[Video is featured. This video of his introducing the concept is from CNN and their anchor, predictably, talks all over him, but you can hear the second half. If anyone can find a clean video - I'll replace this one with it.]
He also, and this was the headlining remark, asserted the American position that it's okay for everyone to use Twitter.
"President Barack Obama pointedly nudged China on Monday to stop censoring Internet access, offering an animated defense of the tool that helped him win the White House and suggesting Beijing need not fear a little criticism...."I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable," Obama told students during his first-ever trip to China. "They can begin to think for themselves."
If the President's goal was to sneak a little democracy into the People's Republic, it seems to have not reached too many citizens. The event was not broadcast nationally - only on local Shanghai stations - and the live feed from the White House web site was reportedly choppy and hard to watch in China.
FROM THE BLOG: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/11/16/did-obama-smuggle-a-little-democracy-in...
SOURCES: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-holds-town-hall-chinese-students-introduces...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091116/ap_on_bi_ge/obama
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/11/15/live-blogging-obamas-shanghai-town...
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- groups:
- Tech, News, News_Featured, Technology, 2 more
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- afitzgerald
- added this
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The more important question is did Obama smuggle out a little communism?
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- samthesixth
- 4 days ago
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very cool to see. It is shocking that we take so much for granted...weird to think that they actually did need to be taught this. Another interesting thing is how he makes it known he'll alternate between girl and boy, knowing China's history. Also, it amazes me how well they all know English, while American students can barely use it correctly let alone another language.
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- 402Chicago
- 4 days ago
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China is turning into a great country. The one thing that is missing from the equation for China to be a truly great place to be is the authoritarianism of its government...
As the Chinese people begin to realize their place in society they will begin to ask for rights nd the government will have to begin to accept more particiption in government from them. Obama going over there and holding a Town Hall meeting in the trditional American way will hopefully help awaken this desire in them...
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damn, the president has stones... watch pt. 2...
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call me crazy but some of the internet questions sounded like not so subtle questions from the Chinese government.
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China is a totalitarian capitalistic country now. A one party state that centralizes authority and ecconomic planning and protects and allows capitalistim that benefits the state.
They will eat our lunch and it was the doing of our own government by passing NAFTA and encouraging corporations to leave us high and dry. Our scum legislatures helped to destroy the USA and build a potential enemy's strength. We don't even make the giant machines that we need to generate electri ity here! The corporations got rich on the slave labor. They sold out America for CEO and corporate greed. -
haha, hey China, stop censoring your internet! Even though Indiana just started doing the same thing...http://liberal-propaganda.blogspot.com/2009/11/1st-amendment-fails-in-indiana.ht...
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It's all an act, a big theatrical expensive act! There's no true democracy or communism anywhere, these are just words to divert us, and because it makes us feel better when we label everything.
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I bet anything that the Chinese student's 'online questions' were asked by the Chinese government. They sounded too staged. "Mister Obama will you stop giving weapons to Taiwan, prease? We rearry want to take it over..."
Obama: "What a very, very strangely worded question, but thank you young lady."
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- EmperorThan
- 4 days ago
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Interesting perspective.
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- goodhelvetica
- 4 days ago
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