[WikiEN-l] Tearing down the Chinese Firewall

[Tim Starling]

Prasad J wrote:
> If the situation in China is that bad, then why is the U.S developing
> dimplomatic ties with the former? Why is China given a UNSC seat?

I suggest you do your own research on this subject. Yes, it is that bad, 
and there are answers to your questions, but they are off-topic for this 
list.

> These are aspects of China's internal affairs-not even international
> bodies like the U.N have the right to intervene. The Chinese
> government probably has geo-political concerns about this matter. Like
> I stated earlier, if you do help Wikipedia-users in that country
> circumvent this block, and they are caught they will probably be dealt
> with very severely. And I know about VoA-it's, quite frankly, just a
> propaganda tool. If you think the U.S is trying to get Iranians to
> access blocked sites in the interest of "liberating" them, then you
> are mistaken. America most likely just wants the Iranian people to
> hear Mr.Bush talk about why "rogue states" like theirs should not
> possess "nucular technology". As I said, allowing Chinese users to
> break the law, is abbetment. And it's not the kind of abettment that's
> justified-the condition in China is very much liveable-they are not
> under some Nazi-like fascist regime. Correct me if I'm wrong but
> didn't the FBI recently admit to tapping phones of citizens without
> legal consent? If that was justified then so is the Chinese
> governments' policy.

You should learn a bit more about China before you go making comparisons 
like that. China is not a democracy, the events of 1989 should have cast 
away any doubt about that. Yes, things are "generally livable" as long 
as you don't cross the line, yes the US sucks in its own special way. 
That doesn't mean we should comply with whatever unfair laws either 
regime happens to pass. China has a long way to go towards democracy, 
and in my opinion, unbiased mass education and open discourse can only 
aid the process. Yes, non-compliance brings risks with it, but there are 
many people inside China and outside it who are prepared to face those 
risks in the hope that a long-term benefit might be gained.

-- Tim Starling