Communist China: Google Statement on Censorship and Petition

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "R.E.A.L." <realorg@earthlink.net>
Date:
January 13, 2010 1:14:46 PM EST
To: "realpublic@earthlink.net" <realpublic@earthlink.net>
Subject:
[Bulk] Communist China: Google Statement on Censorship and
Petition
Reply-To: "R.E.A.L." <realorg@earthlink.net>

All -
Responsible for
Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our universal human rights of
liberty and freedom.

We urge you to support Google's
statement in deciding to end it participation in censoring its web search
tool according to the dictates of totalitarian Communist China, and we are
asking Google management to stand by their statement.

We have an online petition to show public support for this at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/flowerch/petition.html

Most of the time we are only able to condemn decisions of those who choose
to reject our universal human rights.
Let us use this opportunity to show
that we can also support those who choose to do the right thing for human
freedom.

Yours in Equality And Liberty,

Jeffrey Imm
Responsible
for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
Email: usa@realcourage.org

--------------------------------------

Communist China: Google -- "A New Approach to
China" -- may pull out after attacks on Human Rights computers

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
http://www.realcourage.org/2010/01/attack-on-chinese-hr-email/

Google
is reporting on cyber attacks on Chinese human rights activists and
attacks on U.S. and European supporters of human rights for the Chinese
people. BBC is
reporting that Google is considering ending its operations in Communist
China. Google
states "We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our
results on Google.cn."

The New York Times has also
reported on this issue, mentioning how searches on phrases such as
"Tiananmen Square massacre," "Dalai Lama," and other similar searches have
come up blank, as well as blocks on YouTube online videos. In addition,
the NYT
quotes Wenqi Gao, a spokesman for the Communist Chinese Consulate in New
York, who told the Times: "I want to reaffirm that China is committed to
protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign companies in our
country."

Chinese supporters of Google have sent
and laid flowers near the entrance to Google's China office in Beijing
with notes such as "Thank you for holding values over profits!" The NY
Times reports that the Google announcement is being censored in news
throughout Communist China. The Wall Street
Journal's China Real Time report is providing continuing coverage on this
issue.

However, computer industry analysts are writing columns suggesting that Google
may not leave Communist China, anticipating that "Google would be willing
to settle for a more liberalized version of the censorship it already imposes
on Google.cn."

Responsible
for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has an online
petition for your signature supporting Google's call for ending censorship
on Google.cn and asking them to stand by their
decision on "a new approach to China." We urge you to
sign this petition to show Google how we feel at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/flowerch/petition.html

The "Official Google Blog" Logo
(Google)

Google
Blog reports following statements by David Drummond, Google Senior Vice
President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer" -- "A New Approach
to China"
-- "Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber
attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a
highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure
originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property
from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be
solely a security incident--albeit a significant one--was something quite
different."
-- "First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our
investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies
from a wide range of businesses--including the Internet, finance, technology,
media and chemical sectors--have been similarly targeted. We are currently in
the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the
relevant U.S. authorities."
-- "Second, we have evidence to suggest that a
primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese
human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their
attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have
been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as
the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of
emails themselves."
-- "Third, as part of this investigation but
independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of
dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of
human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties.
These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google,
but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users'
computers."
-- "We have already used information gained from this attack to
make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for
Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people
to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers,
to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web
browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant
messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like
passwords online. You can read more here
about our cyber-security recommendations. People wanting to learn more about
these kinds of attacks can read this U.S. government report
(PDF), Nart
Villeneuve's blog and this
presentation on the GhostNet spying incident."
-- "We have taken the
unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience
not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have
unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much
bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China's
economic reform programs and its citizens' entrepreneurial flair have lifted
hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great
nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world
today."
-- "We launched Google.cn in January
2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for
people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing
to censor some results. At the time we
made clear that "we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including
new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are
unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider
our approach to China.""
-- "These attacks and the surveillance they have
uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free
speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the
feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no
longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will
be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate
an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this
may well mean having to shut down Google.cn,
and potentially our offices in China."
-- "The decision to review our
business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it
will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that
this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the
knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly
hard to make Google.cn the success it is today.
We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues
raised."

----------------------------------

The New
York Times also reported that "many people in Silicon Valley were
surprised by Google's stance. 'I don’t think anybody is going to run away from
China,' said Joe Schoendorf, a partner at Accel Partners, a Silicon Valley
venture capital firm with a major presence in China. 'Google has Microsoft on
the ropes, and China is arguably the world's most important market outside of
the U.S. You don't walk away from that on principle.' "

----------------------------------

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) urges you to
let Google know that you agree with their goals for "a new approach to
China," by signing our
online petition, and by contacting Google and letting you know that you
support their efforts. Their press office email is press@google.com and their telephone
number is 1-650-930-3555.

Google also provides a list
of its executive management at:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/execs.html

Communist China - Flowers laid at the entrance to
Google's China headquarters in Beijing (Wall Street Journal - Photo by Josh
Chin)

The U.S. State
Department has a statement on the Google China issue, which reads:
--
"We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious
concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation.
The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern
society and economy. I will be giving an address next week on the centrality
of internet freedom in the 21st century, and we will have further comment on
this matter as the facts become clear."

Media Reports:

Wall Street
Journal's "China Real Time Report" Continuing Coverage on Communist
China-Google News

BBC: Google 'may
pull out of China after Gmail cyber attack'
-- BBC reports:
"Google said the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists were the
primary target of the attack, which occurred in December."

BBC: Chinese
surprise at Google pull-out threat

Guardian:
Google challenge to China over censorship

CNN:
Google's gutsy move

Washington
Post: China faces backlash from 'netizens' if Google leaves

NY
Times: Google's Threat Echoed Everywhere, Except China
-- NY Times
reports: "Google's declaration that it would stop cooperating with Chinese
Internet censorship and consider shutting down its operations in the country
ricocheted around the world Wednesday. But in China itself, the news was
heavily censored."

NY
Times: Google, Citing Attack, Threatens to Exit China

Washington
Post: Google threatens to leave China after attacks on activists'
e-mail
-- Washington
Post reports: " 'It's clear that this attack was so pervasive and so
essential to the core of Google's intellectual property that only in such a
situation would they contemplate pulling the plug on their entire business
model in China,' said James Mulvenon, a China cyber expert with Defense Group
Inc."
-- "Congressional sources said the other companies include Adobe and
possibly Northrop Grumman and Dow Chemical. Industry sources said the attacks
were even broader, affecting 34 firms."

BBC: UK
officials 'to debrief Google on China cyber attack'

WSJ:
Flowers for Google in China

WSJ:
Google's Watershed Moment in China

USA
Today: Google stops short of fingering China for cyberattacks

VOA:
Internet Censorship at Center of Google Dispute with China

CNET News:
Google's challenge in China

Guardian:
Google blazes a trail with China rift

Guardian:
US asks China to explain Google hacking claims

Guardian:
Google pulls out of China: what the bloggers are saying

Mirror:
Google admits Chinese human rights activists' Gmail accounts were
hacked

PC
World: Google Hack Raises Serious Concerns, US Says

Google
/ Adobe Report Internal Attack from China

WSJ:
Google China Employees in Limbo

PC
World: Google Pulling Out of China? Don't Bet On It

WSJ:
Testing the Google.cn Filters

Flowers at Google Beijing Office with the Note
"Google: Pure Man"

--------------------------------------

Petition Supporting Google Call to End Internet Censorship
in China

http://www.realcourage.org/2010/01/petition-supporting-google/

Responsible for Equality And Liberty
(R.E.A.L.) has an online
petition for your signature supporting Google's
call for ending censorship on Google.cn and
asking them to stand by their decision on "a new approach to
China." R.E.A.L. has posted
on this subject at our blog at http://www.realcourage.org/

We urge you to
sign this petition to show Google how we feel at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/flowerch/petition.html
R.E.A.L.'s
petition reads:

We, the members of the world community who stand for our universal human
rights of liberty and freedom, support Google corporate management in its
calls to end Internet censorship in Communist China. We urge Google
corporate management to stand by its call for "a new approach to China."
We support Google corporate management's position that "We have decided we are
no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn."

Our universal human rights of freedom, liberty, and equality apply to every
part of the world, including Communist China. We support Google
corporate management's decision to defend such universal human rights, and we
urge all Google corporate management to stand firm to this statement.

Like those in Beijing today who have supported Google's statement by
leaving flowers at Google's Beijing office, we too extend our "flowers for
Google" by supporting their position to be responsible for equality and
liberty in China today. We urge other corporations to learn from
Google's statement and recognize that their customers do view our universal
human rights as a human priority.

Universal human rights are all of our rights, and all of our
responsibility.

----------------------------------

Show Google that corporate responsibility on universal human
rights (everywhere - in any language) is
the type of responsibility that we share and that we appreciate.