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"The rhetorical cyberwar between China and the United States continues. \nChinese state media accused on Wednesday Google, Facebook, Apple and other tech giants of being a \"threat\" to Chinese netizens and \"pawns\" to the U.S. that should be \"punished.\"\nThe state-owned English-language newspaper China Daily launched the accusation in an article titled \"Foreign tech firms pose threat on Internet,\" which stated that the tech companies are asked by the U.S. government to \"spy on customers.\" \nThe accusations come on the heels of China's decision to block several Google services leading up to Wednesday's 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests.\nSee also: Can an Android App Defeat China's Internet Censors?\n\"Foreign technology services providers such as Google and Apple can become cybersecurity threats to Chinese users,\" read the article.\nThe People\u2019s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese government, doubled down on the criticisms on its microblog, according to various news reports.\n\"To resist the naked Internet hegemony, we will draw up international regulations and strengthen technology safeguards, but we will also severely punish the pawns of the villain,\" the post read, according to the Financial Times. \"The priority is strengthening penalties and punishments, and for anyone who steals our information, even though they are far away, we shall punish them!\" \nThese insinuations come after weeks of increased tension between China and the United States over cybersecurity and Internet freedom. The two countries have long accused each other of cyberspying, but the conflict has recently been heating up. \nFirst it was the revelation, based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden, that the NSA had spied on Chinese tech company Huawei, which prompted the Chinese government to ask for a \"clear explanation\" of the facts.\nThe U.S. Department of Justice then counter-accused five members of the Chinese military on May 19, charging them with cyberspying.\nChina hit back, calling the charges \"absurd\" and based on \"fabricated facts.\" \nThe indictment of the five military hackers also gave China a chance to accuse the U.S. of \"hypocrisy\" and \"double standards,\" saying the U.S. was the worst offender in cyberspace, given the Snowden revelations.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/06/04/chinese-media-google-apple-facebook-pawns-us/>