Blog Post #7 and #8

BlogPosts 7 & 8

Following are the two debate queries. Please provide both sides of the issue for each query with references. (1000 words).

1.) The US government should institute formal policy that bars overseas sales of systems that provide targeted Internet surveillance if such systems are used to violate human rights or freedom of speech (such as the current internet censorship in China).

2.) The evolving capabilities to speak out and criticize the Chinese government using microblogs and other Internet social media will lead to more and greater freedoms for the Chinese people.

Question #1

Pro: If the United Sates government does ban sales of such systems that could be used to violate human rights of the people of china, the effect would be beneficiary. It would limit the amount of censorship that the Chinese government could perform. It would give the Chinese government less power over their citizens. United States companies are based out of a democratic country in which certain rights have been established and supported. Companies should uphold these human rights and should not sell to any country or system in which these rights are impaired or not established. A United states product should entail all the basic values of the United States country. Censorship by the government is not allowed here so products that conflict with the situation should not be sold. If the companies were banned from the sales there could be benefits in China. China could realize that they need the products these companies are selling. It is possible that the companies can sell these products to china on the condition that the censorship is stopped or limited. It could create a major step in the process of breaking down the Chinese firewall through means of siege. By cutting of products the country needs and wants, a change in the system could occur that would benefit the citizens. Companies from a democratic country should not sell their products to be used by a communist country to censor and limit the rights that their citizens deserve to have.

Con: If the United Sates government does ban sales of such systems that could be used to violate human rights of the people of china, the effect would be disastrous. the united states practices a free market economy which in turn protects these companies to sell and buy as they please. IF they decide to sell overseas to china, there is nothing the United States government should do to limit this. If they did then how are they any better than the Chinese company that is using these products to censor things from their citizens. No matter how you look at it fighting fire with fire only has one outcome: more fire. In other words limiting our own companies only causes more impairment of the natural human and economic rights that people should have in our world. Also with the country's economy in the state it is today, every sail or expansion of companies is very important. Limiting the sales would not only be an impairment of the free market, but it would increasing the economic problems our country is struggling to fix. Oversea sales would increase profit of these companies which would be used to bolster our injured economy. Despite the possibility of the products and services being sold to be used to limit the human rights of the people of china, the government should not in turn limit our rights by telling us who we can or cannot sell to because in the end it would make the United States government just as bad as the Chinese Government.
Question #2

Pro: The blogs and social medias over the internet being used is definitely surpassing the attempt of the Chinese government to limit their freedoms and censor their lives. With the ability to discuss the problems and make things public to the world, the citizens of china have greater power than the government would intend. The ability for them to tell the world what is happening, provides evidence to the cruelty of the Chinese government. Because the rest of the world has a chance to hear the truth about what is happening in the country its possible for the United Nations and other countries to act on the infractions being committed on the people. It gives a chance for justice and the right thing to be done for the citizens in trouble. Also it connects them to the rest of the world in the sense that their eyes are now being opened to what is happening the world they live in and not what their government chooses to tell them. Whether it's a story the Chinese altered or a story they deny is true, the important thing is that the Chinese people know the truth about what's going on. Their exposure to the social networks and sites that allow the people to express their feeling and knowledge will be beneficial to the overall state of the country and will lead to the ability for them to develop more freedoms in the years to come.

Con: Despite the fact that these sites may have benefits for the Chinese people using them, The overall situation will not lead to more freedoms for the people. The only outcome possible would be for the few freedoms they have right now to disappear as the government discovers the peoples actions. There are many different ways the government could bring an end to the people bypassing the censorship. One possibility would be increasing the consequences of violating the laws set in place. If people were threatened by death for just going on to a blog, then most if not all people would not think it would be worth it to risk it just for that tiny bit of freedom. It would decrease the rebellion against the system. On top of these consequences, the Chinese government also has multiple different ways to cut off the freedom of the citizens. These blogs may be used to express the true feeling of the citizens however the government is not going to change because people are venting their anger on the web instead of my word of voice. The Chinese government already knew that the Chinese people were not happy with the way their rights were being inflicted. Voicing it over the internet will not change it anymore than protesting the government will. All the blogs provide is a simple way for the Chinese people o speak out for how they feel, however no more freedoms or rights will be gained through it.