Access to foreign news websites from China has been blocked again, less than a week after many were made available for the first time. Whether the move is part of China鈥檚 internet strategy, or the result of a computer glitch, is unclear.
A spokesman for Amnesty International in London suspects access to the sites might not have been granted intentionally in the first place. 鈥淚f they鈥檙e relaxing censorship, you might expect it to be part of a general move towards openness,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 no thaw that we鈥檙e aware of.鈥�
Censorship laws in China have long prohibited access to foreign news websites, which are blocked by the government. But a week ago, websites for news media such as the BBC, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post suddenly became accessible.
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Reports suggest this might have been to meet demand for news on the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center twin towers. By Saturday though, while access to the Boston Globe remained open, many of the other sites had been blocked again.
China鈥檚 Ministry of Public Security reportedly refused to explain why some sites were unblocked and then restricted again, leading some to cast doubt on whether the moves were part of a coherent internet strategy. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no rhyme or reason,鈥� Jaime FlorCruz, CNN鈥檚 Beijing Bureau Chief, told Wired news.