China blocks a few Microsoft sites

Yes, it is sad but it is true. What we gather is that China has blocked access to Microsoft‘s search engine Bing and Hotmail for reasons not clear yet. This step is taken with the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown just around the corner. Kevin Kutz, Microsoft’s director of public affairs said:

Microsoft’s Bing.com, Live.com and Hotmail.com are among several Internet services that have been blocked for customers in China.

Kutz said that they are in contact with the Chinese government in order to discuss this issue. His words were:

We are reaching out to the government to understand this decision and find a way to move forward.

He went on to add:

Microsoft is committed to helping advance the free flow of information, and is committed to encouraging transparency, due process and rule of law when it comes to Internet governance.

Microsoft did not provide the exact time as to when the unfortunate event of sites blockage took place in China. However Reporters Without Borders stated that according to the information provided by the Chinese users, this process began on Tuesday. The report stated:

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the blockage of a dozen websites such as Twitter, YouTube, Bing, Flickr, Opera, Live, WordPress and Blogger in China

Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) informs that it had received around  three reports of authorities blocking reporting at Tiananmen Square and intimidating journalists or their sources.

It is hoped that this matter is resolved very soon, because the blockage of sites like these is sure to disturb a lot of people. Let us hope the best decision is taken in this regard

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