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.



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Amnesty International Report 2009 on China:
http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/asia-pacific/china