Anger in China over web censorship

China has delayed a plan requiring all new computers sold in the country to be equipped with internet filtering software. The Green Dam software has become a major topic of discussion in the blogosphere. The BBC's Krassimira Twigg looks at what bloggers and netizens have had to say about it.

Internet censorship has been one of the most widely discussed subjects in blogs, message forums and social media networks in China over the past month.

Web policing was tightened up around the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown on 4 June, resulting in the temporary blocking of Twitter and other websites.

Before things could settle down, China announced plans for a new filtering software to be introduced on new PCs from 1 July. The Green Dam Youth Escort software was created to stop people viewing "offensive" content such as pornographic or violent websites.

While the blocking of websites around the 4 June was not unexpected, or unprecedented, the new software has created quite a stir in the blogosphere.

The Green Dam fast became one of the top topics on Twitter. One Twitterer observed: "Chinese netizens are tolerant of censorship in the clouds, but Green Dam crosses the line and becomes surveillance of personal space. The government has miscalculated."

Blacklisted words

Chinese internet users have started to collect and analyse information about Green Dam.

Articles about the "leaking dam" appeared in a number of blogs. The paradox is, bloggers observed, that the software, which analyzes skin tones, will block Garfield kittens, as they are yellow, but it won't be able to recognise pornographic images of dark-skinned people.

A list of the software's filtered words was unlocked by computer security experts at the University of Michigan. Blogger Fang Zhouzi, writing for Danwei , is baffled by some of the choices.

"The list includes common terms like "essence". I can't even imagine what "essence" counts as. Green Dam monitors word processing in addition to internet. So does this mean that from now on the word "essence" can no longer appear in school essays, textbooks and dictionaries?" he says.

PR executive Steven Lin shares the general conviction that the purpose of the software is rather more sinister than it claims to be and that it will block legitimate websites.

"There are interesting words in Green Dam's blacklist. The word "gay" for example. Every time you open a web page including this word, the browser will immediately shut down. I think this is just too aggressive," he says.

With discussion on censorship increasing, blogs, Twitter and message boards have become a platform for exchanging tips on how to outsmart the censors.

Frank Yu, executive of a mobile game development company, thinks the Chinese netizens of today are much more savvy than they used to be.

"They are more sophisticated and have tools of their own like Human Flesh searches and an intricate vocabulary of code words and slang to fool the censors. The latest attempts to control the net are a desperate last gasp by the censors using yesterday's techniques."

Most Chinese internet users are educated and apolitical, willing to tolerate a limited amount of censorship.

Frank Yu thinks that the government's latest, more vigorous, attempts to censor the web are starting to create a backlash.

"Netizens don't care if you block the BBC or New York Times - this doesn't affect them. But install crapware on their computers, deny them web services like Hotmail and Gmail and they become vocal and angry to a degree I haven't seen before."

'Laughing stock'

Radio talk show host David Feng thinks that Green Dam is part of a wider clean-up campaign ahead of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic in October.

"Green Dam is part of the huge clean-up before the boss comes to inspect. It's a case of a bad PR for the folks in charge," he says.

"They are doing this just for the big 60. Cleaning up of the trash in the real world might work, but the moment you hit the wires - that's a different story."

Other critics have used humour and art to mock the software, creating cartoon images of the "Green Dam Girl".

In2marcom has put together a gallery of the manga-style cartoon and the Green Dam Girl has a fan site in Facebook.

For Steven Lin, Green Dam is more of a nuisance than a formidable challenge.

"I don't really view it as a Big Brother who's watching everyone. It's a stupid software which doesn't work the right way. What annoys me it that it costs 40 million yuan (US $5.85 million) of Chinese taxpayers' money. Nobody asked us if we want it. It's insane."

David Feng thinks it's another hassle savvy young people can easily work their way around.

"Green Dam is not being taken seriously at all. The Twitter stream is full of parodies and jokes. What do we have here - something that won't succeed in stomping out porn, that was designed to scare us but has instead become a laughing stock."

Court rules gay sex legal

The New Delhi High Court ruled that an existing statute prohibiting homosexual acts was discriminatory and therefore a 'violation of fundametal rights.' -- PHOTO: AFP

NEW DELHI - A TOP Indian court issued a landmark ruling on Thursday decriminalising gay sex between consenting adults, overturning colonial-era legislation that outlawed homosexuality.

The New Delhi High Court ruled that an existing statute prohibiting homosexual acts was discriminatory and therefore a 'violation of fundamental rights' accorded under the constitution.

The statute in question is a British colonial-era law outlawing 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature'. Conviction carried a fine and a maximum 10-year jail sentence.

Although prosecutions were rare, gay activists said police used the law to harass and intimidate members of their community.

The High Court ruling was made on a petition brought by the Naz Foundation, a gay advocacy group fighting for equal rights and Aids awareness.

'This is a long awaited and incredible judgment,' said gay rights activist Gautam Bhan.

'The judges in their verdict spoke about inclusivity, quality and dignity.

They spoke about a vision of India as an open, tolerant society and to hear all this from the Delhi High Court was amazing,' Mr Bhan said.

While the ruling is non-binding outside the Indian capital, lawyers supporting the petition said it set a precedent that effectively decriminalised consensual gay sex nationwide.

The petition had been staunchly opposed by religious groups, particularly leaders of India's Muslim and Christian communities who argued that all homosexual acts were 'unnatural' and should therefore be banned. -- AFP

Daily sex boosts sperm quality

Fourth-fifths of the men saw an increase in sperm quality, and many of them moved into the 'good' range and out of the 'poor' or 'fair' categories. -- PHOTO: TANTRAPATH

PARIS - MEN seeking to become a dad should have sex each day, or ejaculate daily, for a week before their partner ovulates in order to maximise sperm quality, according to a study presented on Tuesday.

Australian fertility specialist David Greening recruited 118 men whose sperm had a higher-than-normal level of DNA damage.

Before the test, on average 34 per cent of the group's sperm was rated as damaged, meaning that it was classified as 'poor' in quality. Among individuals, this ranged from 15 per cent to 98 per cent.

The men were asked to ejaculate daily for seven days, but were not given any drugs or told to make any changes to lifestyle. After seven days, their sperm was examined again.

The average of damaged sperm fell to 26 per cent, placing it in the category of 'fair' in quality. Fourth-fifths of the men saw an increase in sperm quality, and many of them moved into the 'good' range and out of the 'poor' or 'fair' categories. However, one-fifth saw a decline in sperm quality.

Dr Greening, an obstetrician and endrocrinologist at Sydney IVF, an Australian company that carries out assisted reproduction, said the improvements were 'substantial and statistically highly significant'. Daily ejaculation not only boosted sperm quality for most of the men, it also helped sperm motility - another big factor in successful fertilisation - even though volumes of semen declined, he said.

Dr Greening presented his findings at a conference in Amsterdam of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), which provided details in a press release.

The research did not investigate whether the improvement in sperm quality led to better pregnancy rates. But previous work has shown that sperm that is less damaged and more mobile has a better chance of leading to a healthy baby. -- AFP

Lightning kills 35 in India

PATNA (India) - AT LEAST 35 people including eight children were killed after they were struck by lightning in the adjoining eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand, officials said on Monday.

Around 18 people were killed late on Sunday by bolts of lightning across Bihar, including six children, State Disaster Management Minister Devesh Chand Thakur said.

'The children were playing in the pre-monsoon showers when lightning struck them,' Mr Thakur told AFP from the state capital Patna.

Twelve others who were injured were hospitalised, he said.

Torrential rains accompanied by strong winds uprooted trees, damaged houses and brought down power cables across the impoverished state on Sunday night, he said.

In neighbouring Jharkhand, 17 people including two children were killed by lightning strikes, also late on Sunday night, a disaster management spokesman said in the capital Ranchi.

Lightning strikes during the June-September monsoon season are common, with villagers housed in bamboo-and-grass huts most at risk of death and injury. -- AFP

Japan's auto production falls

TOKYO - JAPAN'S auto production fell for the eighth straight month in May, plummeting 41.4 per cent from a year earlier, as the nation's top industry continued to be hammered by the global slowdown.

Japan produced 542,282 vehicles in May, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Monday in a monthly report.

The industry group also said exports from Japan declined for the eighth straight month, plunging 55.9 per cent from a year earlier to 233,217 vehicles.

Japan has been battling a global slump for months.

In a separate report, which showed some signs that Japanese manufacturers may be gradually recovering, Japan's industrial output rose for the third straight month in May.

Industrial production in the world's second-biggest economy rose 5.9 per cent from the previous month, matching a rise in April that marked the biggest jump since March 1953. -- AP