China postpones controversial Web filter
BEIJING -- China postponed a plan to require personal computer makers to supply Internet-filtering software Tuesday, retreating in the face of protests by Washington and Web surfers hours before it was due to take effect.
Manufacturers would have been required to include filtering software known as Green Dam with every computer produced for sale in China starting Wednesday.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the plan would be delayed in part because manufacturers had trouble meeting the deadline. It gave no indication whether it might be revived later.
The postponement was a rare reversal by the communist government, which seemingly gave in to the combined pressure of angry Chinese Web users, Washington and computer makers. The controversy reflected the tussle between the ruling party and an increasingly informed, vocal public and industries that provide jobs and taxes that are crucial to the government's rule.
Top U.S. trade officials had protested the plan and the haste with which it was announced as a possible trade barrier. Industry groups warned that the software might cause security problems. Free-speech advocates attacked the plan as censorship.
American diplomats met earlier with Chinese officials to express concern about the plan.
"I think the cost of the move from trade friction and generally a public relations black eye was becoming pretty clear to the government," said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China Ltd., a Beijing research firm.
The postponement "gets them out of the scrutiny of the international media and business," Clark said.
Chinese authorities said Green Dam is needed to shield children from violent and obscene material online. But analysts who have reviewed the program say it also contains code to filter out material the government considers politically objectionable.
Chinese Web surfers ridiculed the software and circulated petitions online appealing to Beijing to scrap its order. They said Green Dam would block access to photos of animals and other innocuous subjects.
