It's Time to Tear Down the Chinese Firewall

The great firewall of China is a manifestation of the oppressive regime that denies the Chinese people their basic rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The recent action taken by Google to leave China is a move in the right direction. However, Google, like other U.S firms in China, played a deceitful role in abetting the injustice perpetrated by the Chinese government. Google as a company enjoyed the rights guaranteed by the U.S constitution, while they helped an oppressive regime deny it to billions of citizens. Furthermore, abetting an oppressive regime suppress and subjugate its citizens is unethical from any moral standpoint. Therefore, it is a moral imperative to help bring down the firewall and give China access to free and fair information.

However, considering different ethical theories, the issue at hand is certainly a grey area. The three main ethical theories, ethical relativism, utilitarianism and deontological, come into a clash. It is understandable that Google, as a company, tried to tap into a wider market of more than a billion. However, it is not a morally commendable act. Helping others perpetrate an unjust act is never morally acceptable. Although not practical, the moral high ground would be to help Chinese citizens fight against the firewall. Instead of stooping to the demands of the Chinese government, U.S firms should wage a war for free information. If all the U.S firms unite in fighting the firewall by setting up proxy servers, outside of China, the great firewall will soon crumble.

The solution of stopping business with China altogether is a permissible act because it prevents the firms from participating in the wrongdoing. The other solution of continuing and complying with the Chinese ...

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...h, it could be justified by relativist arguments, U.S firms only portray a hypocritical picture.

The alternative solution of fighting the great firewall prospers greatest happiness to the greatest number. The solution is not without legal consequences; however, the outcome far outweighs the cost. An oppressive regime in one part of the world is a threat to democracies everywhere. Uniting people through free and fair information exchange can build a better world. A government which does not respect people as a moral agent and restricts access to free information is far worse than no government at all. The best scenario is of a world where people have freedom to choose their governance and exercise their rights as a human being. To this end, China has not fared well so, bringing down the firewall and helping Chinese people is a step towards a better world for all.