US President
Obama In China, Pushes Freedom
United
States President Barack Obama
has denounced censorship, saying tough criticisms of political
leaders should be allowed and free flow of information on the
internet encouraged.
On his
first-ever visit to China, Obama said crucial problems could not
be solved unless the world's only superpower and its rising
competitor work together.
Obama also
openly prodded Beijing to accept
what he called "universal rights."
Open forum
He took eight
questions, half from audience members and half from among the
hundreds submitted over the Internet, in a session that the
White House negotiated with the
Chinese government up to the
last minute.
Obama spoke at
length about China's firewall that blocks access to many
internet sites.
China has more
than 250 million internet users and employs some of the world's
tightest controls over what they see. The country is often
criticized for having the so-called "Great Firewall of China,"
which refers to technology designed to prevent unwanted traffic
from entering or leaving a network.
The town hall
was considered a signature event of Obama's weeklong trip to
Asia. He was to end his day in Beijing
in a meeting with Chinese President Hu
Jintao.
Obama said
there are few global challenges that can be solved unless the
U.S. and China cooperate.
As nations
prepare for next month's climate change
conference in Copenhagen, Obama said leaders will be
watching what the U.S. and China do.
The two nations
are working together more than ever on battling
global warming, but they still
differ deeply over hard targets for reductions in greenhouse-gas
emissions.
REUTERS/Yinka
