NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

China Blocks Website Access to Album in Support of Tibet, Freedom of Expression

By International Campaign for Tibet

China appears to have blocked access to a page on Amazon.com as well as Apple's iTunes online store as a result of the high-profile release of an album in solidarity with the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama by top musicians. 'Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace', which features original compositions by artists including Sting, Moby, Dave Matthews and Alanis Morisette, was made available through more than a hundred retailers on August 5 by the Art of Peace Foundation, supported by the International Campaign for Tibet. Olympic athletes were encouraged to download the tracks as a subtle act of dissent against censorship, and in solidarity with the people of Tibet, and more than 40 competing in Beijing did so.

40 Olympic Athletes in Beijing Download Tibet Solidarity Album 'Songs for Tibet'

Although Amazon.com remains available in China, its pages for both the 'Songs for Tibet' CD and download page were failing to load today, returning: "The connection was reset. The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading," the most common error message received for blocked sites, according to a report today by IDG News Service (http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/082208-china-blocks-apples-itunes-amazon.html?page=1). The Art of Peace Foundation video to accompany the album, 'Freedom is expression', was also not available on YouTube in China. Much of the time YouTube is completely blocked in China although sometimes only selective pages are blocked. The latter generally includes all Tibet sites. Apple's Beijing-based spokeswoman Huang Yuna told AFP today that she did not know why music fans were unable to log on. "We've noticed the problem. It's true that users may fail to log in to iTunes store right now," she told AFP (August 22).

Kate Saunders from the International Campaign for Tibet said: "China's attempts to suppress all mention of an album that was made in support of free expression are a vivid reminder of China's empty promises of increased openness during the Beijing Olympics. It reveals the fundamental contradictions of a government that is seeking to represent itself as a confident 21st century emerging super-power, but which also appears to view an album of songs dedicated to world peace and Tibet as a threat to the state."

Beijing's actions call into question the deeper issue of what happens to foreign companies who fail to toe the Communist Party line. Songs for Tibet is sold through more than a hundred retailers including Walmart, which also has substantial business interests in China.

International Campaign for Tibet