Friday, August 04, 2006

$126 for your thoughts

In China, Professors who don't get no respect, sue:

SHANGHAI, China — A Chinese journalism professor has won a lawsuit against a blog hosting site that refused to remove remarks criticizing him by one of its users, state media said Friday.

It was believed to be the first time that a person in China has sued a blog host for defamation. Winning shows "personal dignity outweighs freedom of speech," the professor, Chen Tangfa, was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

The site, Blogcn.com, was ordered to pay Chen 1,000 yuan ($126) in damages and post a formal apology on its home page in a ruling handed down Wednesday by a court in the eastern city of Nanjing, Xinhua said.

....The posted comments, apparently written by a student of Chen's who remained anonymous, had criticized his teaching style and the materials used in his class.

....Blogs are thriving despite strict rules on content enforced by a special Internet police force.

China has pressured Internet firms such as Microsoft to close down popular Chinese blogs touching on sensitive topics such as press freedom.

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