Report: Chinese equivalent of Twitter censors Hillary Clinton

The Chinese microblog service Sina has blocked searches for the Chinese words for "Hillary Clinton" and "Hillary" in apparent response to the Secretary of State's recent remarks against countries that censor or block the Internet.

Clinton said during a speech Tuesday that the U.S. would actively fund technologies that help people circumvent Web censorship by repressive governments. In apparent response, Sina, a Twitter-like service, appeared to be blocking the terms on Thursday morning according to various reports.

PC World reported Chinese government censors took down a statement from U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman calling the censorship of Clinton's speech ironic, considering its topic.

"We are disappointed that some Chinese Internet sites have decided to remove discussion of Secretary Clinton's Internet freedom speech from their websites. It is ironic that the Chinese are blocking an online discussion about Internet freedom," Huntsman said.

The Obama administration has elevated the profile of Internet freedom as a diplomatic issue during recent weeks in response to the unrest in Egypt and Tunisia, which has sparked similar protests in Iran. Chinese censors reportedly have blocked mentions of "Egypt" as well.