News & Politics - Yahoo Criticized in Case of Jailed Chinese Dissident

elisheva · 11-07-2007, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Yahoo Criticized in Case of Jailed Dissident

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (AP) — Two top Yahoo officials on Tuesday defended their company’s role in the jailing of a Chinese journalist but ran into withering criticism from United States lawmakers who accused them of complicity with an oppressive Communist regime.

“While technologically and financially you are giants, morally you are pygmies,” Tom Lantos, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said angrily after hearing from the two executives, Jerry Yang, the chief executive, and Michael J. Callahan, the general counsel.

The journalist Shi Tao was sent to jail for 10 years for engaging in pro-democracy efforts deemed subversive after Yahoo turned over information about his online activities as requested by Chinese authorities.

Mr. Lantos angrily urged the two men to apologize to the journalist’s mother, who was sitting directly behind them.

Mr. Yang and Mr. Callahan turned around from the witness table and bowed from their seats to Mr. Shi’s mother, Gao Qinsheng, who bowed in return and then began to weep.

The committee is investigating statements Mr. Callahan made at a Congressional hearing early last year. He said then that Yahoo had no information about the nature of the Chinese government’s investigation of Mr. Shi when the company turned over information about him in 2004.

Mr. Callahan has since acknowledged that Yahoo officials had received a subpoenalike document that referred to suspected “illegal provision of state secrets” — a common charge against political dissidents.

Last week Mr. Callahan issued a statement saying that he had learned the details of the document months after his testimony in February 2006 and that he regretted not alerting the committee to it once he knew about it.

He reiterated that regret Tuesday and contended that Yahoo employees in China had little choice but to comply with the government’s demands.

“I cannot ask our local employees to resist lawful demands and put their own freedom at risk, even if, in my personal view, the local laws are overbroad,” Mr. Callahan said.

Mr. Callahan could not say whether there were outstanding demands from the Chinese government for information from Yahoo, or whether Yahoo would react the same today to a demand for information from the Chinese government.

He did say that in going into future markets, like Vietnam, Yahoo would aim to find a way to avoid turning over to the government information on citizens’ online activities.

I remember reading about this when it happened and being totally infuriated. You can talk all you want about wanting to penetrate other markets and having to comply with local laws but some things are just not okay, IMO.

**sunnykerr** · 11-07-2007, 08:11 PM

Oh, I totally agree.

But, and I can't help but play devil's advocate here, whenever you travel abroad or penetrate new markets... you are agreeing to abide by their rules. If they were indeed served by a subpeona (or any document being the Chinese equivalent of a subpeona)... I don't see that they had a choice to turn over that information.

elisheva · 11-08-2007, 08:54 AM

I don't know...it makes me wonder what other companies do. I know that some others have also been accused of the same thing. It seems to me that there has to be a way, though.

**sunnykerr** · 11-08-2007, 10:17 AM

The way would have been to not open a market in a country like China. Which, of course, given how large the population is over there, is never going to be an option for big multinational companies like Yahoo!

But, seriously, once they do open a market there... they are mandated to follow the rules of that country.

elisheva · 11-08-2007, 10:57 AM

Couldn't all the big multinational Internet companies have gotten together and worked something out? I don't know; it just seems so wrong to say, "hey, we want to be in this market, so yeah sure we'll turn over pro-democracy activists..." It doesn't seem like it's living up to a sense of moral responsibility.

**sunnykerr** · 11-08-2007, 09:33 PM

But, even as a group, multinational companies don't have any legal pull at the governmental level in foreign countries. Not really. Especially not in a country that is governed by a military regime or some sort of weirdo ideology.

I hear what you're saying. If morality had any play in this situation, what they're doing would be utterly repugnant. And it still is, even though I don't see how they have a choice. Because, unless I'm reading that article wrong (or that article's got it wrong), it doesn't sound to me like they're policing the Chinese people as a whole and are turning over any and all "subversive pro-democratic" activities. It sounds to me like there was a case where they were served with a legal injunction to turn over documents and they complied with a legal injunction.

Now, obviously, this sets a bad precedent. But, once you're willing to do business in China, that's kinda something you have to expect will happen.

Seriously, if we're looking for moral responsibility here... They shouldn't have done business with China in the first place. But that's business for you; morality goes out the window.


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