Freedoms

A disturbing story in the New York Times today about how Microsoft shut down the site of a Chinese blogger after complaints from the Chinese government.

"The decision is the latest in a series of measures in which some of America's biggest technology companies have cooperated with the Chinese authorities to censor Web sites and curb dissent or free speech online as they seek access to China's booming Internet marketplace.... Microsoft drew criticism last summer when it was discovered that its blog tool in China was designed to filter words like 'democracy' and 'human rights' from blog titles. The company said Thursday that it must 'comply with global and local laws.'"

Also, it's not just Microsoft; there is plenty of scorn to go around. This follows an on-going discussion about Microsoft's (and other technology companies like Yahoo! and Google) complicity in helping the Chinese government to limit free speech. The Vice-President of the European Commission actually has a blog and commented on the behavior of American companies last summer here. The best way to learn about the issue is to follow an ongoing debate between Robert Scoble, Microsoft's official "technology evangelist", and Rebecca MacKinnon here, and most recently, here.

This subject departs from my usual commentary on cities, but because it's a new year, and because I'm starting a few new blogs, I want to stop and think about my freedom to comment at all. Freedom, it's a much-abused word these days, particularly when our government and president have repeatedly use it as a pretext to deprive us of it. But we should not be distracted by Orwellian double-speak into forgetting that freedom of expression is certainly a value worth having, and fighting for, for everyone.

Also, as a Chinese-American, I certainly don't buy the argument that the Chinese government in any way shape or form reflects the lack of desire for the Chinese people for freedom of expression. Although the idea of universal human rights is relatively new -- only taking shape in the last fifty years -- the power of the idea stems from the fact that they are considered -- no, have been proven to be -- universally appealing and necessary.