Hey, were you perhaps hoping that as China eases onto the exclusive superpower couch next to the United States, the government of this frightening asian juggernaut might perhaps become more malleable and open?

Well, it's not.

Right now, the United Nations is holding a special summit regarding the future of the internet in Athens, Greece. In response to criticism by a BBC reporter about the BBC news site (among many others) being blocked in China, a Chinese official flatly denied that any internet sites were blocked by the Chinese government.

Just read this plate of hogwash-topped tripe:

"I don't think we should be using different standards to judge China. In China, we don't have software blocking Internet sites. Sometimes we have trouble accessing them. But that's a different problem... ...I'm sure I don't know why people say this kind of thing. We do not have restrictions at all."

WOW. That's my first response. After the flak that Google took for after setting up the infamous self-censoring google.cn (compare to google.com), after the flak Cisco took for providing the Chinese government with the equipment to build their notorious Great Firewall of China, and let's not forget the numerous sites that are continually blocked by that firewall and are perfectly accessible once Chinese users implement proxy or VPN connections to get around the firewall.... after all that, an official of the Chinese government can stand in front of the rest of the world and make the audacious, bald-faced lie that China does not block internet sites.

Let that just be a reminder to you what kind of governments this world has as its reigning superpowers.