On August 5, 2005, Xinhua News Agency covered the new feature of Google
by showing certain satellite imaging of major cities, including
Beijing.
Unfortunately it also shows some buildings in Beijing which might be
considered PRC state secret.
Read the (Chinese) article in
http://news.xinhuanet.com/ec/2005-08/05/content_3313740.htm
An outline of the article:
* The satellite images provided by Google Earth project
shows a resolution of 1 meter -- in other words, an 1x1
meter object in Beijing will show as a pixel in the
image.
* Official Li said he was deeply shocked that Chinese
Geography Information Center does not have the
capability for this kind of global data.
* A professor Tang commented that the maps provided by
Google Earth can easily show some hidden facilities
and military targets.
* Another official Kong commented, "satellite images were
excluded already in secrecy classification in China.
...... We cannot restrict satellite images outside
China to be put on the web, but Chinese domestic
companies will definitely apply certain technical
processing regarding state secrets."
