Yahoo's no comment
Yahoo still hasn't provided any comment in response to our story yesterday (free registration) about criticism that it gave information to the Chinese government that led to the jailing of a Chinese journalist. It was a no comment, but the silence is it still ringing loudly in our ears. John Battelle seems to have rousted out an anonymous response from Yahoo, but it doesn't really help:
Yahoo: Just like any other global company, Yahoo! must ensure that its local country sites must operate within the laws, regulations and customs of the country in which they are based.
Battelle concludes: How I wish these companies had the backbone to at least say what happened was wrong, that the Chinese system is wrong, that they regret they are in this position. Take a stand - say what I know you must feel! One can have an opinion, and still "operate within the laws, regulations and customs of the country in which they are based." Or is it also the law in China that US corporations can't have an opinion?
http://www.siliconbeat.com/cgi-bin/mt331/mt-tb.cgi/676
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Grow up and face the world! Do you want our citizens to obey the laws of this land, or to obey the laws of some other land. Do you want the foreign companies operating in our country to obey our laws, or to obey the laws of their origins'?
Why do you want other country not to do the same thing as we do here? Law is the law!
Tom on September 8, 2005 2:01 PMComment link
> Law is the law!
>
yeah, and slavery was legal here once which does not make it right! Bad laws are bad laws abd need changed. Clearly China has only "freedom of speech" as long as you don't disagree with the governement. Yahoo puts the money before the principal which is what being capitalist is all about I guess.
Anyone know what exactly Yahoo had on this journalist and what he was supposed to have done?
peter
peter on September 9, 2005 3:21 PMComment link
