Reporters Without Borders [RWB] is an international NGO [nongovernmental organization] founded in 1985 with the general goal of defending the liberty of the press. [Click the banner to visit their website.] They have just issued a list of 15 countries branded as "enemies of the Internet": Belarus, Burma (Myanmar), China, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.Not surprisingly, China is currently censuring certain websites that show videos of the riots in Tibet. The following document shows Chinese plainclothes police hitting a cyclist with stones:
According to RWB, China has at present imprisoned more web journalists and bloggers than any other country in the world.
The question of boycotting the Olympic Games is certainly on the table. Observers claim, however, that such a boycott would only hurt the world's athletes, without necessarily improving things in China.
I saw a quite interesting programme related to this subject (China and Tibet) last night:
ReplyDeleteJO : Chine écrase Tibet
Me, too, I happened to watch this excellent talk show, and I'm pleased to see that it's available on the web. Jean-Luc Domenach seemed to master the subject well. Odon Vallet amuses me. He looks like a 19th-century professor from the Sorbonne who has been transported by a time machine into a TV recording studio. As for Claude Levenson, it's intriguing to see an intelligent lady who talks about reincarnation as if it were neither more nor less extraordinary than flying to a foreign land. To be honest, I remain rather confused about what is really happening in Tibet today, and how we can or should react.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to ask: Have you finally got around to watching TV? Maybe at a friend's place...
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see that I'm not the only one who is a bit confused concerning the situation in Tibet.
ReplyDeleteClaude Levenson was very "funny" indeed.
I still don't have a TV, but I watch some programmes available on the Internet (C dans l'air, Ripostes, Complément d'Enquête, Mots croisés). And I rent DVDs (mostly old films) which I watch on my computer.
Recently, I discovered "Mahalo - the human search engine" and I started to work for them a few days ago. I just finished my first page which is waiting for approval.
It is more fun than watching French TV (for me at least).
Dear Corina: You amaze me! How on earth do you find and assimilate such sophisticated Internet environments as Mahalo Greenhouse? The stuff you're creating on Henrik Ibsen would appear to be of a most serious nature, but I haven't had time yet to see what it's all about. I'll try to catch up with you! Meanwhile, best wishes...
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