China’s bloggers have a big choice to make today — either they register their website with the government or they risk having it shut down. It is all part of the fight against the free speech that is flourishing in China’s chat rooms.
The People’s Republic isn’t the only authoritarian regime that considers the internet a threat. In countries around the world where the press is tightly controlled, cyber-dissidents are fighting against government censors to publish an unedited view from inside.
Authoritarian regimes are not taking this lightly. They are now working to monitor web conversations, reign in political discourse, and track down dissidents.
Bloggers have recently been jailed in Asia, Africa and the Middle East for posting material that challenges the government view. Despite this pressure, cyber-dissidents continue posting their online revolution.
Guests:
Rebecca MacKinnon, Research Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard law school and co-founder of global voices online, former CNN foreign correspondent in Tokyo and Beijing
Jeff Ooi, Malaysian blogger
Hossein Derakhshan, Iranian blogger
Julien Pain, Internet Freedom desk, Reporters Without Borders.