It’s disturbing that yahoo! remains silent on this issue because it means they will make no changes on their policy. That they have decided that the company will continue to help Chinese government put people in jail for writing "subversive" information on the net. Most importantly, due to the lack of free press in China, people who are using Yahoo! in China is under the impression that the American company will keep their information private. If Yahoo! continues with this policy they need to tell their users upfront when they sign in that their information will be given and that people have been jailed while using the Yahoo! services.
Although Yahoo!’s explanation for this behavior is that they are working "in accordance to local law," the local law in China is unjust and a violation of human rights. Yahoo cannot continue to working under a totalitarian regime acting like it is a free country. What is acceptable behavior for a corporation in a democracy where rule of law applies is not when it doesn’t.
AFTER FOURTH CASE OF COLLABORATION WITH CHINESE POLICE
UNCOVERED
to withdraw its Internet servers from China as a fourth case was
revealed of the company’s collaboration with Chinese police that led
to the jailing of a cyberdissident.
Human Rights in China (HRIC) has said that the verdict in the case of
Wang Xiaoning, 55, sentenced to ten years in prison in September 2003
for posting "subversive" articles online, referred to
collaboration by the US Internet company.
"Chinese journalists and dissidents used to trust Yahoo! more
than local companies, to protect the confidentiality of their
electronic communications," Reporters Without Borders
said.
shamefully collaborating with the police. It has said today that it is
‘distressed’ by the situation, but the time for lamentation is
past. We expect Yahoo! executives, particularly Jerry Yang, to
announce that they will withdraw their email servers from
China."
Wang, was arrested on 1st September 2002 and sentenced on 12 September
2003, to 10 years in prison and two years deprivation of civil rights
for "incitement to subversion".
The HRIC said that he had reportedly been maltreated in detention
between September 2002 and February 2004 and was believed held in
solitary confinement at the No. 2 municipal prison in Beijing.<!–
D(["mb","
\n
\nThe press freedom organisation said it was dismayed by the absence of\nany reaction from Yahoo! executives.
\n
\nWang was charged with posting pro-democracy articles in electronic\nnewsletters sent by email between 2000 and 2002. According to the\nHRIC, several articles were referred to in the verdict, one of which\nwas headlined, "Never forget that China is still a\ndictatorship."
\n
\nThe text shows that information provided by the Hong Kong branch of\nYahoo! helped establish a link between Wang Xiaoning and messages\ncarried by a discussion forum. It said that the moderators of the\ndiscussion forum, hosted by Yahoo!, had decided to ban the\ncyberdissident from using the forum.
\n
\n
\n
\nCHINE
\n
\nQUATRIEME AFFAIRE YAHOO ! : L\’ENTREPRISE AMERICAINE TOUJOURS SANS\nREACTION
\n
\nSelon l\’organisation Human Rights in China (HRIC), le verdict du\ncyberdissident Wang Xiaoning, condamné à dix ans de prison, en\nseptembre 2003, pour des articles "subversifs"\ndistribués sur Internet, mentionne la collaboration de Yahoo !.\nReporters sans frontières est consternée par l\’absence de\nréaction des dirigeants de cette entreprise.
\n
\n"Les journalistes et les dissidents chinois faisaient confiance à\nYahoo !, plus qu\’aux entreprises locales, pour assurer la\nconfidentialité de leurs communications électroniques. Cette\nsociété les a trahis en collaborant honteusement avec la police.\nElle affirme aujourd\’hui être \’peinée\’ par cette situation. Mais\nl\’heure des lamentations est passée. Nous attendons que les\nresponsables de Yahoo !, notamment Jerry Yang, annoncent qu\’ils vont\nretirer leurs serveurs d\’e-mail de Chine", a déclaré\nl\’organisation.
\n
\nWang Xiaoning est accusé d\’avoir publié sur des journaux en ligne,\net distribué par e-mail, entre 2000 et 2002, des articles dans\nlesquels il s\’exprimait en faveur de la démocratie. D\’après HRIC,\nson verdict mentionne plusieurs de ces articles, dont l\’un d\’entre eux\nintitulé "N\’oubliez jamais que la Chine est toujours une\ndictature ".”,1]
);
//–>
The press freedom organisation said it was dismayed by the absence of
any reaction from Yahoo! executives.
Wang was charged with posting pro-democracy articles in electronic
newsletters sent by email between 2000 and 2002. According to the
HRIC, several articles were referred to in the verdict, one of which
was headlined, "Never forget that China is still a
dictatorship."
The text shows that information provided by the Hong Kong branch of
Yahoo! helped establish a link between Wang Xiaoning and messages
carried by a discussion forum. It said that the moderators of the
discussion forum, hosted by Yahoo!, had decided to ban the
cyberdissident from using the forum.
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 