Blair fails to get Chinese blockade on BBC lifted

Despite a successful visit by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Chinese authorities are apparently maintaining a block on the BBC's Internet service.

The popular UK news service joins other known Internet-based 'troublemakers', such as CNN and the Voice of America radio service. Some filters also block material relating to Tibet or Taiwan.

The BBC itself reported that listeners in the Chinese capital, Beijing, are currently unable to receive broadcasts over the Net in real audio. Transcripts of the BBC World Service in Mandarin have also apparently been blocked. "The blocking appears to have begun within the last month," the BBC said.

Strangely, however, the Chinese have not blocked access to the English language site www.news.bbc.co.uk, perhaps reflecting the inconsistent nature of the government's Net censorship policy.

Typically, the police tell Chinese Internet service providers (ISPs) which sites they should block. Beijing Telecom, which runs the China Net service and is China's largest ISP, confirmed that the BBC was being blocked but offered no explanation why.

The BBC speculates that the Chinese may be blocking audio broadcasts in Mandarin because local listeners can now hear the World Service clearly in Mandarin. Previously, interference on shortwave transmissions had made it difficult for listeners to follow the news.

There are around 600,000 Internet subscribers in China and analysts predict that the world's most populous nation will number millions of Internet users within a few years.

Earlier this year, the US Secretary of Commerce urged the Chinese government to loosen its grip over the Internet. "I strongly urge China's leadership to let the Internet evolve with very limited government control. To limit its reach would be to deny China the social, intellectual and commercial connections which are demanded in today's global village," he said.