China Blocks YouTube Over Tibet Videos

Screaming Cactus writes "Internet users in China were blocked from seeing YouTube.com on Sunday after dozens of videos about protests in Tibet appeared on the site. 'Chinese leaders encourage Internet use for education and business but use online filters to block access to material considered subversive or pornographic. Foreign Web sites run by news organizations and human rights groups are regularly blocked if they carry sensitive information. Operators of China-based online bulletin boards are required to monitor their content and enforce censorship.' The blocking added to the communist government's efforts to control what the public saw and heard about protests that erupted Friday in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, against Chinese rule."

Comments

Re:More proof of chinas real goals

[CRCulver]

If Spartan, a totalitarian society if there ever was one, could send representatives to pan-Hellenic events in ancient times, why not let China do the same today?

Re:urgh

[brainnolo]

I hope you aren't an American and/or a supporter of USA military actions otherwise the hypocrisy of your post would be stunning.

Re:Is blocking even necessary?

[microbox]

It seems to me we have a large amount of 'we don't really understand what the fuck is going on in China', that frequently gets combined with a bunch of preconceptions which are probably quite inaccurate.

Can it be argued that chinese actions in Tibet and their language with regards to Taiwan is a model of enlightened society? What a joke.

China is powerful, and fear is futile ground for inaccurate and negative preconceptions. Most westerners would abhor living in such an authoritarian regime, yet it was only a few generations ago when westerners themselves were the purveyors of the most human rights abuses. Heck, the thought of genocide in a place like Australia today is absurd, yet it was practiced just a 100 years ago.

It's impossible to say that things never change. That society will always be the same. That's not true. For the vast amount of our history, we've lived subsidence lifestyles. The invention of writing changed all of that, and very quickly. 6000 years later and society is still learning about itself. We've reduced violence with trail-by-jury, and enabled a political structure that strives for constant and peaceful transition of regime.

I believe that anger is based watching a society the needlessly makes itself suffer. It's not just the Tibetans that are suffering... do you really think all of those soldiers in tibet are making themselves happy by beating people up? They are just sowing the seeds of more conflict in their own lives. If punching someone in the face is the way you deal with conflict, then you'll end up with a broken nose on day.

There is a lot we don't understand about China - there is a vast cultural divide. Just because they are powerful does not mean they are right. Their actions against their own people are a disgrace to themselves.