Nickname: J.S.

Review: As if laws in China were so easy to change - organizations like Amnesty already campaign on behalf of prisoners like Aung San Suu Kyi against the repressive laws of their governments, but if the last century taught us anything, it's that companies in many ways are easier to affect - through shareholder activism and bad PR that threatens their base of consumers - than totalitarian governments, who often do not depend on any majority to "buy" their governance so much as tolerate the law being crammed down their throats. Amnesty already communicates with Chinese officials, especially regarding issues that are not primarily financial, such as the plight of refugee North Koreans. How would you propose that this is any more likely to be successful (if still necessary) than voting with one's wallet to hold foreign capital investors socially responsible? I thought capitalism taught us that the market can ultimately rewrite the laws (e.g. why are working Western women widely accepted?)

Date reviewed: Jun 2, 2006 3:49 AM

Nickname: zahadum

Review: Amnesty should ask Yahoo (Google/Cisco/Microsoft) to endow a legal fund to pay for the defence of dissidents prosecuted as a result of their collaboration! That way, corporate collaborators have the best of both worlds (or at least not let the perfect be the enemy of the good): preserve their (lame) formalism ('just following national laws'); while at the same time take responsibility for the side-effects that their business create (just like any other [cyber] polluter should be responsible for externalities). While the Chinese government would be displeased, they could hardly object -- after all, the dissidents are presumed innocent, and paying for the defence of presumptively innocent people is itself not a crime. NGO's should raise some Foundation seed money to mount a concerted shareholder pressure campaign to compel them to set up arms-legnth defence funds (plus annuities for the friends/families who are punished). And what about ex-parte civil suits? - ACLU!

Date reviewed: May 31, 2006 7:00 PM

Nickname: a

Review: They are being radical and impatient.

Date reviewed: May 28, 2006 6:17 PM

Nickname: Joe

Review: Just to note the false information concerning Amnesty International's "silence" after 9/11. http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engACT300232001?OpenDocument Check the link and do some research on how non-governmental organizations work and you will understand that, though Amnesty can condemn some acts they are most effective in calling on governments and other organizations to take action to prevent injustices. This said, the actions of Amnesty at shareholder meetings are useful in prompting this exact discussion.

Date reviewed: May 27, 2006 6:16 PM

Nickname: Peter

Review: As an American who has lived and taught at Chinese universities for a decade I have seen remarkable progress with the Internet. While I disagree with the repressive tactics of the government, the net effect of allowing Google, Yahoo, etc., will be very beneficial here, despite the restrictions.

Date reviewed: May 27, 2006 2:06 AM

Nickname: J-Dog

Review: Interesting comments, especially from Kam, Amnesty does good work in many cases, but turns a blind eye towards things that don't fit their paradigm. That being said, I do think buying shares in a company that has disagreeable policies is a positive thing, rather than just boycotting and complaining.

Date reviewed: May 26, 2006 11:07 PM

Nickname: Fred

Review: Big words from someone who doesn't have to actually carry out what they are asking for. Is Yahoo supposed to tell its employees in China to ignore the Chinese laws and police requests, and thereby end up in a Chinese jail themselves? If Amnesty really wants this to change, then they need to get the laws in those countries changed, instead of asking US companies to somehow ignore them.

Date reviewed: May 26, 2006 3:54 PM

Nickname: June Forth

Review: The only way to help (not to kill) Chinese is make the country more open to the whole world by doing more business with China.

Date reviewed: May 26, 2006 11:49 AM

Nickname: Kam

Review: I was initially very upset at Yahoo and Google for their collaboration with repressive communist regimes. But if an organization like Amnesty International (which was silent when 3,000 civilians were burnt alive in tall buildings; and silent when the French opened fire into a group of unarmed demonstrators in the Congo area; but than is very vocal when enemy combatants were interrogated for information) is against Yahoo, than Yahoo must be doing something right.

Date reviewed: May 25, 2006 6:50 PM

Nickname: nanheyangrouchuan

Review: People like Rep. Tom Lantos and George Soros need to keep the pressure on corporate america regarding doing business with the Chinese Communist party. It was their families and friends whose deaths were counted by computers that IBM sold to Nazi Germany.

Date reviewed: May 25, 2006 5:51 PM