Gift of hindsight

The controversial "Green Dam" software will "absolutely not be compulsorily installed on all computers" sold in China, says Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong.

To date, this is the most welcome message regarding the controversial "Green Dam-Youth Escort" - a filtering software intended to keep youngsters from being exposed to unhealthy online contents such as pornography.

Something meant to protect our young citizens from harmful information is worthy of applause. Yet the "Green Dam" was stonewalled because of the fear that it would compromise people's privacy and right to know.