JULIAN ASSANGE: 'FUGITIVE'

[Het Parool, The Netherlands]

[Click here for jumbo version]

 

 

Global Times, People's Republic of China

WikiLeaks Poses Greater Risk to West's 'Enemies'

 

While suggesting that WikiLeaks and the U.S. may have a 'tacit understanding,' this editorial from China's state-run Global Times warns that no matter who is behind Julian Assange and his Web Site, countries where the 'tolerance for information' is limited must take precautions against a 'subversive' disclosure of data similar to last week's release of U.S. diplomatic cables.

 

EDITORIAL

 

Translated By Sarah Chan

 

December 12, 2010

 

People's Republic of China - Global Times - Original Article (Chinese)

The exposure of confidential documents of the United States by WikiLeaks has shot the Web site to global fame. Its founder, Julian Assange, has been crowned by the media as the fearless "Robin Hood of hacking." But take a closer look at WikiLeaks and many questionable issues come to light. One of the biggest question marks is can a Web site that specializes in "exposing the ugly American" really survive in the West?

 

In the past, organizations that failed to "comply" with Western national interests and maintain its secrets would never be accepted by mainstream Western society. Well-known non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are all inextricably linked to the administrative authorities. Non-mainstream NGOs are basically at the edge of society, and not a single one has had a broad, long-lasting influence.

 

But the sudden emergence of WikiLeaks has "stung" the United States several times this year. In July, the site published more than 90,000 documents from the war in Afghanistan, and recently, it exposed 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, which has even been referred to as the "9/11 of global diplomacy." We note, however, that these "communications" revealed by WikiLeaks are regarded as either trivial matters or irrelevant gossip, since the U.S. quickly digested the "negative impact."

 

The U.S. State Department publicly condemned WikiLeaks, but that only raised the latter's global visibility. Neither side have put a fist in the other's heart, and this performance brings people to think that the two have a tacit understanding.

 

The Internet is a creation of the United States, and now all domain name tags and servers are based in the United States. American companies like Google and Facebook and other American sites influence the world, yet the U.S. has never suffered any political losses due to the Internet. What will WikiLeaks do to make the world believe that it's an exception?

 

WikiLeaks claims that they have a large number of "volunteers" around the world that can obtain and make more files available. However, the Web site got hold of hundreds of thousands of "confidential documents" from the world's leading intelligence superpower all at once, and the CIA only managed to catch a 23-year-old private [Bradley Manning]. This is a tale that has left many people in the intelligence community saying that it all sounds "like a myth."

 

It would be rather rash to assert that the U.S. government staged this "masochistic plan" with WikiLeaks. But given its lucky access to "confidential" U.S. documents and its sudden popularity, it's necessary for a country like China to take precautions.

 

Given that it emerged from its own soil, perhaps mature Western society has a natural immunity toward WikiLeaks and can overcome the initial trouble it has brought and turn WikiLeaks to its advantage. In the future, those who will face the greatest challenges from WikiLeaks will be non-Western countries with lesser degrees of social tolerance. If the authority of WikiLeaks has been established after triggering nothing but banter in the West, it may now "decrypt" files that are truly subversive in the non-Western world, and undermine countries regarded as the real enemies.

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

Global Times, China: WikiLeaks Highlights China's Need for 'Information Defense'

FAZ, Germany: Ahmadinejad's Chief-of-Staff Calls WikiLeaks Cables 'Lies'

Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudis Ask: Who Benefitted from WikiLeaks Disclosure?

Guardian, U.K.: Cables Portray Saudi Arabia as a Cash Machine for Terrorists

El País, Spain: Cables Expose Nuance of U.S. Displeasure with Spain Government

El País, Spain: Thanks to WikiLeaks' Disclosure, Classical Diplomacy is Dead

Guardian, U.K.: Saudi Arabia Urges U.S. Attack on Iran

Hurriyet, Turkey: Erdogan Needs 'Anger Management' Over U.S. Cables

Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia: WikiLeaks Reveals 'Feeling, Flawed' Human Beings

Frontier Post, Pakistan: WikiLeaks Reveals 'America's Dark Face' to the World

The Nation: WikiLeaks' Release: An Invaluable Exposure of American Hypocrisy

Buenos Aires Herald, Argentina: Without Hypocrisy, Global Ties Would Be Chaos

Kayhan, Iran: WikiLeaks Release a 'U.S. Plot to Sow Discord'

El Universal, Mexico: WikiLeaks and Mexico's Battle Against Drug Trafficking

Toronto Star, Canada: WikiLeaks Dump Reveals Seamy Side of Diplomacy

Guardian, U.K.: WikiLeaks Cables, Day 3: Summary of Today's Key Points

Guardian, U.K.: Leaked Cables Reveal China is 'Ready to Abandon' North Korea

Hurriyet, Turkey: American Cables Prove Turkish Claims on Missile Defense False

The Nation, Pakistan: WikiLeaks: An Invaluable Exposure of American Hypocrisy

Kayhan, Iran: WikiLeaks Revelations a 'U.S. Intelligence Operation': Ahmadinejad

Novosti, Russia: 'Russia Will be Guided by Actions, Not Leaked Secrets'

Guardian, U.K.: Job of Media is Not to Protect Powerful from Embarrassment

ANSA, Italy: WikiLeaks: 'No Wild Parties' Says Berlusconi

 

 

In earlier media reports on the launch of the site, Assange wrote a letter to potential investors saying that, "the main targets of the project will be despotic regimes in Russia, China and Central Asia." Hopefully he was speaking only "casually" to obtain money.   

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

The globalization of information is engulfing every corner of the world. But the tolerance for and capacity to control information varies from country to country. The West, particularly the United States, is situated at the commanding heights, exercising absolute control of the flow of communications and information. With reform and opening up, China's place in the world of information has been improving, but it still is in a relatively weak position. So first, we must "fortify the country" in the face of the West's powerful information capabilities; and second, we must continue to boost our information and communication capabilities with continuous reforms and opening up, in order to avoid being a permanent underdog in the era of information globalization.

 

Please Read a Personal Appeal from

Worldmeets.US Founder William Kern

CLICK HERE FOR CHINESE VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US December 6, 2:18pm]