31 Jan 2006

Google Sells Out Freedom of Speech

Another project by the Students for a Free Tibet.

Tibetans, their supporters, and Google users worldwide are outraged by Google's recent decision to join hands with the Chinese government in its propaganda efforts. Google has custom built a web search platform that blocks access to unbiased information about Tibet, human rights and other topics sensitive to Beijing. In doing so, Google isn't just helping the Chinese authorities by censoring "sensitive topics," it is enabling the Chinese government's propaganda by returning search results tailored to Beijing's repressive policies. For example, searching on "Dalai Lama" will only bring results portraying him as a "splittist."

Under China's totalitarian regime, the internet is a critical tool for Chinese citizens and Tibetans to improve their political situation. Google has become an active partner in the Chinese government's efforts to repress their own citizens along with Tibetans, Uighurs, Falun Gong practitioners, and anyone else standing up to Chinese authorities and demanding human rights and self-determination.


Please speak out against Google's actions by sending the letter below and forwarding the new Google logo (brought to you by SFT) to your friends and family.


Letter of Appeal to Google:


"I am outraged at Google's hypocritical decision to join hands with the Chinese government in its propaganda efforts. Google's decision to custom-build its search platform to Chinese authorities' specifications is more than just censorship. It's active participation in the Chinese government's efforts to repress and undermine Tibetans, democracy advocates, people of faith, and anyone working for freedom and human rights.

By censoring search results on critical topics such as "Tibet," you are promoting Beijing's wildly distorted version of history and truth. This is indefensible.
Under China's totalitarian regime, the internet is a critical tool for people seeking justice. Your decision to help the Chinese government thwart this effort renders your motto "Don't be evil" an ironic joke.

Please re-read your "Ten Things" company principles and do the right thing by ending your partnership with the Chinese government."


- ActionNetwork.org (send this message to Google here)

Chinese Google Filter Only Works If You Can Spell

As this blogger points out, the new Chinese search engine, Google.cn, doesn't quite live up to Google's reputation either for technical wizardry. If you search for "Tiananmen," you get peaceful photos of the Beijing square -- but if you search for common misspellings like "Tienanmen," "Tianenmen," or "Tiananman," you get photos of tanks.

7 comments:

akikonomu said...

Technically Tiananmen is a misspelling. Standard hanyu requires an apostrophe to denote a word that begins with a vowel, when that word is not the first member of a multiword phrase.

Hence: Tian'anmen

rench00 said...

aiyah... all misspelled la. Hanyu Pinyin itself is a bloody misspelling. it's cultural colonialism.

Anonymous said...

To go for money and to lose one's integrity, is it a good business acumen?

Wormie said...

This is American law for you. One for American citizens and another for the rest of the world. If the US deemed it correct, then it has to be correct.

Anonymous said...

For example, searching on "Dalai Lama" will only bring results portraying him as a "splittist."

What a laugh! Then His Holiness Dalai Lama was appointed as a nobel peace laucreate and not Mao Tze Dong?

Since the invasion of Tibet more than 40 yrs ago, the Chinese govt had destroyed the temples in Tibet and the tibetans were either become refugees in India and in some other European countries or just suffered silently in Tibet.

Thanks to the kind and compassionate Mahatma Gandhi, who accepted His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his people who fled from Tibet during that time.

Anonymous said...

thats the beauty of it all....many people learning english cant spell....especially in China. And its about money...Google Net Worth=GDP of Indonesia and probably 100x that of Singapore.;)

Wicked said...

those are not propaganda!
Propaganda by the state for the good of everyone is called National Education!

Thats wat my GP teacher says!