Once when I was a cabdriver in Denver I had a passenger, a Jewish person who
had recently immigrated from Russia. When I expressed an opinion she didn't
like she threatened to turn me in to the FBI. (A rather useless gesture
given my background and the fact that expressing a political opinion is
basically a non-event in the United States). But in the Soviet Union turning
folks in who annoyed you was an option as it is in China today. Assuming the
security forces have common sense and are going to be forgiving about a
college student's, or a 13 year old's, posts to the internet is tenuous.
Fred
From: Fred Bauder <fredbaud(a)ctelco.net>
Reply-To: wikipedia-l(a)Wikimedia.org
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 05:19:33 -0600
To: <wikipedia-l(a)Wikimedia.org>
Subject: Re: [Wikipedia-l] wikipedia is big in China six was once blockade
again
Ultimately I don't think there is any way we can or should control the
information in Wikipedia in such a way that it would be acceptable to the
security services of China, nor is there any way China with its unstable
political situation can tolerate the information contained in Wikipedia. I
am especially concerned that Wikipedia offers the temptation to people who
reside on the mainland to speak their mind which can result in crippling
consequences for themselves and their families.
Fred