Obama criticized over stance on China's counterterrorism rules'
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail CRI, March 5, 2015
Internet users are lashing out against US President Barack Obama's latest comment on China's draft rules on counterterrorism which requires technology firms in China to hand over encryption keys, the pass codes that protect certain data.
President Obama voiced his concern over the requirements earlier this week, urging Beijing to change the policy if it wants to do business with the United States.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Obama said he was concerned about the plans which he said would give Chinese authorities surveillance abilities.
Obama's criticism sparked heated debate and received hundreds of comments on the Reuters report, with many calling out the US side on its "hypocrisy," especially in light of revelations about spying activities by its own National Security Agency.
"(The Chinese people) are asking openly for the same type of surveillance that our spying agencies use. Their logic is no different from our logic," says an internet user who uses the name John.
"China doesn't need US tech companies..it's the US tech companies [that are] needing China more. The US market is saturated… [but the Chinese] market has plenty more profit to make. If the US companies want to do business in China…they better play by China's rules," says ANDY L.
"Hypocrisy knows no bounds. It is OK for the NSA to demand backdoor [information] from the tech companies, and [they] practically banned Huawei from doing business in the US, and scrutinized the Chinese buyout of the US tech. But [the US] says 'no no no' when it is China doing [the same thing]," says an internet user under the screen name loli.
Obama said he had raised his concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Chinese government has since responded the matter involves issues which are purely China's internal affairs.
China Justifies Draft Counterterrorism Law
China's first anti-terrorism law, which is still under discussion by the legislative body, is expected to be adopted in the coming weeks or months.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the top legislative body said that the draft law will not affect the legal interests of the Internet businesses operating in China.
Fu Ying, spokesperson for China's third session of the 12th National People's Congress, added that the measure stipulated in the law will only be used to prevent and investigate terrorist activities and only China's public security and national security organs will have access to such information.
The initial draft also requires companies to keep servers and user data within China, supply law enforcement authorities with communications records and censor terrorism-related Internet content.
The laws "would essentially force all foreign companies, including U.S. companies, to turn over to the Chinese government mechanisms where they can snoop and keep track of all the users of those services," Obama said during the interview with Reuters.
In response, Fu Ying says that Washington should make sure that it fully understands what is going on.
Double-standard in US Policy toward Chinese Companies
During Wednesday's press conference, the spokeswoman also criticized the U.S. double standard in its policy toward Chinese companies.
Fu Ying said it is common for the Western countries, such as the United States and Britain, to request tech firms disclose encryption methods.
The U.S. government is imposing a lot of restrictions on Chinese companies in that country, but the U.S. companies are developing well here in China, growing like tall trees, she said.
"We hope that the foreign companies in China can continue to support and participate in China's reforms," she added.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)