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Jerry Yang's all upset over imprisoned Chinese dissidents

YangLaughing.jpgSecretary of State Condoleezza Rice goes to China next week. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is insisting she press for the release of Shi Tao, the Chinese dissident Yahoo helped to imprison. He wrote her a letter to say so. And Yahoo lawyer Michael Samway published it on Yahoo's corporate blog. Which isn't a distasteful public-relations gimmick at all! Especially when you consider that the terms of a settlement with Shi Tao's family requires Yang to lobby for his release. Here's the letter:

Click to expand the image.

11:20 AM on Wed Feb 27 2008
By Nicholas Carlson
1,801 views
3 comments

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  • Image of mandarin mandarin at 02:02 PM on 02/27/08
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    Hope this works.

  • Image of princesscrap princesscrap at 08:18 PM on 02/27/08
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    crap

  • Image of democracy4ever democracy4ever at 06:08 PM on 02/28/08
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    This letter from Jerry Yang, (founder of Yahoo!)whether written and submitted to Ms.Rice (Secretary of State) in earnest or because of legal committments will become an important historical document.

    The document pointedly addresses the reality of our times; we "opened" up China to sell them goods and services with the hope to have them become a democracy. Yet, the opposite happened. We have a huge, unending trade deficit, gave up our technogical edge to them because of they stole our intellectual propery and on top of that they have kept their old communist ways.

    Our current predictament could have been avoided but greed got in the way, now we are in too deep now. Sadly, internet companies like Yahoo, google and MS who talk the talk about freedom, also caved in to greed.

    So, what are we to do? I'll tell you the answer. Its high time we clear out of there. We should immediately stop trade with China. That's right - just stop. They don't need us and we'd be better off realizing now - better late then ever - that there is no chance in converting this powerful country to democracy.

    Further, we should give them fair notice; 365 days. Let's walk out with our head held high; show the world that FREEDOM is more important to us then money, that DEMOCRACY is more important then bandwidth.

    I'll leave you with one question, just one,

    what does free trade really mean if the people you are dealing with are not free at all?

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