China Blocks Access To YouTube

Internet users in China have been denied access to YouTube since late last night.

"Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

Qin maintains that China’s 300 million Internet users and 100 million blogs proved that "China’s Internet is open enough, but also needs to be regulated by law in order to prevent the spread of harmful information and for national security."

He said he did not know if YouTube had been blocked.

Access to YouTube has been intermittent since earlier this month, the one- year anniversary of Tibetan protests against Chinese rule.

Nicholas Bequelin

In January China began an Internet crackdown that has shuttered hundreds of sites. Analysts say it’s a measure by the Communist Party to control dissent in a year of controversial anniversaries, including the 20th anniversary of the pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests.

"The Internet remains where the battle for information lies and the fact that the government is devoting so much effort at reining it in, in itself indicates how much of a threat they perceive it to be," said Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch.