American crackers have defaced a Web site recently launched by China to provide the official view on the country's human rights record. The site is run by the Chinese Society for Human Rights, a group that represents China in its dialog with other countries on the rights issue.

The page usually contains links to government documents and articles from the state-run media. However, on Monday night, angry crackers replaced the official page with a political message of their own.

"I simply can not believe the total bullshit propaganda on this Web site," wrote one cracker, who goes by the name "Bronc Buster." "China's people have no rights at all, never mind human rights. I really can't believe our government deals with them. They censor, murder, torture, maim, and do everything we [thought] left the earth with the middle ages."

The site draws attention to the fact that the Chinese routinely block access to the Web sites of foreign and Hong Kong-based human-rights groups, as well as those advocating Tibetan autonomy and Taiwanese independence, or representing political dissidents.

Bronc Buster is a member of the Legions of the Underground, which last July claimed to have access to critical TV control systems at Time Warner Cable in the Los Angeles area. He told the Chinese webmaster that the site's security was a "total joke."

http://www.humanrights-china.org/

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