EXILE ² Shanghai

Zonk June 09 2007

An anonymous reader writes

“It would appear that the Chinese government is currently censoring all photos on the site Flickr. A notice has been posted in a Flickr help forum about this, but the service currently doesn’t have a fix for this. It would appear that China has turned on their Golden Shield Project to censor the site. ‘Jain Hua Li, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said he hadn’t heard of Flickr until told about it in a conversation with a Chronicle reporter, and then suggested that the blocking may be because Chinese authorities are trying to protect children from racy images. Lucie Morillon, the U.S. representative for Reporters Without Borders, a French group that promotes free expression, said that the Beijing government often censors Web sites under the guise of protecting children or national security. She called the blocking of Flickr “one more blow against the free flow of information online by Chinese authorities” and added that it is particularly lamentable in light of promises by China to loosen restrictions before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.’ Thomas Hawk has a well-considered opinion to offer on this issue.”