The New York Times, which received access to the unredacted cables, reported Saturday that according to a May 18, 2009 cable, Li Changchun, a member of the standing committee, was disturbed to learn that he could conduct Chinese-language searches on Google's international site. When he Googled himself, he found "results critical of him," according to the cable. According to the January cable, Li himself ordered up or helped coordinate the attack, the paper reported.
But the Times said that another person cited in the cable, who apparently is the source of the information on Li, acknowledged that Li "personally led a campaign against Google operations in China," but to his knowledge "had no role in the hacking attack."
According to the Times, the January cable states that the Google intrusions were coordinated with the oversight of Li and another Politburo members, Zhou Yongkang, China's top security official. Both Li's and Zhou's names were redacted from the memos posted by the two newspapers.
It is not one world, and "world citizens" are fools for thinking that it ever could be. The flat world that the digital revolution has created has drawn our enemies closer to us--it has not abolished the reality of enemies.
