Xi, Xiaomi and the censorship game: Foreign visitors at World Internet Conference in China given free smartphones and cheat codes to access blocked websites
But while Chinese reporters decry double standards, Chinese president’s keynote speech sparks guessing game about possible use of innovative teleprompter
From President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech to reporters’ access to blocked websites, the opening day of a keenly awaited global internet conference in eastern China is already stirring debate and courting controversy over the use of secret new technology and what some claim are double standards.
Cybersecurity and global internet governance are expected to be among the key themes at the 2nd World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, where all overseas guests and tech tycoons have been given a Mi Note LTE by Xiaomi, China’s top vendor of smartphones, to use Wi-fi and make calls.
READ MORE: Double standards: China’s push to develop internet for economic gain tempered by strict censorship
The phones come pre-installed with an app offering helpful information such as the conference agenda, and are theirs to keep, they said.
Moreover, guests from overseas who are attending the annual three-day event say they have been granted special access to websites that are usually blocked on the Chinese mainland, including Facebook, Twitter and Google.
One attendee representing a Hong Kong media outlet at the annual conference told the South China Morning Post that he was put in a hotel near the WIC and offered an individual account and password for his in-room Wi-fi.
