MR. HU, TEAR DOWN THIS FIREWALL:

The visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to the United States this week is an ideal moment for a message to be delivered to the Chinese leadership class – that if the Chinese nation wishes to take its place in the international community, it must allow the Chinese people to participate in the global internet community. Currently the Chinese government is trying to operate a national intranet, monitoring and filtering the links between China and the rest of the world with what has been dubbed the “Great Firewall of China”, and also monitoring internal content with a force of 30,000 thought-police.

Excellent point.