This is an amazing quote from President Hu of China published in the WSJ today:
"President Hu called for even stronger Internet restrictions in his speech on Saturday at the Central Party School in Beijing, which trains rising leaders.
'At present, our country has an important strategic window for development, but is also in a period of magnified social conflicts,' he said. Among the steps Beijing had to take, Mr. Hu said, was 'further strengthening and improving management of the Internet, improving the standard of management of virtual society, and establishing mechanisms to guide online public opinion.'"
Page, Jeremy, 2011. Call for protests unnerves china. The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 20.
It is the last phrase that gives me pause.
I sometimes wonder if aspects of the M Language are being used as part of censorship efforts in China, namely Internet filters to block content based on keywords. Of course if this were true, it would be against the state goal of the M Language and perhaps against MIT TLO policies.
Free speech is prerequisite for economic growth. There is every reason to believe that rapid increases on food and housing costs are placing a great deal of strain on the Chinese people. Covering up these problems is not a solution.
Free speech and intellectual property protections are among the top issues that China faces as it seeks to expand its economy and take a role in global affairs.
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