Free speech advocates say it's time he cooled his jets. But new speech restrictions may make it dangerous for the site's U.S.-based writers and editors to return home. The opposition had planned to focus its campaign efforts online. Currently, internet use is practically non-existent in the country, with ISPs based in Pakistan, beyond the Taliban's reach. An Australian government web site which documents human rights issues and offers consular advice warning tourists about the risk of violence is back online in China after an official protest.
Chinese officials insist that a technical glitch somehow blocked access to the site.
China Cyber-cafes are popping up around China, and the number of Internet users has risen from about 4 million at the beginning of last year to more than 30 million. That means an increasing amount of information is being exchanged beyond the control of the state. The Chinese began a new round of internet site crackdowns by closing two sites for criticism of the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square and of the government's control of media. Fear of state action seems to be a more powerful regulator of behavior than actual intervention. China As it extends its online service to Hong Kong, and eventually to mainland China, AOL faces troubling questions about how it will deal with the restrictive laws of an authoritarian government.