(TargetLiberty.org) – Video conferencing company Zoom admitted Wednesday that it closed the account of a group of Chinese pro-democracy activists. They did so to comply with Chinese law — even though the group is based in the US.
Humanitarian China is based in Hayward, CA with a mission statement to promote human rights, free speech and civil society in China. On May 31, the group held an online event to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre when thousands of pro-democracy protesters were murdered by the Chinese regime. Around 250 people logged in to take part.
Zoom briefly shuts account of activists who met to mark the anniversary of China's crackdown in Tiananmen Square, raising alarm over free speech https://t.co/G2UDY0j2nO pic.twitter.com/ap2OHKO2WE
— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 11, 2020
Unfortunately, in China, it’s a crime to even talk about the massacre. By June 7, Humanitarian China’s paid Zoom account had been replaced by a splash screen saying the account has been closed. When approached by independent media, Zoom confirmed that the account had been canceled “…to comply with local law” – Chinese law.
It has since been reactivated.
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