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the news below from telecomasia is quite interesting... actually we in
Asia pacific should also asked Mr Obama about the issue of wiretapping
internet and email in USA and its allies... when Mr Obama raised the
same question to student in Shanghai University yesterday.<br>
<br>
Internet is not as free after all, every country in the world has
censorship policy and wiretapping policy of its own... an interesting
issue discussed in IGF forum in Egypt this week<br>
<br>
How about also free software movement... freeing people from monopoly
licensing of proprietary (IPR) and expensive software... and Internet
as a free, neutral and open platform ? is it possible ?<br>
<br>
regards, rudi rusdiah - Association of Community Internet - Indonesia <br>
<br>
<div class="bortb_blue padt5 padb5 padl5">
<h1 class="ari14b_blue padt5">Obama calls for free internet in China </h1>
<div><span class="ari12i_bk">Robert Clark</span> | <span
class="ari12_bk"> November 17, 2009</span></div>
<div class="ari12_bk"> telecomasia.net </div>
</div>
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<p>President Obama’s call for the easing of China’s internet
restrictions yesterday was predictably blocked by Chinese censors.</p>
<div>Obama’s comments at a town hall-style meeting in Shanghai lasted
27 minutes on NetEase’s home page, <i>China Digital Times</i> <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/nov/16/china-internet-censorship">reported</a>. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>“I’ve always been a strong supporter of open Internet use,” Obama <a
target="_blank"
href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/obama-walks-chinas-great-firewall/?ref=technology">said</a>. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>“I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the
society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world
can hold their own governments accountable.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“I’m a big supporter of non-censorship…. I can tell you that in
the United States, the fact that we have free Internet — or
unrestricted internet access is a source of strength, and I think
should be encouraged.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>His meeting with 500 students was streamed online through a single
Shanghai site, <i>Xinwen Zonghe</i>, and the White House website. It
was also broadcast through Facebook, which is blocked in China.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The state-owned Xinhua website, which had promised live coverage,
gave text updates and photos, <i>scmp.com </i>said.</div>
<br>
<br>
Robin Gross wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:5FB3771F-F90E-40AB-9873-D4CBD34F3712@ipjustice.org"
type="cite">Thanks for forwarding this story, Fouad. I was very
disappointed to hear the UN Security Forces were being used to remove
unsanctioned content from the meeting. However, I'm not there, and am
very keen to hear from those who were present at this incident more
facts and impressions about what actually happened and why, as there
are conflicting reports, and this is a very serious incident.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks,</div>
<div>Robin</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
<div>
<div>On Nov 16, 2009, at 1:11 AM, Fouad Bajwa wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
<blockquote type="cite">
<div style="margin: 0px;">Forwarded for information:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">IGF 2009 event rattled by UN Security
Office:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.mis-asia.com/news/articles/igf-2009-event-rattled-by-un-security-office">http://www.mis-asia.com/news/articles/igf-2009-event-rattled-by-un-security-office</a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">"If we cannot discuss topics about
Internet censorship and</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">surveillance policy at a forum about
Internet governance then what is</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">the point of something like the IGF,"
said Ron Deibert, director of</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">the Citizen Lab at the University of
Toronto's Munk Centre for</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">International Studies and one of ONI's
principal investigators.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">By Rabia Garib</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">KARACHI, 15 NOVEMBER 2009 - An
anti-censorship group holding an event</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">Sunday at the United Nations-sponsored
Internet Governance Forum (IGF)</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, was disrupted
by UN officials who demanded</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">removal of a poster that mentioned
Internet firewalls in China.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">According to a Pakistani delegate,
Shahzad Ahmed of Bytesforall.net, a</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">reception hosted by Open Net Initiative
(ONI) was rattled by IGF</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">security, who objected to a poster
advertising "Access Controlled", a</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">book being introduced at the event. "The
poster was thrown on the</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">floor and we were told to remove it
because of the reference to China</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">and Tibet. We refused, and security
guards came and removed it. The</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">incident was witnessed by many," Ahmed
reported.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">The poster promoting ONI's forthcoming
book, "Access Controlled" was</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">removed by the IGF's organizers because a
sentence in the poster</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">apparently violated UN policy. The
sentence in question reads, "The</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">first generation of Internet controls
consisted largely of building</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">firewalls at key Internet gateways;
China's famous "Great Firewall of</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">China" is one of the first national
Internet filtering systems."</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">"If we cannot discuss topics about
Internet censorship and</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">surveillance policy at a forum about
Internet governance then what is</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">the point of something like the IGF,"
said Ron Deibert, director of</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">the Citizen Lab at the University of
Toronto's Munk Centre for</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">International Studies and one of ONI's
principal investigators.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">Deibert, one of the organizers of the
reception, said he will file a</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">complaint against the censorship of the
event and send it to the</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">United Nations Human Rights Commission.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">"We condemn this undemocratic act of
censoring our event just because</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">someone is trying to impress or be in the
good graces of the Chinese</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">government. It is ironic that while
people are allowed to gather here</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">to discuss freedom of expression online,
censorship and surveillance</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">practices on the Internet, we are being
restricted in expressing our</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">views," said Al Alegre of the Foundation
for Media Alternatives, a</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">member of the ONI Network.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">--</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">Regards.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">--------------------------</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">Fouad Bajwa</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">Advisor & Researcher</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">ICT4D & Internet Governance</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">Member Multistakeholder Advisory Group
(IGF)</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">Member Civil Society Internet Governance
Caucus (IGC)</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">My Blog: Internet's Governance</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://internetsgovernance.blogspot.com">http://internetsgovernance.blogspot.com</a>/</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">Follow my Tweets:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://twitter.com/fouadbajwa">http://twitter.com/fouadbajwa</a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">MAG Interview:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATVDW1tDZzA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATVDW1tDZzA</a></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
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<div>IP JUSTICE</div>
<div>Robin Gross, Executive Director</div>
<div>1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA</div>
<div>p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451</div>
<div>w: <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.ipjustice.org">http://www.ipjustice.org</a>
e: <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:robin@ipjustice.org">robin@ipjustice.org</a></div>
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