By IANS,
Beijing : China Friday asked the US to “respect facts and stop unreasonable accusations in the name of so-called Internet freedom”.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu made the remarks while responding to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comment in Washington.
“Countries or individuals that engage in cyber attacks should face consequences and international condemnation,” DPA quoted Clinton as saying in a speech on internet freedom.
“The US side had criticised China’s policies on Internet administration, alluding that China restricts Internet freedom. We firmly oppose such words and deeds, which were against the facts and would harm the China-US relations,” Xinhua news agency quoted Ma as saying.
Ma stressed China’s Internet is open and the country has witnessed the most active development of Internet in the world.
By the end of last year, the number of Chinese cyber citizens has reached 384 million with 3.68 million websites and 180 million blogs, he said, adding the Chinese constitution protects the citizens’ freedom of speech, and it is a consistent policy of the Chinese government to promote the development of Internet.
Ma added that China has its own domestic situation and cultural tradition, and it is in line with the world’s common practice that China administers the Internet according to its laws and policies.
US Internet giant Google last week said the company was reviewing its operations in China after “a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China” last month and attempts by the Chinese government to limit free speech on the web.