Washington,
Feb 15 -
Today Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) attended the joint
subcommittee hearing “The Internet in China: A Tool for Freedom or
Suppression?” The hearing included representatives from the State
Department, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo. The hearing was to explore the recent
cooperation of internet search engines, such as Google, to cooperate with the
communist regime in China
to self-censor searches by the Chinese people.
“It is amazing to me that American internet companies cannot
connect the dots between profits and free and unfettered access to ideas,”
stated Rep. Rohrabacher at the hearing. “It is incomprehensible how they fail
to understand the implications for their own financial future by colluding with
Chinese authorities to track down pro-democracy advocates or by setting up fire
walls against such offending words as ‘independent judiciary,’ or ‘democracy.’
If and when China
becomes a democracy these companies will be the first to be booted out by those
who will remember their betrayal and hypocrisy.
The People’s Republic of China is notorious for it’s
crackdown on the democratic movement in the country. Recent stories
include the decision by Yahoo to release email information to the regime on a
reporter who had been reporting on the media controls in the country. The
reporter was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Congressman Rohrabacher invited Yuan Li to today’s hearing
while pictures of his bruised face were shown on the televisions in the
committee room. Mr. Li is an American citizen living in Atlanta
who is a Falun Gong practitioner and works to communicate with people in China
to get around the firewalls set up by internet search engines. Last week,
Yuan Li was beaten up in his own home by Chinese and Korean speaking men who
stole two computers, a cell phone, a hard disk and a brief case. The FBI
has launched an investigation into the robbery and beating.
“The beating of pro-democracy individuals in China
is common practice but what is not common is that Mr. Li is able to be here
with us today,” said Congressman Rohrabacher. “He is an American hero and I
applaud his bravery.”
Yesterday Congressman Rohrabacher, Chairman of the
International Relations Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, held a
hearing on Chinese Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy through U.S. Educational
Institutions, Multilateral Organizations, Corporate America and U.S. Media.
