Computer manufacturers are to be forced to work with censure authorities

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) has called on computer manufacturers not to cooperate with China’s authorities in the planned tightening-up of the internet censure. „If you stand out for the free and unhindered access to the internet for as many people as possible then you should not allow yourself to be turned into the henchman of a regime which arbitrarily closes internet sites to secure its own power”, said the GfbV Asia consultant, Ulrich Delius, on Monday in Göttingen. The new censure is directed not only against pornography, but ensures the total control of every internet-user in China.

It was stated at the weekend that the Ministry for Industry and Information Technology had on 19th May 2009 given instructions that from 1st July 2009 only computers with a special censure software be produced. From this date all computers are to be equipped with the software „Green Wall- The Companion for Young People”. This is to give pr otection against „harmful influences” and create a „harmonious internet”. Information on democracy and rebellious minorities are constantly termed „dangers for harmony” by the Chinese security forces.

The GfbV homepage has been closed for several months in China because it has given information on serious violations of human rights against Tibetans, Uighurs, Mongols, adherents of Falun-Gong and supporters of the movement for democracy. The GfbV regrets that approximately 298 million internet users in China are unable to form their own opinions on important contemporary issues.

„With the new compulsory measures the internet censure has taken on a new quality”, said Delius. Hitherto it has been mainly the network providers which=2 0were forced to cooperate with the censure authorities, but now each single user is to be in the immediate power of the authorities, for this new software allows the censors to access the personal data of every internet user and to block the computer with viruses. This software also makes it impossible for the individual user to see which homepage is closed and not accessible. The programme was developed by the Jinhui Computer System Engineering Company, which has also been working for a long time with the Chinese security offices and the military.