Chinese Activist Talks Censorship at Geneva Summit

Chinese Activist Talks Censorship at Geneva Summit
2010-03-10 11:44

Activists and diplomats alike gathered in Geneva this week for the second annual Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy.

Organized by an international coalition of human rights NGOs, the summit was held in parallel with the main annual session of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Guests spoke on issues ranging from women's rights in Afghanistan to Internet freedom in China.

Tiananmen Square activist and former political prisoner Dr. Yang Jianli was invited to speak on censorship in China. He talked at length about the Chinese regime's Internet censorship program, unofficially dubbed the Great Firewall. He said its days are numbered.

[Dr. Yang Jianli, Former Tiananmen Square Activist]:
Soon there will be so many holes in the Great Firewall that, like the proverbial dike, it will be impossible to maintain. Without the ability to control the Internet, China will not be able to control the will of one billion Chinese citizens.

During a separate meeting with Chinese language media, Dr. Yang stressed the importance of anti-censorship software that has allowed Chinese citizens unrestricted access to online information.

[Dr. Yang Jianli, Former Tiananmen Square Activist]:
The anti-censorship software invented by Falun Gong [practitioners] is being widely used in China. It has made a very important contribution to breaking through Internet censorship. The situation now is that, in China, if you are a person who actively seeks out information, you are sure to find anti-censorship software, and find the information you need. Those who are being restricted now are passively receiving information, and we need to turn these people from passively receiving information into actively receiving information.

At the end of the two-day summit, participants jointly adopted a Declaration on Internet Freedom.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• China
• Geneva
• Human Rights
• anti-censorship
• software
• Tolerance
• and
• Democracy