Document shows Yahoo bowed to China, group claims

New evidence that Yahoo's Hong Kong outfit turned over information leading to an eight-year jail term in 2003 for a Chinese cyberdissident named Li Zhi lies in the case's court verdict, a media watchdog group is reporting.

The French-based Reporters Without Borders said it recently obtained the document, which claimed Yahoo and a local telecommunications company each supplied information confirming that Li had set up an e-mail account on their servers. The verdict did not note whether they had also turned over Li's messages.

Li's case was among several widely reported incidents offered as examples of collaboration among U.S. tech companies and the Chinese government, a phenomenon that has incited fury from politicians and alike.

Yahoo representatives could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday. At the time the Li case was first reported, the company said it was not familiar with details surrounding his case and does not appear to have commented publicly on that matter since then. Some critics have accused the media of overblowing Yahoo's involvement.

Yahoo has publicly acknowledged its compliance with the Chinese government's orders in another case, which led to the conviction of Shi Tao, a 37-year-old writer for the Dangdai Shang Bao (Contemporary Business News).

A company attorney stressed at a highly publicized congressional hearing last month that Yahoo must comply with all local laws in the countries where it operates. It has urged the government to step in and negotiate a more favorable atmosphere, saying private companies just can't go it alone.