[Wikipedia-l] China conclusions

Mon Sep 27 06:27:21 UTC 2004

On 26 Sep 2004 07:31:00 +0200, Erik Moeller <erik_moeller at gmx.de> wrote:

> 1) The content on the Chinese Wikipedia will not be censored or edited in
> violation of NPOV. All sides to any issue are to be presented fairly and
> neutrally, with or without the threat of government censorship.
> Wikipedia's policies are not subject to change as a result of
> intimidation.

I believe that all Chinese Wikipedians will agree that we should
*never* give up NPOV. In fact we have never discussed the possibility
of violating this policy of Wikipedia in order to have the ban lifted.

> Now, if 2) fails, I hope we can talk about what other options we have.
> Actively aiding Chinese users to circumvent such censorship is, at least
> to me, not out of the question. But for the time being, I would suggest to
> Chinese Wikipedians to form an action group specifically for the purpose
> of dealing with the issue of government censorship cautiously.

Shizhao and Mountain are working actively on the issue. Both of them
live in Beijing and thus is easier to contact the authorities.

> The important thing to remember is that we are all on the same side, that
> we believe in creating a neutral encyclopedia, and that we oppose
> censorship of our work. Let's take strength from our shared values instead
> of wasting time and energy on our personal and political differences.

I totally agree with you. But I *do not* like to be racially
prejudiced. When someone said that Chinese *soldiers* (note that it is
soldier, not the government) are robbers who were "tempted by
wristwatches and ballpoint pens", and also "a Blackberry", it is a
clear and obvious racial discrimination. I am not arguing about
politics, but respect for my ethnic group. I have no intention of
arguing with anybody about politics of my country, but this kind of
attack-- insinuating my compariots are robbers--is not tolerable.

formulax