zhongguoren

There is a strong parallel to the situation in China. The Government tells the people that there are certain things that are not suitable for them to see, hear or read, and blocks access to them. However the list of items that are blocked is not available to the public. In order to justfy the rhetoric, at a mimimum the sites that are blocked should be open for public scrutiny. This is not without problems, but leaves the responsibility with civil society to contribute to the details of debate. This is not a discussion that can be held behind closed doors without significant risk of the rules and regualtions that have been put in place being slowly relaxed to cover many areas that were not within the original intent.