China warns U.S. about Internet criticism
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The diplomatic battle over Internet security escalated today as China rejected criticism of its policies while the White House weighed in to support Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
On Thursday, Clinton called on China to thoroughly review its policies on cyber intrusions in the wake of its dispute with Google, which has threatened to withdraw from China after an alleged cyber attack aimed at e-mail accounts of human rights activists.
“We urge the U.S. to respect facts and stop attacking China under the excuse of the so-called freedom of Internet,” spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement posted today on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website.
The posting went on to note that healthy U.S.-China relations include “respecting each other’s core interest and major concerns and properly handling differences and sensitive issues.”
Clinton, in her speech, called for an open Internet to help development, and she noted problems with censorship and hacking in several countries, including China.
“We look to Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the cyber intrusions that led Google to make this announcement,” she said. “We also look for that investigation and its results to be transparent.”
Traveling with President Obama in Ohio today, White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters on Air Force One: “As the president has said, he continues to be troubled by the cyber security breach that Google attributes to China.
“As Secretary Clinton said yesterday, all we are looking for from China are some answers.’
-- Michael Muskal
