Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Jailed Chinese Reporter Joins Yahoo! Suit

Posted by Zonk on from the keep-your-friends-close dept.

taoman1 writes "The Associated Press reports that Shi Tao, who was sentenced in 2005 to 10 years in prison, is now seeking compensation from Yahoo. He claims the Hong Kong and Chinese branches of the company provided information to the Chinese authorities that led to his arrest. 'Shi, a former writer for the financial publication Contemporary Business News, was jailed for allegedly providing state secrets to foreigners. His conviction stemmed from an e-mail he sent containing his notes on a government circular that spelled out restrictions on the media. Yahoo has acknowledged turning over data on Shi at the request of the Chinese government, saying company employees face civil and criminal sanctions if they ignore local laws. It denies Yahoo Hong Kong was involved.'"

4 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. Is "morally" dead nowadays? by Flying+pig · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Yahoo on the face of it did something that was morally wrong. Law is not something that is fixed and unchanging, it evolves, and the Internet being so new, the laws affecting it are likely to be inadequate and out of date.

    Laws arise because it becomes clear that something is morally or practically wrong. First, it is necessary to show that no existing law fits the bill; which means the courts have to investigate. Then legislators, under various forms of pressure, are supposed to legislate.

    "Not doing anything legally wrong" is the argument of the crook throughout the ages when they've been caught doing something that offends a lot of people. At the moment BAe in the UK is arguing that redirecting large Saudi funds to a member of the ruling family as part of an arms deal is not legally wrong. The fact that the British government tried to suppress the police investigation suggests that My. Blair, at least, is not so sure.

    So the answer to your question is, we don't know yet. It is for the courts to decide. And, if they decide it is legal, then it's up to the legislators of the US to decide whether now is the time to stand up for the Founding Fathers, or time to bury them a bit deeper.

    --
    Pining for the fjords
    1. Re:Is "morally" dead nowadays? by trippeh · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The example of Canada comes to mind
      What does Canada have to do with this? This isn't an American murder on Canadian soil, this isn't an extradition case. This is one man subverting a government he sees as unfit to govern, which is against the laws set by said government, him being found out due to the actions of a certain company, and the moral and social ramifications thereof. Where did Canada and the death penalty come into this?
      --
      THUD~*
    2. Re:Is "morally" dead nowadays? by truckaxle · · Score: 2, Interesting

      In other words, NOT to have turned over this information would have been at least as 'morally reprehensible' as turning it over because individuals would suffer for it -and- they would be breaking the law.
      Just who would be suffering for it by not turning over this information? Laws are man made artifices that often go against higher ethical laws. In Nazi Germany it was against the law to hide Jews. In the US at one time it was not against the law to keep and abuse other humans. Today, in several ME countries it is against the law for women to drive or to openly defect from the state religion.
  2. Reap what you sow by BillGatesLoveChild · · Score: 2, Interesting

    > ... that China is right in their efforts to censor the Internet or stifle free speech, but did Yahoo! actually do anything legally wrong?

    IBM didn't do anything wrong when they sold their Jew, Gay and Gypsy tracking services to the Nazis. Yes: Really! They even had IBM Customer Service Engineers on site at Concentration Camps running the tabulation equipment. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/27/print/ma in504730.shtml

    Yahoo Jerry Wang's argument is that Yahoo should comply with the law of the countries they operate in. In 1939 IBM did the same thing. Today helping a facist regime that's murdered thousands track people who dare speak against them, even anonymously, is reprehensible. Only hope one day Jerry Wang gets to feel the misery he's inflicted on others.

    Reverend Lovejoy said "When the Government legalizes something, it's no longer immoral." It was meant to be satire.