An Aids clinic in a Yangon (Rangoon) suburb has been told to close by Dangon local authorities after a visit 17 November by Aung San Suu Kyi, recently released from house arrest after 7-1/2 years of detention. Authorities say neighbours have complained about the clinic. Nine local magazines have also been told to suspend publication after they printed photos of the pro-democracy leader following her release, according to the Washington Post.
She has said in interviews that she has no plans to curb political activities, even if she is jailed again.
Links to other sites: The Australian, Wall Street Journal
Greenland and Iceland made no data requests to Google - minds were on other matters in 2009
San Francisco, California, USA (GenevaLunch) – Brazil is the leader, with the US close behind, for requests to Google by governments for data on users or censorship, figures released by the company Tuesday 20 April show. Brazil made 3,663 user data requests while the US made 3,580 between 1 July and 31 December 2009. Figures for China cannot be included, since they are considered state secrets, Google notes. It pulled out of China in March 2010 because of censorship and hacking problems.
Switzerland made 42 user data requests and fewer than 10 content removal requests.
A plan by the Australian government to introduce a mandatory Internet filter has come in for sharp criticism by Google and Yahoo search engine companies, among others. Google this week has refused to continue self-censorship in China, part of which has involved mandatory filters. The government had 176 replies to its invitation to respond to the proposal, including one from the Australian Computer Society, concerned about accountability and transparency on the blacklist.
Links to other sites: Irish Times, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Google has ended its standoff with the Chinese government by closing its mainland China search portal, moving searches to its uncensored Hong Kong portal, in an effort to end the dispute over censorship of online searches. China was quick to react angrily and industry observers say Google’s business in China is at risk. The company has been complying with Chinese censorship regulations, but announced earlier in 2010 that it would not continue to do so, and tensions between the US-based company and China have increased sharply. The company still has research and development plus sales staff in China.
Links to other sites: Financial Times, Reuters, UK, Xinhua
Xinhua, the Chinese government news agency, said 30 June that China will allow computer makers more time, retreating from the 1 July deadline set earlier for all new computers to have the Green Dam censorship programme installed, which the government says is designed mainly to protect against pornography. The Financial Times reports that pressure from PC makers and Internet users in China is partly behind the delayed deadline, and that independent tests show the software censors more than porn sites. The government says it is continuing to install the software in Internet cafes and schools.
US Embassy representatives in Beijing met with Chinese officials from two ministries in Beijing Friday 19 June to discuss China’s tough new restrictions on Internet access and to ask China to engage in dialogue about the issues raised by the curbs on access. In what the Financial Times describes as a “rare direct intervention by the US over internet freedom, which has steadily risen in importance as an issue between the two countries in recent years” the US State Department is saying that the free flow of information but also trade issues are at stake. China will require all new computers sold from 1 July to have Green Dam filtering software. China 18 June ordered Google to prevent access to web sites outside China, citing pornography concerns. The US-based company has recently overtaken Baidu, the main Chinese search engine. Xinhua
