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China has begun blocking all access to YouTube, adding it to a the long list of sites it blocks.  Other sites on that list include the Amazon, Flickr, GoDaddy, Google News, iTunes, and Wikipedia.  While this latest block has been confirmed, Chinese officials have not offered any explanation for it.  When asked if China fears the Internet, this is how a Chinese Foreign Ministry responded:

“Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite,” the official, Qin Gang, explains. “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.”

Harmful information?  Yeah, I imagine all those rickrolled videos on YouTube could be considered harmful, right?  It’s obvious that China does fear the Internet and the information it provides.  It’s not really a secret that the Chinese government spreads propaganda to its citizens and tightly controls all forms of media, so the fact they want to do the same to the Internet isn’t really that surprising.  Sad, but not surprising.

China will also not hesitate to block content created within its borders.  For example, think about the thousands of sites and blogs devoted to politics and our government, and how they are free to both praise and criticize.  If you’re in China and put up a site that says you disagree with a government ruling or God forbid the Communist Party in general, look out.  Your site will be gone like that and you may face harsh legal penalties to boot.

We really need to take a moment and give thanks for being citizens of a country that lets us decide what we want to read, watch, listen to and surf to,  and that believes in the famous quote (erroneously attributed to Voltaire):

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
—Beatrice Hall, in “The Friends of Voltaire”

Read [PCWorld]