Open letter asking head of China Telecom to keep promise to restore Internet services

Reporters Without Borders has written to the head of China Telecom, Wang Xiaochu, asking him to keep his promise to restore Internet access. China's leading provider of Internet bandwidth and services has been partially blocking Internet access in the provinces since the end of August. "Dear Mr. Wang, Reporters Without Borders is astonished by the interruptions in the services of some your Internet data centres (IDCs) in recent months. One of your employees, who works at the Zitian IDC, lost his Internet connection without any explanation on 23 August and did not get it back for nearly two weeks. Two of your other IDCs, Lanmang and Waigaoqiao, have also experienced frequent interruptions in the provinces of Guangdong and Shanghai. More than 30 of Waigaoqiao's computers were simultaneously turned off on 3 September, affecting more than 20 servers and thousands of websites. These interruptions have generally taken place after online comments or posts regarded as “illegal” by the government. Such behaviour is intolerable in a society such as yours which advocates access to information. As well as damaging your society's image, it is a serious violation of the right to news and information. As the Communist Party's 17th congress was closing, you referred to the problem with the Zitian IDC in Henan province and you promised to restore access. We urge you to keep this promise and to order the immediate restoration of services so that no other website is affected, however briefly, but an interruption at any of your IDCs. We trust you will give this matter your careful consideration. Sincerely, Robert Ménard Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General" Read ou report about censorship in China