• China should punish Philippines over US offer: report
• Tibetans live in fear as China cracks down on protests
• Glitzy new AU headquarters a symbol of China-Africa ties
• Sany Will Buy Cement-Pump Maker Putzmeister in Biggest China-German Deal
• Traditional Weddings On The Rise

Source: AFP

BEIJING — China should impose “sanctions” against the Philippines after it offered to allow more US troops on its soil, state media said Sunday, amid growing tensions over disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Manila said Friday it planned to hold more joint exercises and to let more US troops rotate through the Southeast Asian country — an offer welcomed by the United States as it seeks to expand its military power in Asia.

China has not yet officially responded to the announcement, which was made during the country’s week-long holiday for the Lunar New Year. The foreign ministry on Sunday did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.

But an editorial in the Global Times, known for its nationalistic stance, said Beijing “must respond” to the move by using its “leverage to cut economic activities” between the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

China also should consider “cooling down” business links with its smaller neighbour, according to the editorial published in the Chinese and English versions of the newspaper.

“It should show China’s neighbouring areas that balancing China by siding with the US is not a good choice,” it said.

“Well-measured sanctions against the Philippines will make it ponder the choice of losing a friend such as China and being a vain partner with the US.”

China and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, have rival claims to parts of the South China Sea, home to some of the world’s most important shipping lanes and believed to hold vast deposits of fossil fuels.

Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia also have claims in the South China Sea.

Manila and Hanoi complained repeatedly last year of what they said were increasingly aggressive acts by China in the decades-long rift.

The alleged acts, which included a Chinese naval ship reportedly firing warning shots at Filipino fishermen, fuelled fears among some nations in the region about China as its military and political strength grows.

The US has been looking to increase its military presence across the Asia Pacific in a strategic shift that has angered China.

US President Barack Obama said in November the United States would deploy up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia. The following month a US admiral wrote that the US expected to station several combat ships in Singapore.

Source: By Sebastien Blanc (AFP)

CHENGDU, China — Sitting in a teahouse in Chengdu’s Tibetan quarter, a nervous young monk spoke of how police arrests of innocent people were adding to the climate of fear in China’s Tibetan-inhabited regions.

The Lama temple where the monk lives is a 15-hour drive away, high up on the Tibetan plateau in the southwestern province of Sichuan where rights groups say police have fired on demonstrators three times in the past week, killing at least three and leaving dozens wounded.

The 28-year-old, whose name is being withheld to protect him, was not in the areas where the killings took place and told AFP he learned of the shootings through friends.

But drinking milky Tibetan tea and fingering his prayer beads in the teahouse in Sichuan’s capital Chengdu, his nervousness betrayed the tense atmosphere in the restive province where a series of self-immolations had already prompted an increase in security.

“They have arrested many people who have done nothing. This has only increased the discontent,” he said.

According to Tibetan exiles living in India, at least 136 Tibetans have been arrested or disappeared into police custody this month in Sichuan, which borders Tibet.

“We love peace and we hope for peace,” the monk said, adding that mandatory “re-education” classes, often dominated by political and patriotic indoctrination, have been forced on his monastery.

The government has said two Tibetans were killed in clashes in the towns of Seda and Luhuo, with one shot dead by police who responded after a violent mob attacked them.

Another Tibeten protester was shot dead in Rangtang county, rights groups said Friday, but a local government official denied there had been a protest.

The unrest comes at a time of growing tensions in Tibetan-inhabited areas, where at least 16 people in less than a year — four this month alone — have set themselves on fire to protest against China’s rule.

Outside the teahouse, dozens of uniformed and plain clothes police were out on the streets, seeking to stop any conversations with locals.

Chinese authorities have stopped foreign journalists from going to the affected areas, making independent attempts to verify the situation there nearly impossible.

Several hours earlier, police detained two AFP journalists while trying to enter a town in Aba prefecture, where much of the recent anti-Chinese unrest has occurred.

“The region is inaccessible due to the mudslides,” police told the journalists before escorting them on the six-hour drive back to Chengdu.

The day before, the two journalists were stopped on another road leading into Tibetan-inhabited areas and forced to turn back “because of snow”.

In Chengdu, a huge modern city in the throes of an economic boom, Tibetans are a small minority among the population of 14 million, most of whom are ethnic Han Chinese.

But relations between the two communities are not openly discordant.

Suo Lang Wa Zhang, a 19-year-old Tibetan who lives in Chengdu, said she has many Han Chinese friends and does not rule out the possibility she could one day marry a non-Tibetan.

“Tibetans in rural areas do not have the same perspective on life that Tibetans in the cities have,” the young woman, who moved from Tibet, said.

She said she never wanted to see a repeat of the violent anti-Chinese riots that started in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in 2008 and spread to other regions.

Her friend San Dong Jin Mei, 20, a student in a business school, who unlike many older Tibetans speaks fluent Mandarin, appeared equally integrated.

“I hope to live a happy life and improve my standard of living,” she said.

The two women hope to one day return to Lhasa, a two-day train ride away.

But in Lhasa the police presence has also been stepped up in recent days, according to Free Tibet, a rights group that regularly denounces “cultural genocide” and suppression of civil liberties in China’s Tibetan-inhabited regions.

“Chinese authorities are using intimidation and surveillance of ordinary Tibetans to instill a culture of fear and stop people from speaking out,” said the group’s director, Stephanie Brigden.

Communist authorities in Beijing routinely deny such accusations, insisting that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom, while enormous efforts have been made to improve their well-being.

They blame the Dalai Lama — Tibet’s spiritual leader who fled China for India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule — for fomenting the unrest and trying to split Tibet from the rest of China, a claim he denies.

Source: Reuters By Yara Bayoumy

(Reuters) – Standing on what was once Ethiopia’s oldest maximum security prison, the new African Union headquarters funded by China is a symbol of the Asian giant’s push to stay ahead in Africa and gain greater access to the continent’s resources.

Critics point to an imbalance in what they see as the new “Scramble for Africa.” But the prospect of growing Chinese economic influence is welcomed by African leaders, who see Beijing as a partner to help build their economies at a time when Europe and the United States are mired in economic turmoil.

And Africans are hoping for more Chinese largesse.

“The future prospects of our partnership are even brighter,” Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Saturday at the new headquarters’ multi-storey amphitheatre, where an African heads of states’ summit will take place Sunday and Monday.

“China – its amazing re-emergence and its commitments for a win-win partnership with Africa – is one of the reasons for the beginning of the African renaissance,” he said.

The brown marble and glass monolith was fully paid for by China, right down to the office furniture, and cost $200 million. The office complex and almost 100 metre (330 foot) tower is Addis Ababa’s tallest building by far.

For the past decade, Africa has recorded economic growth of an average of 5 percent but its under-developed infrastructure has in part hindered its capacity to develop further.

Chinese companies are changing that. They are building roads and investing in the energy sector, and are active in areas such as telecoms technology.

China’s most senior political adviser, Jia Qinglin, said trade between the two partners had grown to $150 billion, and the unveiling of the headquarters was a “milestone” in the ties between China and Africa.

As the biggest consumer of iron-ore, China has a relentless hunger for African minerals and energy.

Beijing now appears keener to flex its diplomatic muscle in the continent. It has also contributed $4.5 million for the African Union peacekeeping force battling Islamist militants in Somalia.

Outside the complex, hundreds of Chinese support staff, delegates and officials snapped pictures of their country’s most ostentatious presence yet in Africa.

Critics point to land grabs and mistreatment of African workers on Chinese-funded projects. Even when it comes to job opportunities, in some instances China brings in teams of workers and technical experts.

Yet African officials insist they aren’t being manipulated by China, and say the relationship is not based on aid but on trade and development.

“There are people who still consider Africans like children who can be easily manipulated. The good thing about this partnership is that it’s give and take,” the Democratic Republic of Congo’s ambassador to Washington, Faida Mitifu, told Reuters.

Source: Bloomberg News By Aaron Kirchfeld

Sany Heavy Industry Co. (600031), the construction-equipment maker run by China’s richest man, agreed to buy German concrete pump maker Putzmeister Holding GmbH in what they said is the largest Chinese-German transaction yet.

Sany and Chinese private equity company CITIC PE Advisors Ltd. will buy 100 percent of Putzmeister for an undisclosed price, according to an e-mailed statement today. Aichtal in Germany will become Sany’s new headquarter for concrete machinery and Norbert Scheuch will remain in his position as the head of Putzmeister under the Chinese owner.

Putzmeister, which has 3,000 employees and sales of 570 million euros ($751 million), provided concrete pumps to quell the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan last year and the Chernobyl meltdown in the 1980s. Chinese companies are increasingly hunting for European targets. Chinese solar-panel maker LDK Solar Co. plans to buy Germany’s Sunways AG (SWW) and Italian luxury-yacht builder Ferretti Group was sold to Shandong Heavy Industry Group-Weichai Group.

“With this merger Putzmeister and Sany will create a new and global market leader for concrete pumps,” said Liang Wengen, chairman and founder of Sany, in the statement. “Putzmeister will remain as an independent brand with its own management within the Sany group.”

Source: By Xiao Xiangyi and Yao Jing (China Daily)

BEIJING – Dressed in ancient official robes and wearing chaplets, the groom and bride exchanged jade pendants as symbols of their marriage instead of rings in a silk-curtained lounge. The sophisticated formalities went smoothly to the sounds of a zither. The only nod in the direction of the modern age was an LED screen.

In China, the phrase “old is gold” is best exemplified by the growing popularity of vintage weddings. Wedding planning companies are delving into the rich legacy of the past to revive typical Han or Tang weddings with the aid of modern techniques.

“Vintage Chinese weddings are not only a trigger to revive our own traditional customs but also a trendy form for the big ceremony because Chinese people are getting tired of common Western-style weddings,” said Shi Yu, deputy director-general of the Committee of Wedding Service Industries.

As 2012 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac and there are two Beginnings of Spring according to the Chinese lunar terms, it is believed to be a very auspicious year for marriage. In recent years, due to demographic changes, more couples have been marrying. The latest data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs showed 12.41 million couples got married in 2010, 30 percent higher than 2006 and 2 percent higher than 2009.

“A vintage Chinese wedding renders a solemn mood to the sacred ceremony. What we are doing is to revive the long-lost beauty of Chinese wedding customs,” said Ren Guanyu, founder of Hanyifang, one of the earliest vintage wedding service companies in Beijing.

A vintage wedding, also known as a Han Tang ceremony, draws on marriage rituals from the Han or Tang dynasties, with the observance originating from the Western and Eastern Zhou dynasties (circa 11th century-256 BC).

The Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) were among the richest for Chinese culture.

A vintage wedding served by a small new company such as Hanyifang costs at least 20,000 yuan ($3,170).

“The price is relatively low in terms of the quality and effect of the wedding because it is still new in spite of its old look. We are still cultivating our market,” said Ren.

No national figures are available on spending, but the Committee of Wedding Service Industries estimates that average expenditure on a wedding in large cities is between 120,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan – and the figure keeps growing.

Xiqingtang, a high-end wedding company established in 2004, has gradually shifted its focus to vintage wedding services in recent years. The income from vintage weddings contributed to 9.2 percent of the company’s revenue in 2010 and 13.2 percent in 2011.

“We’ve seen an increasing demand in the Han Tang weddings, especially in our flagship store at Wangfujing (Beijing). Some of the cases are mixed marriages. Foreigners prefer a Chinese-style wedding celebrated in China,” said Zhang Lei, general manager of Xiqingtang.

In China, Western-style weddings feature flowers prominently, while Chinese weddings focus on people.

Because vintage weddings are getting more luxurious and regal, customers have to pay much more for serving maids and imperial guards at the ceremony, said Zhang.

“The pace of life in China today does not allow for a three-day wedding any more, so we have to finish the ceremony within a day or even a few hours,” said Ren.

That is why only classical elements of the original ritual remain in demonstrations of these companies’ services. For example, the couple has to eat meat from the same livestock and drink wine contained from the ladle made from the same dried gourd, which means they have to share everything henceforth.

They both have to cut a strand of hair and put it in a small silk bag. This will become one of the burial objects in their joint tomb after their deaths.

To capture the solemnity and grace of the occasion, the groom and bride have to receive special training right up to the start of the ceremony.

This includes learning how to adopt the correct facial expressions, gestures and postures.

According to Ren, weddings in ancient times were part of the Chinese ancestor worship ceremony. The groom has to first tell his ancestor that a member from a different family is going to get involved.

Ren said in ancient times, the groom has to send a wild goose as a gift when he goes to the bride’s home to escort her. This is because in legendary Chinese tradition, a wild goose is believed to have only one spouse all its life.

Wang Yiqiu, a 30-year-old television anchorwoman, had a splendid Han-style wedding in September. Given Wang and her husband both appreciated the elegance of traditional Chinese culture, they decided on a vintage ceremony.

“I will only marry once in my life so I wanted it to be extraordinary. A common Western-style wedding is far from what we wanted,” she said. “We got great feedback from my guests at the ceremony. Even months after the wedding, they still frequently mention it, saying ‘Darling, it was like a great drama’.”

Most of the customers are well educated. More than 50 percent are overseas returnees who do not blindly worship Western customs and have a good understanding of their own culture, said Ren.

However, the biggest challenge for vintage weddings comes from the parents.

“They’ve got used to Western suits and wedding dresses and they think vintage weddings are odd and ridiculous,” said Ren.

• Oil industry sees China winning, West losing from Iran sanctions
• Philippines studying U.S. offer to deploy spy planes
• Twitter Can Censor by Country
• Lust caution: Lifting the lid on erotic Shanghai

Source: Reuters By Dmitry Zhdannikov

(Reuters) – As the European Union prepares to ban Iranian oil and the United States turns the screw on payments, oil executives and policymakers say China and Russia stand to gain the most and Western oil firms and consumers may emerge the biggest losers.

Iran will continue to sell much the same volume of oil – 2.6 million barrels per day or around 3 percent of world supply – but almost all of it will flow to China, they reason. And being pretty much Iran’s only remaining customer, Beijing will be able to negotiate a much reduced price.

The EU will ban Iranian oil from July. The United States plans sanctions on Iran’s central bank and possibly its shipping firm. European headquartered oil firms such as France’s Total and Royal Dutch Shell have already abandoned Iranian oil purchases or are in the process of doing so.

Japan and South Korea have signaled they may reduce purchases of Iranian oil to comply with U.S. sanctions designed to put pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.

That leaves a growing number of buyers competing for alternative supplies. Inevitably attention has turned to Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter and the only country that can quickly increase oil output and help the West avoid a price spike that would deal a severe economic blow.

The IMF said this week that crude oil prices could rise 20 to 30 percent if Iran were to retaliate by halting its oil exports altogether. Oil industry executives meeting in Davos said energy markets can afford to lose half of Iran’s 2.6 million barrels per day. That would be roughly equivalent to supplies lost during Libya’s civil war in 2011. They are confident Saudi Arabia will fill the gap.

“What we say is that oil is fungible. Iranian oil will still find its way into the market, to Asian markets, China and possibly at a lower price,” a top Saudi source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

“But if let’s say 50 percent of Iranian oil is lost, we have spare capacity, we have the capacity to replace it as Libya has shown,” he added.

The chief of Saudi state oil monopoly Saudi Aramco, Khalid al-Falih, moved from one bilateral meeting to the next during the World Economic Forum this week. Over the past month or so the kingdom has received requests for additional oil from the European Union, Japan and South Korea. The European Union and Turkey buy almost a third of Iranian oil exports with the rest going to China, Japan, South Korea, India and South Africa.

“As a regular conversation we talked about increased supplies. Saudi Aramco is always positive,” Jun Arai, the head of Japan’s Showa Shell, told Reuters.

Russia too stands to gain from Western sanctions on Iran. The world’s biggest oil producer is well positioned to raise its market share in Europe, despite misgivings among some Europeans about relying too heavily on Russia for oil and gas. Payment disputes between Russia and neighboring Ukraine have in the past threatened transit gas supplies to Europe.

“I’m sure Moscow is watching the situation with big interest,” said José Sergio Gabrielli, chief executive of Brazil’s Petrobras. Arkady Dvorkovich, the Kremlin’s top economic aide, concurred that Russia stood to benefit from sanctions that were guaranteed to keep oil prices at least at current levels around $100 a barrel by his reckoning.

Showa Shell buys 100,000 barrels per day from Iran under a deal that expires in March and like other firms would be exposed to U.S. sanctions if not given a waiver under the latest ban on dealing with Iran’s central bank. “We are waiting for guidance from the government,” said Arai.

For Total the guidance has been clearer. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been one of the main advocates of tough sanctions. “We have already stopped (buying from Iran),” said Total’s chief Christopher de Margerie. The firm was previously lifting 80,000-100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Iran.

Peter Voser, chief executive at Royal Dutch Shell, said his company might take some time before suspending purchases, which market sources estimate at 100,000 barrels per day.

“We are a European company and therefore we are affected by the sanctions and we will obviously oblige and implement the sanctions. I need to study all the details in order to see how it goes forward,” he said.

Apart from Total and Shell, Europe’s biggest buyers of Iranian oil are Italian, Spanish and Greek companies.

CHEAP OIL

China has so far refrained from buying more Iranian crude but the perception in the industry and among diplomats is that the world’s No.2 oil consumer will find it hard to resist buying unsold Iranian oil at a knockdown price.

“I think (the Iranian) oil will go somewhere else … Iran may give a discount to make it easier and quicker but nothing will change,” said De Margerie.

Robert Hormats, U.S. under secretary for economy, energy and agriculture, could not say with certainty that sanctions would reduce Iran’s oil exports but he predicted more pain for the Iranian economy.

“You cannot predict what they (Iran) will do and how much they will discount their oil. But it will certainly cause more and more discomfort to the Iranian economy,” he said, adding that China too had an interest in a ‘constructive outcome’.

“No one has an interest in Iran continuing its non-peaceful nuclear program,” he said. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes – electricity generation and medical equipment.

To maximize the impact of the sanctions, the U.S. will apply waivers very “selectively” and “responsibly,” Hormats said. In addition, the U.S. administration is talking to Congress about extending sanctions to Iran’s shipping fleet although the discussion is at an early stage, he added.

Source: Reuters By Manuel Mogato | Photo: WSJ

(Reuters) – The Philippines is considering a U.S. proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft on a temporary, rotating basis to enhance its ability to guard disputed areas in the South China Sea, the Philippine defense minister said on Friday.

Ongoing talks in Washington on security ties between the two allies include plans to deploy more littoral combat ships and spy aircraft, said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

An expanded U.S. military presence in the region should raise the Philippines’ capability to deter border intrusions, he said.

“I would rather look at it from the positive point of view that there would be stability in the region, that we would have enough deterrent,” Gazmin told reporters.

“Without a deterrent force, we can be easily pushed around, our territories will be violated. Now that we have a good neighbor on the block, we can no longer be bullied,” he said, referring to the United States.

U.S. and Philippine officials are discussing the expansion of military cooperation as the Philippines grapples with the growing assertiveness of China.

The talks with the Philippines, a U.S. ally which voted to remove huge American naval and air bases 20 years ago, follow Washington’s announcement of plans to set up a Marine base in northern Australia and possibly station warships in Singapore.

The Obama administration describes the moves as part of a “pivot” toward economically dynamic Asia designed to reassure allies who felt neglected during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

But China sees the deployments as part of a broader U.S. attempt to encircle it as it grows into a major power.

The South China Sea could be a flash point.

China claims the entire sea, while the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan all have claims to parts of the area believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.

PROTEST

Gazmin confirmed a U.S. offer to deploy surveillance aircraft in the Philippines but he said there was no plan for any new U.S. bases. The Philippines has a constitutional ban on foreign military bases on its soil.

Gazmin said there would be more exercises with U.S. forces and a rotating presence through port visits for exercises, repairs and resupply.

Since 2002, about 600 U.S. commandos have been stationed in the south of the Philippines to help train and advise Philippine

troops in fighting a small Islamist militant group with ties to al Qaeda.

A Philippine military source told Reuters the head of the U.S. Pacific Command had proposed last August the deployment of P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft.

More talks are due in Washington in March.

Left-wing Philippine groups are planning to hold protests outside the U.S. embassy in Manila on Saturday to denounce what they describe as the “treacherous” negotiations with the United States.

“They say that they will not bring back the U.S. bases but the proposal aims for virtual basing just the same,” Renato Reyes, secretary-general of left-wing Bayan (Nation) group, said in a statement.

The Philippines hosted major U.S. military facilities with tens of thousands of airmen and sailors for nearly a century until 1992 when U.S. forces pulled out after a vote in the Philippine Senate to terminate the bases treaty.

In 1998, the Philippines and the United States signed a Visiting Forces Agreement that allows U.S. troops to visit for exercises and rest and recreation.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda also said the talks would not include the creation of any new U.S. bases.

Source: Wall Street Journal By Loretta Chao and Amir Efrati

BEIJING—Twitter Inc. says it can now make content selectively available to users based on geography, and plans to use that ability to enter countries with “different ideas” about freedom of expression as a human right—reflecting the difficult ethical questions facing Internet companies.

The announcement, published on the official blog of the microblog operator, said Twitter is now able to withhold content from users in a specific country while keeping it available to the rest of the world.

The effort underscores thorny issues for Internet companies as their websites become more global and interconnected among different countries, and as they must cooperate with diverse views on Internet content control. For websites like Twitter as well as social-networking site Facebook, this has meant being blocked in countries like China where controls are more aggressive.

“As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression,” the post said, adding that in Germany, pro-Nazi content is banned. It said the ability has not been put to use yet, however.

Twitter said in the post that it would take measures to notify users if it withholds posts. “If and when we are required to withhold a Tweet,” or microblog post, “in a specific country, we will attempt to let the user know, and we will clearly mark when the content has been withheld, and why,” it said.

Twitter will work with Chilling Effects, an Internet freedom advocacy website that compiles content take-down notices, to publish take-down notices. Such a practice would make it difficult for Twitter to operate in China, where Internet executives say prohibited keywords are treated like state secrets.

The company did not list countries in which it plans to use its new ability, but said that it would not be a solution for all. Some countries “differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there,” the post said, an implicit reference to countries such as China that have banned Twitter.

China has more Internet users than any other nation. Local Web firms in China employ dozens or hundreds of staff to police user-generated content daily, and are required by law to take down a frequently updated list of banned keywords for varying lengths of time, including those related to calls for peaceful political action.

Internet giant Google Inc., which had operated in China for four years while cooperating with censorship requirements, made the controversial decision two years ago to cease censorship in the country and to move its Chinese-language Web search service to Hong Kong. The decision was the subject of much disagreement both in and outside the company, and even among Internet freedom advocates, with some believing censorship in any form was unethical, and others believing that being present, even if censored, in China would ultimately help make information flow more freely within the country.

Twitter has been blocked for more than two years in China by Web filtering technology. Some loyal users use circumvention tools to access the website, but most microblogging users in China now use Chinese services, including by Sina Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. Some loyal users use circumvention tools to access the website, but most microblogging users in China now use Chinese services, including by Sina Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

These websites have grown quickly and collectively have hundreds of millions of user accounts, despite censoring content, and new regulations that require users to register for their services using real-names.These websites have grown quickly and collectively have hundreds of millions of user accounts, despite censoring content, and new regulations that require users to register for their services using real-names.

Though the new system likely wouldn’t allow Twitter back into China, initial reaction was negative among those who use it there through proxy services. “If Twitter starts censoring, then I’ll stop tweeting,” tweeted Ai Weiwei, the outspoken Chinese dissident artist and frequent tweeter.

Twitter has been instrumental in helping people to organize revolutionary or political protests in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, the U.K. and U.S.

Twitter, which has said it has more than 100 million active accounts around the world, is making a push to become an online-advertising giant like Google.

The San Francisco-based Twitter, created in 2006, currently has a handful of employees in the U.K. and Japan in addition to its more than 700 U.S. employees.

As it expands elsewhere, the company will have to comply with local law or its employees could potentially face prosecution or other legal action.

Twitter’s general counsel, Alex Macgillivray, is a former Google lawyer who had a hand in crafting some of that company’s censorship-related policies. He also has worked on ChillingEffects.org.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has stated that the company is “the free speech wing of the free speech party.”

More than a year ago, Twitter publicly disclosed that the U.S. government had obtained a court order requiring it to hand over information about four accounts of Twitter users in connection with an investigation of WikiLeaks, the website that published secret and classified information.

Twitter disclosed the request so that the account holders could “fight the request,” Mr. Costolo said last year.

Twitter said in its post, “One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user’s voice. We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent when we can’t.”