Post 2 - Censorship Case Won

China has made some progress on intellectual freedom. After sixty years of Communist rule, they still have a long way to go on this issue. A Chinese professor won a suit against an internet company who had closed down his website. Hu Xingdou, a professor of economics at the Beijing Institute of Technology, had posted articles on subjects that had included environmental issues and corruption. The professor expressed surprise that he had won this case since in the past courts did not take cases like this. And if courts took up similar cases, the person suing failed to win. The professor discovered that this was the first time that an internet user has won a suit against an internet service provider.
It was surprising that the media reported on this case widely before it went to court. The media reports brought about discussion among the Chinese people before the court case began. It also helped that an open-minded judge presided over the case. Overall, this case demonstrated that the Chinese legal system has made progress.
The Beijing New Web Digital Technology Company closed down Professor Hu's website in March claiming that there was illegal content on it. The professor moved his website to a different internet service provider.
The next thing that Professor Hu plans to do is to sue the authorities who ordered the internet service provider to take this action. However, the professor does not think that this case will make it to court. It would be a big step for Chinese intellectual freedom if this next case would make it to court and could be won.

References

Branigan, Tania. "Chinese Academic Wins Censorship Case." Irish Times 26 May 2009.