China sees red in Clinton’s call for internet freedom

China's foreign ministry has reacted strongly to secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton's Thursday call for broad internet freedom. Sharply criticising the call, China said the US should "cease using so-called internet freedom to make groundless accusations against China."

Foreign ministry spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu said on the ministry web site that "the US has criticised China's policies to administer the internet and insinuated that China restricts internet freedom. We are firmly against the words and deeds contrary to the facts and harmful to China-US relations."

Clinton also came in for criticism from a Chinese newspaper, The Global Times, which said the US campaign for free flow of information was an attempt to impose its values on other cultures in the name of democracy.

Clinton had made her speech following Google's declaration that it would no longer censor results on its Chinese-based search engine even if that meant losing its license. Google had been the victim of a sophisticated cyberattack that targeted data of Chinese dissidents on its computers.

Clinton said that the freedom of the internet was closely linked to other basic freedoms, including freedom of speech, worship and assembly and added hat the US government would support individuals and companies that help people in countries that restrict access circumvent obstacles.

According to The Global Times less developed countries could not hope to match the amount of information generated in industrialised countries like the US and the inequality and undemocratic information flow disadvantaged countries in protection of their national interest.