Spielberg…from Shanghai

The Chinese blogosphere speaks: After Steven Spielberg withdrew as artistic director for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, it is not surprising to read angry words towards him in the Chinese press, both on- and off-line. But are there other Chinese who think differently on this issue? Shanghai-based scholar and cultural critic Wang Xiaoyu (王晓渔) published the…

Freedom lives?

The European Union is moving towards the establishment of a European Global Online Freedom Act: The proposal is not focussed at any specific country. It calls on the European Commission to deal with censorship in third countries through it…´s external trade policy. It is in no way solemnly directed at China.

The dual challenge

Major internet companies are starting to realise that their collusion with repressive regimes is biting them on the arse: More Chinese dissidents sue Yahoo! Of course, China appears to be in the middle of a sexual revolution, so perhaps internet censorship isn’t on the minds of many citizens.

Mainstream beware

Zogby International polling reveals that the American public aren’t too fond of the mainstream media: Two thirds of Americans – 67% – believe traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news, a new We Media/Zogby Interactive poll shows. The survey also found that while most Americans (70%) think journalism is…

Getting around censors

Malaysians go to the polls on March 8. Much of the country’s mainstream media is seemingly content to publish propaganda masquerading as journalism. All is not well in the country’s democracy: A Malaysian government minister has accused bloggers, who have been writing avidly on upcoming elections, of being cowards and warned they are being monitored,…

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My latest column for New Matilda is about China’s crackdown on internal dissent and its fear of the internet: Although China is also battling a seemingly unsurmountable pollution problem, the regime appears determined to ignore Western calls for greater openness. “Why can’t China accept that dissent and argument are part of being a normal country?”…

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