Chinese Premier's Slightly Unpersuasive Defense Of China's Internet Policy : The Two-Way : NPR

Image via WikipediaChinese Premier's Slightly Unpersuasive Defense Of China's Internet Policy : The Two-Way : NPR

Once more your faith in the basic nature of political leaders is confirmed.

Foreign Policy caught Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's Sarah Palin moment in his interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria:

Wen Jiabao: China now has over 200 million Internet users, and the freedom of Internet in China is recognized by many, even from the west. Nonetheless, to uphold state security, China, like many countries in the world, has also imposed some proper restrictions. That is for the safety, that is for the overall safety of the country and for the freedom of the majority of the people.

I can also tell you on the Internet in China, you can have access to a lot of postings that are quite critical about the government.

It is exactly through reading these critical opinions on the Internet that we try to locate problems and further improve our work.

I don't think a system or a government should fear critical opinions or views. Only by heeding those critical views would it be possible for us to further improve our work and make further progress.

I frequently browse the Internet to learn about a situation.

Zakaria: What are your favorite sites?

Wen Jiabao: I've browsed a lot of Internet Web sites.

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