China's internet is open, UK ambassador tells BBC
Liu Xiao Ming told Newsnight's Gavin Essler that there was a "misperception" about the internet in China
China's ambassador to the UK defended the country's internet crackdowns on Friday during an interview with the BBC.
Liu Xiao Ming told Newsnight's Gavin Essler that there was a "misperception" about the internet in China and the way the Communist Party dealt with it.
He also denied that it was difficult for Chinese bloggers to publish their opinions because of crackdowns on free speech.
Asked by Essler whether he thought the internet was 'a bit of an irritation' to the government, the ambassador said: "I think there is a misconception about the internet and development in China.
"In fact, the Chinese are very much open in terms of the internet. In fact, we have the most number of internet users in China today."
He added that in China "every day there are hundreds of thousands of comments made by bloggers" but said it was the government's job to "regulate the users for the protection of the safety of the internet to ensure that healthy content is available and unhealthy content should be removed".