Shaun Waterman
The Washington Times
December 7, 2011
Microsoft and the State Department are under fire for their participation in a closed-door Internet conference this week organized with the architects of China’s repressive policies of Web self-censorship and surveillance.
The fifth annual U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum, which will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the Renaissance hotel in downtown D.C., is co-sponsored by Microsoft and the Internet Society of China (ISC).
The proceedings are closed to the press but will feature a keynote address by Vice Minister Qian Xiaoqian of Beijing’s State Council Information Office – the government agency responsible for news media censorship in China.
Rep. Frank Wolf, Virginia Republican, said “it’s a mistake” for U.S. officials and executives to attend.
