Chinese censorship betrays vulnerability

Good editorial in today's Financial Times, Tear down the great firewall. It takes the Chinese authorities to task for censoring the internet during the wave of Arab protests.

At the weekend, Google accused Beijing of disrupting its email service, a claim that the country's foreign ministry has since denied, but without much conviction.

The FT notes: "It is not surprising that revolts across the Arab world have made Beijing particularly jumpy." After all, China is a totalitarian country.

But it is caught in a bind. The web aids commerce, so it cannot be shut down altogether. Instead, there are regular bouts of censorship.

This "will ultimately prove counterproductive," says the FT. "Tampering with Google is certainly a sophisticated means to curtail web freedom. But technical strength is not enough to maintain a regime – such an act ultimately betrays Beijing's political vulnerability."

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