Party celebrates China Web filter delayLawyer who campaigned against software said declaring victory premature
BEIJING - Chinese Web users flooded to a trendy art zone cafe on Wednesday to celebrate a last-minute halt to a rollout of government-sponsored filtering software, and make a stand for freedom of expression in the Communist-run state.
Dressed in T-shirts mocking the Green Dam program, about 200 Beijing residents had arrived by midmorning to eat a traditional Chinese breakfast, denounce censorship and prepare for a day-long party.
Originally conceived as part of an Internet boycott to mark the July 1 launch of the filter — and to give a Web-addicted generation something to do during the 24 hours offline — the atmosphere was festive as guests celebrated what many said was an unexpected victory against state censorship.
"This is a very rare example for the government to suddenly push back an important decision the night before it is due to be rolled out," said outspoken artist Ai Weiwei, who organised the boycott and the party.
-snip-
