[Wikimedia-l] No internet censorship in Hong Kong

[Todd Allen]

On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 2:39 PM, Deryck Chan <deryckchan at wikimedia.hk> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> It has come to the attention of the Wikimania 2013 Hong Kong organizing
> team that there may be confusion over the situation of internet censorship
> in China and whether it affects Hong Kong. [1]
>
> We would like to clarify that, although Hong Kong has been nominally part
> of the People's Republic of China since 1997, the city-state of Hong Kong
> retains complete independence over civilian affairs. This, of course, means
> that internet regulation in Hong Kong is completely separate from that of
> Mainland China, and therefore internet censorship in Mainland China (the
> "Great Firewall of China", [2]) does not apply to Hong Kong.
>
> We would like to reassure all Wikimedians, especially those considering to
> attend Wikimania 2013, that *Wikipedia has never been censored in Hong Kong*.
> Visitors to Hong Kong will enjoy, among other things such as exuberant
> local cuisine and efficient public transport, uncensored internet
> connection and unhindered access to Wikimedia projects.
>
> We hope to see you all at Wikimania 2012 in Washington DC and Wikimania
> 2013 in Hong Kong.
>
> With best wishes,
> Deryck Chan
> Global engagement coordinator
> Wikimania 2013 organizing team / Wikimedia Hong Kong
>
> [1]
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-05-07/News_and_notes
> [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall
>
> (cross-posted to wikimania-l, internal-l and wikimedia-l)
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It is still disgraceful that WMF, an organization supposedly devoted
to free information, is implicitly supporting a regime that routinely
and as a matter of policy refuses free information flow to its
citizens. Hong Kong in particular may not do that, but Hong Kong is
part of China, and China does. China will receive money from this
event.

Perhaps Google and the like are concerned only with profit and will do
business in China regardless of ethical considerations, but WMF is a
nonprofit dedicated to the exact opposite of China's policies, and
should refuse to provide any monetary support for China until and
unless China removes all censorship from its population. The fact that
it has failed to do so, and is indeed implicitly supporting China, has
me strongly reconsidering both my editorial and monetary support.

-- 
Freedom is the right to say that 2+2=4. From this all else follows.