China Unblocks Some Sites

In the furore regarding China blocking access to a number of websites, the country appears to have unblocked the Chinese language versions of Wikipedia and the BBC.

China has earned the ire of journalists and human rights groups for apparently reneging on an agreement between the country and the International Olympic Committee to give journalists full access to the Internet during the Olympics.
However, as of yesterday, the BBC reported that China had unblocked its Chinese language site (the English language site was unblocked back in March) and the Chinese-language Wikipedia site.

"This is a great opportunity for us to show Chinese readers what first-class journalism we can deliver," said Lorna Ball, had of the BBC’s Chinese service. "But of course we will also want to check if the site is still available after the Olympics have ended."

An IOC official welcomed the move, saying:

"This is a good sign. It’s a work in progress. These are initial, encouraging signs."

As of this morning, the BBC was reporting that some other previously blocked sites, including Amnesty Inernational, had been unblocked, not on for reporters, but also at Internet cafes in Beijing.