People’s Daily recently published an article saying that the U.S. government plans to give funding to the BBC for the “fight against Internet censorship in Iran and China” and “spreading the value of freedom and democracy.” The funding, estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, is supposed to be used for exploring anti-censorship technology, developing software, and “educating local Internet users on circumventing Internet and television censorship.” The article suggested that this is not the first time for the U.S. government to give funding to the BBC. The plan reportedly triggered “anger” from media sponsored by the U.S. government, such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. The U.S. State Department responded that the decision hadn’t been made yet. The article also mentioned that British media has widely criticized the BBC for overpaying its employees with taxpayer money.
Source: People’s Daily, March 24, 2011
http://finance.people.com.cn/GB/14226532.html