Obama gently chides China on cyber censorship

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    Date: 
    16 November 2009

    SHANGHAI — U.S. President Barack Obama told Chinese university students Monday that he was "a big believer" in openness and "non-censorship" on the Internet.

    "When it comes to the flow of information, I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can call their own government to account," the president said. "They can begin to think for themselves."

    It took a "planted" question that was submitted to the U.S., Embassy website, chosen by a U.S. reporter and asked by the U.S. ambassador to China, to give Obama the opportunity to talk on Internet censorship, a touchy subject that the Beijing government would certainly rather avoid, but one Obama was almost obliged to raise.