Supporting Global Internet Freedom, Helps Support Freedom Globally

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently delivered a major policy speech on internet freedom.  She affirmed America’s commitment to promoting freedom of expression through the internet, cell phones, and other new media.   Echoing President Obama’s support for peoples’ right to freely access information, Secretary Clinton spoke of how information networks help citizens obtain new facts, hold their governments accountable, generate new ideas, and encourage creativity.  

The fact that I can engage with readers of this blog in a dialogue illustrates the points raised by Secretary Clinton in her speech and underscores the United States’ belief that the free flow of information and ideas is in our own national interest and in the interest of global society.

If you have not seen it, I encourage you to take a look at Secretary Clinton’s speech.  The full text is available here, or you can watch the video of the speech on our U.S. State Department blog, Dipnote. 

Here are some excerpts from the speech:

• On their own, new technologies do not take sides in the struggle for freedom and progress. But the United States does. We stand for a single internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. And we recognize that the world’s information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it.
• Amid this unprecedented surge in connectivity, we must also recognize that these technologies are not an unmitigated blessing.  These tools are also being exploited to undermine human progress and political rights… Technologies with the potential to open up access to government and promote transparency can also be hijacked by governments to crush dissent and deny human rights.
• Freedom of expression comes under threat where governments control the democratic tools of television, radio, access to newsprint, and internet.   Currently, there is not an internet technology strong enough or adaptable enough to provide openness in any place where a government is trying to shut it down.   
• Today, we find an urgent need to protect these freedoms on the digital frontiers of the 21st century. 
• The United States is committed to devoting the diplomatic, economic, and technological resources necessary to advance these freedoms… We are well placed to seize the opportunities that come with interconnectivity. And as the birthplace for so many of these technologies, we have a responsibility to see them used for good. To do that, we need to develop our capacity for 21st century statecraft.
• We feel strongly that principles like information freedom aren’t just good policy, not just somehow connected to our national values, but they are universal and they’re also good for business.
• By advancing this agenda, we align our principles, our economic goals, and our strategic priorities. We need to work toward a world in which access to networks and information brings people closer together and expands the definition of the global community.

In the spirit of promoting enhanced global connectivity and the free exchange of ideas online, I invite you to express yourself by posting a response.  Please feel free to share your impressions of Secretary Clinton’s speech or your views on internet freedom, in general.  

I look forward to your comments!

THE ASEAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE’S FIRST SEASON

My family and I have enjoyed following the exciting inaugural season of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), rooting fervently for the KL Dragons. All the games we’ve seen have been fiercely contested and competitive. Since the beginning of the season the Dragons have really developed team chemistry, balancing some dead-eyed outside shooters with great ball-handlers who slash fearlessly to the basket. Moreover, the game-time experience and stadium atmosphere are electric, with packed crowds of Malaysians and foreign fans joining together to cheer for the teams, participate in half-time fan giveaways, and enjoy entertainment like guest singers from Malaysian Idol. Finally, the players themselves are friendly and make themselves available for pictures and chats with the fans.

As I’ve followed the ABL, I want to highlight the partnerships of American companies like GE to support the league and basketball in Malaysia. After Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, Chairman of the ABL, announced the creation of the first international basketball league in Southeast Asia, GE stepped up as the ABL’s title sponsor for the 2009/10 season running from October to February. This sponsorship has provided an invaluable boost to the ABL and to the development of young basketball talent in the region. GE’s involvement with the ABL is a great example of how American companies in Malaysia are giving back to the community.  GE’s league sponsorship is most appropriate from my point of view as this concept, carried out in the sports world in this case, is entirely consistent with the broader effort to build a market of 550-600 million people in Southeast Asia.  Southeast Asian nations really make their mark on the world stage when they speak and act cohesively.  The ABL is just one more way in which the entrepreneurial leaders in Malaysia are helping to build a genuine sense of Southeast Asian community.  My hat is off to all those who conceived and implemented the idea of an ABL.  Go Dragons!

For more information, check out : www.aseanbasketballleague.com and http://www.kldragons.com/

“Help for Haiti”

We are assisting earthquake-stricken Haiti

On January 12 a severe earthquake struck in Haiti, devastating the capital city, Port au Prince, as well as surrounding areas. The American Red Cross now estimates that 3 million people are affected by the disaster. While the full measure of human suffering from this earthquake is not yet known, we do know that the survivors need immediate help. The U.S. has mounted what we are calling a “swift, aggressive, and coordinated” response to Haiti’s disaster through the U.S. Department of State, the American Red Cross, the U.S. Army, Coast Guard, and other organizations. A 72-member canine search and rescue team arrived in Port au Prince the day after the quake. The USS Carl Vinson was dispatched to Haiti, expected to arrive January 14, and approximately 2,000 U.S. Marines and 3,000 U.S. Army personnel from Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg respectively are on their way to help. At the request of President Obama, former Presidents G.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have also agreed to assist with coordination of relief efforts. Secretary Hillary Clinton returned to Washington from Honolulu, cancelling a ten day trip to Asia so that she could coordinate the U.S. response to the disaster.

Not only is the United States commitment to Haiti growing, but the international commitment is as well. As of January 14, at least 31 countries have provided meaningful assistance that has already reached Haiti or is on its way. U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti, former President Bill Clinton, has said that fast action and close coordination among the United States, United Nations and other actors on the ground will be key to ensuring that Haiti will emerge from this disaster and resume its road to recovery. I received information today that some of my U.S. Embassy colleagues in Haiti have perished in the earthquake or are still missing. Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti and to all of those affected by this disaster.

For more information about earthquake relief efforts, visit: http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/ha/earthquake/index.htm

“Happy Holidays to you, Malaysia!”

Ambassador and Mrs. Keith

It is nearly a year since President Obama took office, and we are no longer just talking about, but actually realizing the potential of the relationship between Malaysia and the United States.  Looking toward the New Year, it is my hope that we will see more and more opportunities to bring the American and the Malaysian people closer together. 

I want to wish all the Malaysian people a safe and prosperous New Year.  We look forward not only to our own (Western) New Year, but also to Chinese New Year.  Now is a time for us to look to the future with a sense of confidence and optimism.  I have great confidence in the U.S.-Malaysia relationship, and am very pleased to see that President Obama and Prime Minister Najib have established a strong foundation for us to move forward together.

“The U.S. is Already Going Green”

The 15th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with participation from 192 nations, will be held December 7–18 in Copenhagen. Any climate accord reached at the Copenhagen meeting would succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which required 37 industrialized nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions an average of 5 percent by 2012.

President Obama will attend the Copenhagen conference on December 18^th to help move toward a comprehensive and operational Copenhagen accord.  

The President has ordered his Administration to reduce America’s carbon footprint, including by doubling the generating capacity from wind and other renewable resources in three years, and by spending billions to capture carbon pollution from coal plants. 

In addition to working with Congress to produce new comprehensive climate and energy legislation, the President has also described new efficiency standards to increase fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks in the U.S.  In September the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established mandatory reporting for U.S. facilities on greenhouse gas emissions.  Our goal is to achieve significant reductions through conservation.  Just this week, the EPA issued a final ruling that greenhouse gases posed a danger to human health and the environment, which paves the way for regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, power plants, factories, refineries and other major sources.

Developed countries must do their part.  President Obama’s commitment to travel personally to Copenhagen underlines his determination that the U.S. will fulfill its obligations.  But Chinese President Hu Jintao’s presence at Copenhagen will also be a symbol of the developing world’s obligation.  If we are to succeed globally, major developing nations must also take actions to substantially reduce emissions by 2020 on a relative basis, compared to their so-called “business as usual” path.  In the context of an overall agreement that includes mitigation contributions from all major economies, the United States is prepared to put on the table an emissions reduction target in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020, and ultimately consistent with U.S. energy and climate legislation.  In line with the President’s goal to reduce emissions 83 percent by 2050, this pending legislation would put the United States on a pathway toward a 30 percent emissions reduction in 2025 and a 42 percent reduction in 2030.

We know developing countries need help.  President Obama has talked about an emerging consensus that a core element of the Copenhagen accord should be to mobilize $10 billion a year by 2012 to support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable and least developed countries that could suffer most from the impacts of climate change.  The United States will pay its fair share of that amount and welcomes statements by other countries that intend to make substantial commitments as well. 

We look forward to working with Malaysia as a valuable partner in the region.  We are proud that among U.S. investors in Malaysia at present there are several companies pioneering in the solar energy field.  But perhaps the most significant role Malaysia could play in addressing global climate change is to produce tradable carbon credits by conserving forest cover particularly in the state of Sarawak.

The United States is committed to achieving the strongest possible outcome from the two week climate change negotiation in Copenhagen.  All of us must face realistically the scope of the problem and understand that developed and developing country contributions are necessary. We are all in this together. 

For more information about the US position on climate change, visit: http://www.america.gov/global/environ.html.