Australia PM Rudd to raise China internet curbs

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Friday he would raise internet curbs with Olympic and Beijing officials, saying China had "nothing to fear" from links to the world.

Rudd, who will travel to Beijing for the Games opening ceremony and talks with Chinese leaders, said he was concerned that access to the Internet had been restricted for Games journalists and would "absolutely" raise the issue in his meetings.

"I think it's the right thing to do. My attitude to our friends in China is very simple. They should have nothing to fear from open digital links with the rest of the world," Rudd told Australian radio.

Rudd, a former diplomat, raised Tibetan rights issues in Beijing in April, telling students at Peking University that there were "significant human rights problems" in the Chinese-controlled region.

The Australian leader said during that visit that, as "a long-standing friend of China", he intended to speak frankly with Beijing on issues such as Tibet, despite the country being Australia's biggest export partner.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Alex Richardson)