lianyuan who lost their jobs and now drive three-wheeled motor-cabs for hire. In July, the city government banned the cabs, and the workers retaliated by saying they would set up a self-help association to protect their interests: "We would prefer to suffer hardship than to give up hope." This stirring tale of self-reliance and entrepreneurship would command several column inches in some decent American papers, but in China it has earned Chen a spot in the clink. Other notable cases chronicled in the Amnesty report: "--Wang Youcai, founder of the China Democracy Party (CDP), was sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment for subversion in December 1999. Two of the accusations against Wang involved sending e-mail to Chinese dissidents abroad and accepting overseas funds to buy a computer." --"Lin Hai, a computer engineer from Shanghai, was arrested in March 1998 and is considered to be the first person to have been sentenced for Internet use in China. He was accused of providing 30,000 e-mail addresses to VIP Reference, a U.S.-based online pro-democracy magazine, and charged with subversion and sentenced to two years in prison in June 1999." [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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