NEWS ANALYSIS: China may allow access to foreign websites at Shanghai free-trade zone
FACEBOOK, Twitter and other websites deemed sensitive and blocked by the Chinese government may be accessible in a planned free-trade zone in economic hub Shanghai.Citing unidentified government sources, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday that authorities would welcome bids from foreign companies for licences to provide internet services in the free-trade zone.International rights groups have long criticised China as one of the worst nations for restricting freedom of information.The government routinely censors China-based websites and blocks access by the country’s estimated 600-million internet users to many overseas websites, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and human rights and news sites. Police have jailed or fined dozens of rights activists and other internet users who posted online content that was deemed to be illegal.Facebook and Twitter were blocked by Beijing in mid-2009 following deadly riots in the western province of Xinjiang that authorities said a...
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