Liu Jianchao, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said at his semi-weekly news conference on Tuesday in Beijing that the Chinese government had a right to censor Web sites that violate the country's laws. He added that "some Web sites," which he did not identify, had violated China's law against secession by suggesting that there are two Chinas — a reference to the Beijing government's longstanding position that mainland China and Taiwan form a single China.

"I hope that the Web sites in question will be able to self-regulate, and not do things that will violate Chinese law, and for the sake of both sides, develop conditions for Web site cooperation," Liu said, according to a transcript posted on ...