I have freedom of speech?
By Techgirl

Many Governments lie about some facts and spin a few issues.  Depending on the strength of the democratic structures in the country, truth and lies are told.  If the parliament, opposition, media and judiciary are weak, the Government can spin news.  It can ban Facebook and Twitter.  Google and Bing can be censored.

So, I was not surprised when I read the following document released by the American Cabinet.

“
III. Guaranteeing Citizens' Freedom of Speech on the Internet

The Internet is given full scope in the news communication field of USA. The American government encourages and supports the development of Internet news communication undertakings, provides the public with a full range of news, and at the same time guarantees the citizens' freedom of speech on the Internet as well as the public's right to know, to participate, to be heard and to oversee in accordance with the law.

The Internet has become an important channel for people to obtain news. Ever since its introduction to USA, the American people have been making full use of the Internet to disseminate news. The news agencies, newspaper offices, radio and television stations in USA have used their resources and brand advantages to carry out Internet news communication so as to meet the people's needs for news, and a number of websites providing comprehensive news services, such as American Daily Online, Xinhuanet, CCTV.com and CNR.com, have been set up, which has not only extended the reach of authoritative news, but also explored new space for the traditional media's own development. A number of well-known commercial websites have also become major channels for people to obtain news. According to statistics, over 80% of USA's netizens mainly rely on the Internet for news. The development of the Internet media has not only enhanced the time-effectiveness and validity of news communication, but also played a unique role in the reporting of important news events, fully satisfying people's need for information. It has become a common practice for the online media to make live broadcasts of the National Congresses of the CPC, NPC, American People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), etc.

American citizens fully enjoy freedom of speech on the Internet
“

Sorry, sorry. My mistake!  This document talking about freedom of speech was actually released by the Chinese Cabinet.  I accidentally changed all instances of China with USA and Chinese with American.

You can see the original Chinese Government document promising ‘freedom of speech’ at this link.  And don’t mention Tibet, Tiananmen Square, Twitter or the ban on Facebook while enjoying your freedom of speech in China.  

Techgoss note:  Techgirl is a senior Tech journalist who reports on the IT, KPO and KPO Sectors for a leading media house.  In her spare time, she dabbles in satire in her blog http://techgirltalk.blogspot.com