In The News

China: Defending its Core Interest in the World – Part II

Guobin Yang April 7, 2010
Media reports on Google’s redirecting internet searches by Chinese authorities to its uncensored site in Hong Kong have largely presented it as a conflict between two global titans. But the narrow focus of such reporting overlooks that Google’s pull-out was limited, leaving many services in place, and that Chinese authorities have not acted to shut down the company’s Hong Kong detour, notes...

Google Has Censorship Balancing Act Outside China

Michael Liedtke April 6, 2010
Google has expanded rapidly in recent years to take advantage of profits available in other countries around the world. As it does so, it is encountering resistance from governments that ask it to restrict access to certain content. China, from which Google recently withdrew its main search operation, is but the most notable example. Germany asks Google to restrict access to Nazi propaganda, for...

Freedom Is Not Found Online

Aditya Chakrabortty April 1, 2010
The growth of the internet has long been perceived as a key to globalizing the notion of a free society as championed by the West. But world leaders like Bill Clinton and dot-com boomers alike now sound naïve to have thought the web's spread could seamlessly produce a "borderless" world of free expression. These "cyber-utopians" failed to realize that the Internet, like...

Information For Change

Nayan Chanda March 30, 2010
The speed of the Internet continues to increase dramatically, shrinking the world and creating new opportunities by delivering vast amounts of content to mobile devices. But the increasing speeds could create expectations and social pressures that governments are not prepared to meet. Countries need to have educated populations and good technological infrastructure to take advantage of the...

Iran’s Opposition Seeks More Help in Cyberwar With Government

Nazila Fathi March 23, 2010
The ongoing battle in Iran following last year's disputed election is increasingly moving online and that means more countries are involved, whether they want to be or not. Iranian opposition activists are applauding a recent decision by the US to lift sanctions on various online services, which will allow them to combat the government's suppression of Internet activity. The Iranian...

China Expands Science Globalization Trends

March 15, 2010
Scientific research is now a worldwide endeavor, with researchers from multiple countries collaborating on projects. In recent years, Chinese authorities and academics have begun to take advantage of these possibilities, resulting in a growing network of global scientific research. A Sino-French joint research institute in Shanghai has been in existence for six years and has produced...

Taking Root

March 8, 2010
Crops made from genetically modified organisms (GMO) are thriving in the developing world. Whereas European criticism and multinational encouragement once framed the debate surrounding GMOs, it is now being driven by domestic political pressure for greater crop yields and corresponding local research. China, which recently approved new GM strands of rice and maize, might be the next big player,...