- Geneva Summit Drafts Declaration on Internet Freedom
- Bipartisan Global Internet Freedom Caucus Established
- Senators and Activists Call for State Department Action
- Geneva Summit Internet Freedom Committee Co-Chair, Dr. Yang Jianli, Issues Statement on Google’s Decision
Washington, D.C. March 29, 2010–Google’s decision to cease censorship of its search engine content in China has galvanized the support of activists, governments, and NGOs around the world. Whatever the long-term consequences may be, Google’s action has surfaced a giant fault line along China’s “Great Firewall” that divides China from an increasingly interconnected world where information and ideas flow freely at the speed of light. In her speech on Internet Freedom on January 21, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cited Internet censorship as “one of the leading causes of interstate conflict.” An open Internet on the other hand “provides a foundation for global progress.” Upon his return from an international trip during which he co-chaired the Internet Freedom Committee at the Geneva Summit on Human Rights, Tolerance, and Democracy, Dr. Yang Jianli issued a statement in support of Google’s action and also contributed an op ed article on the issue, published in the Wall Street Journal on March 25, 2010. (see article below or click here)
Secretary Clinton’s remarks were echoed by leading activists who convened in Geneva to assess the progress of human rights and democracy around the world. Dr. Yang Jianli, Harvard Fellow and President of Initiatives for China, co-chaired the Internet Freedom Committee at the Summit, which issued a declaration on Internet Freedom. The declaration (click here to view) was unanimously adopted by the Summit delegates and will be presented to the United Nations in April.
Secretary Clinton’s speech coincided with Congressional calls for the State Department to follow Clinton’s words with action. On January 20, five key Senators sent a letter to Secretary Clinton urging immediate funding for proven technologies that will allow citizens of China and other authoritarian countries to bypass government-imposed firewalls.
Over 35 leading activists and dissident organizations supported the Senators’ call to action with a letter to Secretary Clinton dated February 18, 2010.
A bipartisan initiative, The Global Internet Freedom Caucus, advanced by Congressman Smith (R-NJ) and Congressman Wu (D-OR), calls for legislative backing for companies that support Internet freedom in the conduct of their business inside countries that censor the Internet. “Peaceful expression of religious belief and political opinion is coming under concerted attack in more and more countries. As Internet access has spread, repressive governments, such as China and Iran, have massively ramped up efforts to censor and control the Internet,” Congressman Smith said at a recent press conference in Washington.
The common thread uniting all this activity is universal praise for Google’s courageous action and the belief that Internet censorship is a drag on social progress in the 21st century and a threat to regional and world stability, which must be addressed with concerted action.
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Click Here to read Geneva Declaration on Internet Freedom
Click Here to read Courage Can Turn the Tide by YANG Jianli
Click Here to read Google and China: The Fault Line Between Global Progress and Retreat by YANG Jianli