Yahoo accused in jailing of second China internet user

BEIJING - Yahoo Inc. provided evidence to Chinese authorities that led to the imprisonment of an internet writer, lawyers and activists said yesterday, the second such case involving the US internet giant.

The company cooperated with Chinese police in a case that led to the 2003 arrest of Li Zhi, who was charged with subverting state power and sentenced to eight years in prison after trying to join the dissident China Democracy Party, writer Liu Xiaobo said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists and media watchdog Reporters Without Borders called on Yahoo to disclose information on all internet journalists and writers whose identities it has revealed to Chinese authorities.

"The firm says it simply responds to requests from the authorities for data without ever knowing what it will be used for," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

"But this argument no long holds water. Yahoo certainly knew it was helping to arrest political dissidents and journalists, not just ordinary criminals," it said.

A spokeswoman at Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. said she had no immediate comment.

But the case is the latest in a string of examples that highlight the friction between profits and principles for internet companies doing business in China, the world's number-two internet market.

In September, Yahoo was accused of helping Chinese authorities identify Shi Tao, who was sentenced last April to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets abroad.

Yahoo defended itself at the time saying it had to abide by local laws, but declined to confirm or deny it furnished the government with the information.

Internet search giant Google Inc. has also come under fire in the last month after it announced it would block politically sensitive terms on its new China site, bowing to conditions set by Beijing.

- REUTERS