China yesterday defended a new requirement that personal computers sold in the country carry a software that filters online content, just hours after Microsoft said the rule raised issues of freedom of expression, privacy and security that “need to be properly addressed.”
The statement by the US software giant came after a US computer industry association denounced the Chinese move and leading US personal computer makers said they were studying its ramifications.
Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) defended Beijing’s administration of the Internet, saying it was in accordance with the law and that the software “is aimed at blocking and filtering some unhealthy content, including pornography and violence.”
“If you have a child, or if you’re expecting a child, I think you could understand the concerns of parents about the unhealthy contents on the Internet,” Qin said at a regular briefing.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology posted a notice to all PC vendors on its Web site yesterday that they will be required to pre-load the “Green Dam-Youth Escort” filtering software on units to be sold in China beginning on July 1, including imported PCs.
The ministry’s notice to computer vendors said the “Green Dam” program would either be installed on the hard drive or enclosed on a compact disc. The notice said PC makers would be required to tell authorities how many PCs they have shipped with the software, which is made by a Chinese developer under contract with the government.
A Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement on Monday: “Microsoft believes that the availability of appropriate parental control tools is an important societal consideration for industry and governments around the world.”
“At the same time, Microsoft is committed to helping advance the free flow of information and to encouraging transparency, deliberation and restraint with respect to Internet governance,” the spokesperson said. “In this case, we agree with others in industry and around the world that important issues such as freedom of expression, privacy, system reliability and security need to be properly addressed.”
“Blocking access to pornography sounds like an acceptable goal,” Washington-based Computer & Communications Industry Association president Ed Black said on Monday. “But the problem is that it’s all too easy to use the same technology to expand the censorship.”
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
‘IMPORTANCE OF PEACE’: President Lai was welcomed by AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others President William Lai (賴清德) was feted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “alohas” as he began his two-day stopover in Hawaii on Saturday, part of a Pacific tour. Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around the US island state, visiting the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s leading museum of natural history and native Hawaiian culture, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Lai was given the “red carpet treatment” on the tarmac of Honolulu’s international airport, his office said, adding that it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such
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