Washington D.C., Mar 25, 2010 / 05:51 am
In a congressional statement on Wednesday, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) praised the internet company Google for its decision to stop censoring search results for requests from China. The Congressman described the decision as "an important boost of encouragement for millions of Chinese human rights activists and political and religious dissidents.”
After urging Google in Jan. to sever its provisions to Chinese government, Rep. Smith said that on March 22, “Google fulfilled its January commitment to stop censoring results on its Chinese search engine. This is a remarkable, and welcomed action, and an important boost of encouragement for millions of Chinese human rights activists and political and religious dissidents.”
“Google’s recent actions are a blow against the cynical silence of so many when it comes to the Chinese government’s human rights abuses – a blast of honesty and courage and a good example of responsible and principled corporate policy,” he added.
Rep. Smith also stated at Wednesday's Congressional-Executive Commission on China that “Reporters Without Borders documents that in China alone, at least 72 people are known to be imprisoned for Internet postings. But the victims of the Chinese government’s assault on Internet freedom include the entire Chinese people, denied their right to free expression, denied access to information, and often self-censoring out of fear.”