China blocks Amnesty site - again

Authorities in China have once again blocked people in the country accessing Amnesty International's website.

The human rights group is calling on Chinese authorities to immediately re-establish access to its website.

Roseann Rife, deputy director of Amnesty's Asia Pacific programme, said that the re-blocking of Amnesty's site is part of a wider crackdown in 2009 that has been triggered by several important anniversaries falling this year.

Amnesty said events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1959 uprising in Tibet and the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests could inspire demonstrations against the Chinese government.

As well as blocking Amnesty, China has promised to purge the internet of "vulgar" content in 2009.

Chinese authorities criticised a raft of websites, including Google, for carrying vulgar or pornographic content.

Last week Baidu, the most popular search engine in China, issued a public apology for the "negative impacts" it brought upon society by carrying vulgar content.

China received praise in 2008 for loosening its tight reign of control on the net, especially during the Beijing Olympic games. However, in 2009 they have clamped down again.

"These retreats on human rights are unacceptable, especially now as China is preparing to release its first ever Human Rights Action Plan," Rife said.

www.amnesty.org.uk