| ABC NEWS[Friday, July 03, 2009 12:16] |
By South Asia correspondent Sally Sara for AM  The Dalai Lama says Tibet has been given a death sentence by the Chinese Government. (ABC) It is the first time a group of Australian MPs and senators has travelled to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala. (Video: Historic meeting with Dalai Lama) The Chinese Embassy in Canberra says the visit constitutes interference in China's internal affairs. The Dalai Lama says Tibet has been given a death sentence by the Chinese Government. "No freedom of speech, no freedom of press. Their own people put in dark. It is, I think, immoral," he said. The Dalai Lama spent more than an hour meeting with members of the first Australian parliamentary delegation to visit him in Dharamsala. He thanked the all party group of MPs and senators for their support. "Usually I describe our supporters not like pro-Tibetan, but rather pro-justice," he said. Labor MP Michael Danby says several members of the delegation are hoping to travel to Tibet later in the year during an official visit to China. "If the Parliament asks the Chinese Government to allow this group to go, I don't see why they shouldn't be," he said. "They would be breaking their word and I'm sure the Chinese Government wouldn't like to be seen to be doing that." The delegation expressed its support for the Dalai Lama's middle way approach of autonomy rather than independence for Tibet. The Chinese Embassy in Canberra has condemned the Australian visit, saying it constitutes interference in China's internal affairs. Fifty years after the Dalai Lama fled Tibet, more activists are continuing to arrive in Dharamsala. The Australian delegation visited a new arrivals centre and met one man who says he was shot by Chinese forces during a protest in March last year. He told the delegation he thought he was going to die because he was bleeding so heavily. On Monday, the Dalai Lama will celebrate his 74th birthday and he remains hopeful of returning home. "Even some of my friends, Tibetan, are now 90 years old. Some, even [though] they [are] also still waiting, one day [will] go back," he said. "So then I compare them who [are] already in [their] 90s. So I am a bit younger." |
Friday, July 3, 2009
China angry at Australia's Dalai Lama visit
China angry at Australia's Dalai Lama visit
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sony Shipping PCs With Green Dam Software
Sony Shipping PCs With Green Dam Software
| ChannelWeb[Tuesday, June 30, 2009 14:44] |
 A woman uses a laptop at a computer store in Beijing, China, Tuesday, June 30, 2009. A California company that says its software was illegally used in Beijing's new Internet filter threatened possible legal action as PC makers faced a Wednesday deadline to supply the system with computers. U.S. trade officials and industry and free-speech groups have also appealed to Beijing to revoke its order, which requires suppliers to pre-install the Green Dam filtering software or include it on a disk with each PC sold from July 1. (AP Photo/Greg Baker) Last month, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued an edict requiring all desktop and laptop makers to begin manufacturing and shipping gear with the filtering software installed by July 1. A Chinese blogger posted a photo on Twitter of what appears to be a Sony document titled "Sony Disclaimer Notice Concerning the Green Dam Youth Escort Software" that came included with a Sony Vaio laptop discussing the Green Dam software. Another blogger, Rebecca MacKinnon, based at the University of Hong Kong, translated the document on her RCoversation blog. In the document, Sony appears to disclaim any responsibility for damage the Green Dam software may cause. The Green Dam Youth Escort software mandate is said to be aimed at curbing the accessibility of pornography, violence and other content to children, the Chinese government has said. But reports indicate citizens have expressed concern over the potential for further censorship. Since news of the Green Dam Youth Escort requirement leaked several weeks ago, the Internet filtering software plan has been ensnared in controversy. Critics both inside and outside the country have said the software could also be used to censor politically sensitive Web sites such as those dealing with Tibet or the banned Falun Gong group. Along with Sony, Taiwanese computer maker Acer has said it will comply with the Green Dam software rules, which indicate that PCs must ship with the software included, but that users have the option of whether to turn it on or off. Critics outside China, including the U.S. government and U.S.-based computer manufacturers, have been getting involved in the debate. Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that a group of international business associations had issued a letter to the Chinese premier asking that the Green Dam mandate be lifted. The letter follows a complaint issued by the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)