Donald Trump attacked Hillary Clinton in vulgar terms Monday night

Donald Trump attacked Hillary Clinton in vulgar terms Monday night, saying that her bathroom break during the last Democratic debate was just too "disgusting" to talk about and then stating she "got schlonged" by Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

"Even a race to Obama, she was gonna beat Obama. I don't know who would be worse, I don't know, how could it be worse? But she was going to beat -- she was favored to win -- and she got schlonged, she lost, I mean she lost," Trump said, using a vulgar Yiddish word for a man's penis.

Earlier, Trump started to criticize Clinton for not returning to the ABC News debate stage on Saturday night in time, but then said he didn't want to talk more about it because it was "disgusting."

"I know where she went, it's disgusting, I don't want to talk about it," Trump said. "No, it's too disgusting. Don't say it, it's disgusting, let's not talk, we want to be very, very straight up."

Fired up by a raucous crowd, Trump unleashed on a slew of political opponents -- starting with Sen.Lindsey Graham, who dropped his presidential bid earlier on Monday, and finishing with Obama.

Throughout it all, Trump's supporters roared in approval. But groups of protesters throughout the arena interrupted Trump throughout his hour-long speech.

More than a dozen times, protesters began shouting during Trump's speech, which was one of the most interrupted since he jumped into the presidential race in June. The protesters largely accused Trump of spewing a racist and bigoted ideology.

Trump even mocked some of the protesters, noting that one had a "weak voice" and calling several others "a bunch of losers."

But Trump focused the brunt of his fire on Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, who just days earlier in the Democratic debate called Trump an ISIS recruitment tool.

On Tuesday, the Clinton campaign's director of communications Jennifer Palmieri tweeted, "We are not responding to Trump but everyone who understands the humiliation this degrading language inflicts on all women should. #imwithher."

Jennifer Palmieri 

Trump on Monday morning demanded an apology from Clinton for making the allegation, to which the Clinton camp responded with a swift, "Hell no."

Engaging Clinton again on Monday night, Trump described Clinton's late return to the Democratic debate stage on Saturday night because of a bathroom break as "a weird deal."

"I know where she went. It's disgusting. I don't want to talk about it, it's disgusting," Trump said, after bringing up the incident unprompted 20 minutes into his speech.

Trump went on to call Clinton a "liar" and "crooked," insisting that Clinton would not want to face Trump in the general election despite reporting that the Clinton camp is licking their lips at the prospect of Trump as an opponent.

"Ask Jeb Bush if he enjoys running against me. Ask Lindsey Graham, did he enjoy running against Trump? Ask Perry, ask Gov. Perry. Ask Bobby Jindal," Trump said. "Ask all of these guys that have gone out, do they enjoy running against Trump? I enjoy it. They don't enjoy it."

Trump also could not resist hitting one of his favorite opponents on Monday night: the press.

In a strange segue in which he defended Russian President Vladimir Putin from widely reported allegations that he has ordered the killing of journalists, Trump went on to consider whether he himself would consider killing reporters, whom he then blasted as "lying disgusting people."

"I would never kill them. I would never do that," Trump said at first, before reconsidering.

"Uh, let's see, uh?" Trump said inflecting his voice. "No, I would never do that." 

Miss Iraq pageant for the first time in 43 years

When Shaima Qasim was crowned Miss Iraq this weekend, she not only triumphed over the other women in the competition but over threats against her life.

The pageant was the first to be held in Baghdad in 43 years.

"Iraq needed this," pageant director Ahmed Leith said. "The situation is weak here, and we wanted to celebrate this the same way other countries like Lebanon and others do. To have a sense of normalcy."

But as the date of the event approached, the number of competitors dwindled.

The pageant website and its Facebook page were inundated with death threats against the women -- so much so that the nearly 200 participants dropped to less than 10.

In the end, Qasim, 20, an economics major at the University of Kirkuk, received her crown to the applause of a supportive audience cheering her on for prevailing against the odds.

For the director Leith and the rest of the audience, Qasim's victory was about more than winning a beauty pageant.

"It is about having the courage to stand against all odds, something we all try to do."

Slovenia rejects same-sex marriage

Slovenian voters have rejected by a large margin a law that would have given same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt children, Slovenia's government says.

Just over 63% of voters in Sunday's referendum rejected the bill redefining marriage as a union between two consenting adults, rather than expressly between a man and a woman.

There was a relatively low rate of participation, with just over 36% of eligible voters turning out, Slovenia's Government Communication Office said.

The defeat of the bill, which would have established full legal equality between heterosexual and same-sex marriage, was seen as a victory for conservatives backed by the Catholic Church, the dominant religious group in the former Yugoslav republic of about 2 million people.

Slovenia had passed a law in March, proposed by the opposition United Left party and supported by the government, giving same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.

But a conservative civil society group launched a petition against the law before any same-sex couples were able to wed, and it appealed to the courts to turn the matter over to a public vote.

In a referendum in 2012, Slovenian voters had also rejected extending greater rights to same-sex couples.

Unequal treatment

Violeta Tomic, a parliament member from the United Left party, which backed the March law change, tweeted that she was saddened by the result and pointed to the influence of the Catholic Church in opposing same-sex marriage.

Amnesty Slovenia, which had campaigned in favor of same-sex marriage, tweeted a "sad face" emoticon as news broke that the law had been overturned.

Amnesty Slovenije 

"Sadly no marriage equality in Slovenia," it tweeted. In a statement about the result on its website, it said that Slovenian law discriminates against people in same-sex relationships in more than 70 aspects of life.

The vote reflects a cultural split in the European Union, with many Western members -- including Britain, France, Spain and Ireland -- granting legal recognition to same-sex marriage, a move that remains contentious in the former communist countries that are more recent additions to the EU.

Slovenia joined the EU in 2004.

Why Putin praised Donald Trump

Vladimir Putin has his man in the U.S. presidential race: Donald Trump. On Thursday, the Russian president reportedly declared Trump to be the "absolute leader" of the race.

Putin -- a natural if brawny showman who has posed fishing shirtless, shooting shirtless and horseback riding shirtless -- also said of Trump: "He's a very lively man, talented without doubt."

Thus did the man who embodies the parody of homoeroticism from the 1970s endorse one who embodies the parody of a blow-hard executive from the 1980s. But while Moscow has long been interested in American politics, what inspired the man who has essentially run Russia since 2000 to take the unusual step of commenting on the election process of an adversary?

Two things: empathy and desire.

Whether he knows it or not, Putin practices a key tenet of statecraft identified by Mel Brooks. His darkly comical musical "The Producers" features the number "Heil Myself!" (also known as "Springtime for Hitler"), in which a campy rendition of the German dictator sings, "It ain't no mystery, if it's politics or history, the thing you gotta know is, everything is showbiz."

The line could be the leitmotif of the reality show that is Trump's campaign.

The Donald's approach to politics likely reminds Putin of himself and he empathizes. Not only do the two men share a love for spectacle and an appreciation of its ability to move low-information voters, but Putin also sees Trump's self-reference as something Moscow can exploit.

Putin famously began his career as an intelligence officer. One thing the young Putin would have been taught by his employers at the KGB's First Chief Directorate, the agency's center for foreign intelligence collection, is to look for character flaws that can be used to enlist a target as an agent or, short of that, an unwitting helper. It's a fancied-up version of a con man looking for his mark.

Recent American presidents have been easy prey for Putin. George W. Bush, who thought he got a "sense of Putin's soul," mistook the Russian strongman for a friend. Barack Obama believed that a change in diplomatic tone would alter Putin's calculation of his nation's interests. Putin of course encouraged both vanities. The invaded people of Georgia and Ukraine can attest to who sized up whom better.

The cherry on the cake would be a President Trump. Putin has no doubt observed that flattery works well on The Donald: from his tweets to TV appearances to debate performances, Trump is a lion to those who are critical and a lamb to those who suffer his repetitive imprecisions silently.

Putin's giddiness over Trump's personal flaws shifts to outright desire when the candidate starts talking about U.S. policy toward Russia. In September, Trump said of the Russian leader: "I will tell you in terms of leadership he is getting an 'A'..." As Putin put warplanes and a base in Syria -- Moscow's biggest push into the Middle East and Mediterranean rim since the Cold War -- Trump said: "Putin is now taking over what we started, and he's going into Syria, and he frankly wants to fight ISIS, and I think that's a wonderful thing."

This means that yet another U.S. political figure has mistakenly believed Russian interests will converge with America's. In reality, Putin has forces in Syria to shore up the dictator, Bashar al-Assad, and primarily fight Assad's non-ISIS opponents. And the "A" in leadership The Donald awarded Putin was earned by ruthlessly suppressing domestic dissent, playing to the most base instincts of the Russian public and launching foreign wars of aggression.

Putin will happily pocket Trump's naivete. The Russian President said of the candidate: "He's saying he wants to go to another level of relations -- closer, deeper relations with Russia. How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome that."

When Putin sees Trump's unique combination of self-reference and self-delusion about Moscow's desire to assert itself at the expense of the West, he sees gold. Furthermore, he is assured that he could continue to expand Russia's sphere of influence -- perhaps even beyond the countries he has already invaded -- all the while saying he is doing nothing of the sort.

The mendacity brings to mind that other Mel Brooks tour de force on statecraft: the movie "To Be Or Not To Be." In the film, another parody Hitler sings: "I don't want war! All I want is peace ... peace ... peace ... A little piece of Poland, a little piece of France, a little piece of Austria ..."

North Korea sentenced a Canadian pastor Wednesday to life in prison

North Korea sentenced a Canadian pastor Wednesday to life in prison "for subversive plots and activities," according to its state news agency.

The official news agency KCNA reported that the Rev. Hyeon Soo Lim "confessed to all heinous crimes he had committed."

The report accused Lim of having "committed anti-DPRK religious activities, conducted false propaganda among overseas Koreans, and took active part in the operation of the U.S. and (a South Korean) conservative group to lure and abduct DPRK citizens ... in their programs for 'aiding defectors from the north.' "

North Korea had already detained him for 10 months.

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs expressed dismay at what it called "the unduly harsh sentence given to Mr. Lim by a North Korean court, particularly given his age and fragile health."

Lim's trial was the first time Canadian officials had seen the 60-year-old since he was taken into custody in February, the department said in a statement.

It said the North Korean government's refusal to let Canadian representatives "verify his health and well-being" in person represents "a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the right of states to have consular access to their citizens."

The Canadian government said it wants Lim's rights to be respected and for him to return home.

It declined to offer any more information "in the interest of Mr. Lim's case."

Family: Lim went to North Korea on aid trip

A Canadian citizen who emigrated from South Korea in 1986, Lim is a minister at the 3,000-member Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto. He has spent a lot of time in North Korea, taking more than 100 trips there, according to his family.

Lim's most recent visit came January 30 when he traveled there via China on what a family spokeswoman characterized as a routine humanitarian trip.

He planned to tend to aid projects established by his church in the northeastern city of Rajin, North Korea, including an orphanage, nursery and nursing home.

"It is this tremendous love for the people of the DPRK that motivated Mr. Lim to travel (there)," said family spokeswoman Lisa Pak.

Coerced confessions?

But North Korea painted a different picture of his motivation.

In July, Lim was brought out a news conference where he read from a statement, confessing to activities aimed at toppling the North Korean government, according to KCNA.

"The purpose that I traveled about several parts of the country on the pretext of 'aid' was to build a base to overthrow the system of the country and create a religious state, taking advantage of the policies of the U.S. and South Korean authorities," Lim said, according to The Associated Press, which was present for the news conference. AP reported the press conference was in front of a packed room of Pyongyang-based journalists.

In August, North Korea released footage of Lim confessing again -- this time at a Pyongyang church.

"My biggest crime is my act of blindness in severely insulting the highest dignity and system, the DPRK," Lim is shown saying to a church congregation while dressed in a dark suit and tie. The video was posted on Uriminzokkiri, a state-run propaganda website.

Notably, Westerners held previously in North Korea have said their confessions were given under pressure from the state.

In April, U.S. citizen Sandra Suh was released from detention in the country and deported to the United States after admitting to "plot-breeding and propaganda against the DPRK," according to KCNA.

State-run churches

The August 2 service where Lim made his second confession took place in Pyongyang's Bongsu Church. This Protestant church is one of several places of worship in the North Korean capital, though it is known to be used for propaganda reasons.

Some in the United States and elsewhere say North Korea's handful of state-run churches are fronts to give the appearance of religious freedom.

Critics accuse North Korean authorities of widespread religious persecution and other rights violations.

Pyongyang hasn't traditionally embraced organized religion, at least those with outside roots.

The communist government is officially atheist. In the 1970s, it proudly declared itself "free from religious superstitions," according to South Korea's Unification Ministry.

Behind the scenes

Canada has limited diplomatic relations with the reclusive country.

But behind the scenes, the Canadian government waged an aggressive campaign to win Lim's freedom, according to a source with knowledge of the proceedings.

Two delegations from the Canadian Embassy in Seoul held back-channel meetings with North Korean officials in Pyongyang, most recently after the Canadian Thanksgiving in October.

And Canadian consular officials spoke informally with North Korean delegates on the sidelines of U.N. meetings, the source said.

But no one from the Canadian government managed to meet Lim personally "despite repeated requests," according to the Department of Foreign Affairs

In November, following the victory of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party, a new set of state officials in Canada were charged with bringing Lim home.

Bodies of Mumbai artist..Lawyer found in boxes

A warehouse worker has been arrested in relation to the suspected double murder of a prominent Indian artist and her lawyer, police say.

The bodies of artist Hema Upadhyay and Harish Bhambhani were pulled from a drain in Mumbai on Saturday. Their hands and legs had been bound and their bodies stuffed in boxes wrapped in plastic.

Shivkumar Sadhu Rajbhar, a metal fabricator in a Mumbai warehouse, was detained in Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, Inspector-General Sujit Pandey told CNN.

The suspect told investigators he and four other accomplices killed Upadhyay and Bhambhani, Pandey said.

According to Rajbhar's police statement, Upadhyay was murdered because she had refused to pay around $7,500 she allegedly owed to his employer, the warehouse owner. The suspect claimed the lawyer was murdered because "he just happened to be present there (at the time)," Pandey said.

Police said Rajbhar was found to be in possession of the victims' credit and debit cards, however they don't know the extent to which he was involved in their deaths.

"What we can say with certainty is that he was associated with the murders, but it would be too early to say how and to what extent until further investigations complete," Pandey said.

Rajbhar's employer is at still at large.

Depiction of life

Upadhyay, 43, specialized in the depiction of life in the metropolis of Mumbai, according to New Delhi's Vadhera Art Gallery. Her artwork centered around migration, dislocation and multi-cultural aspects of India's financial capital, it said in a profile.

Art critic and curator Uma Nair said in a blog post in the Times of India that Upadhyay's work tackled urbanization, migration and landscapes.

"The news of her death and her body wrapped in plastic had a strange macabre surrealism because the murderer knew her language -- he/she placed her remains like a dead fish in a dreary landscape of viciousness and hatred. RIP beautiful person," Nair wrote in the blog headlined "Indian contemporary art's genius: Hema Upadhyay."

How Trump plays the politics of fear

When Republicans gather for their next debate Tuesday, one of the main issues all the candidates should be required to address is what each thinks of the controversial statements and arguments that Donald Trump has made about how to fight ISIS.

Trump has a habit of taking campaign rhetoric to more dramatic places. In response to the horrific series of attacks conducted by ISIS, Trump kept saying things that led observers to ask whether he had finally reached the tipping point of going so far that there would be an electoral backlash.

Last week, Trump said that he would ban all Muslimsfrom traveling to the United States. He has called for a federal registry of Muslims, while also promising to "take out" the families of terrorists. Trump says he would bring back the use of waterboarding. If it didn't work, well, "they deserve it anyway," he said. Trump has complained that Americans are too politically sensitive about profiling people who could be potential terrorist threats and "that's part of the problem we have with our country."

There has been a noticeably tough response from Republicans. "We need to aggressively take on radical Islamic terrorism but not at the expense of our American values," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. "This is not conservatism," said House Speaker Paul Ryan.

But some are skeptical about where the GOP stands. The New York Times editorial board published a blistering piece about Trump's influence, writing, "The Republican rivals rushing to distance themselves from his latest inflammatory proposal ... have been peddling their own nativist policies for months or years. They have been harshening their campaign speeches and immigration proposals in response to the Trump effect."

Trump's embrace of the politics of fear is not that surprising. There is a long tradition in campaigns of candidates who have played to the worst sentiments of the electorate during times when there are serious national security threats.

Playing to fears can help candidates gain attention from the news media and the electorate, and it offers an easy way to depict their opposition as incapable of leading.According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, fears of terrorism have boosted Trump's position.

History's lessons

Historically, when politicians recklessly use the politics of fear, bad things happen. On the most basic level, damaging rhetoric results in injustices being committed to innocent citizens. For example, World War I had a devastating impact on many German-Americans. Other immigrant groups were harassed and saw their loyalty questioned. In April 1918, Robert Prager, a German coal miner who had applied for U.S. citizenship, was lynched by a mob. In 1919 and 1920, Attorney General Mitchell Palmer led a massive crackdown on individuals and groups associated with the left during the "red scare." In the years that followed, nativism fused with anti-communism to produce a severe crackdown on immigration.

Japanese-Americans were forced to live in internment camps during World War II, an action that has remained a huge black mark on Franklin Roosevelt's record as commander in chief, as was his adminstration's refusal to admit Jewish refugees who were desperately fleeing from Nazi Germany.

In 1968, George Wallace's independent campaign for president stirred up racial and social resentment against the gains on racial equality and civil rights in the 1960s.

There are also political dangers for the Republican Party in using this kind of rhetoric, even though it often seems appealing in the short term. For decades, Democrats paid the price for being the party that intensified the war in Vietnam.

In the early 1980s, when Ronald Reagan used pointed language to speak about the "Evil Empire" of the Soviet Union, advisers urged him to be more proactive in pursuing peace after fears emerged in 1983 of the possibility of a nuclear war. President George W. Bush'swar in Iraq dragged down his presidency. It is not clear right now, even if polls temporarily show support for ground troops in Syria, that the nation would really be willing to take on another protracted ground war that will cost human lives and a big chunk of our national budget.

Finally, there are huge policy dangers that come from this kind of fear strategy, as it has historically stimulated a dynamic that drives political parties into poor decision-making. This undermines the nation's ability to effectively combat threats.

During the 1950s, too many members of both parties sat by silently as Joseph McCarthy and his allies cast an extraordinarily wide net in the search for alleged communists in the United States, violating civil liberties and damaging lives in the process. These actions polarized and divided a nation otherwise united in the fight against communism.

Opposition might have made a life-saving difference

Republican attacks on Democrats for being weak on communism were part of the drive that led John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson deeper into Vietnam. The war brought little benefit to Western allies and only undermined confidence in the American Cold War strategy. Fast forward to 2002 and 2003, when many Democrats were skeptical about the necessity for the war in Iraq, but many were fearful about not appearing to stand firm as they read the electoral tea leaves. Stronger and more forceful opposition might have checked the nation's move toward this conflict.

The politics of fear can be a dangerous thing on many levels. Even though many people have been critical of the type of restrained and cautious approach shown by President Obama in recent weeks after attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, there is something to be said to having the parties contain some of their most basic political impulses when dealing with these matters.

Given how far Trump is taking this issue, it is incumbent on the debate moderators to let the voters know exactly where the faces of the GOP stand on these kinds of questions. Right now questions have been raised about the difference between Trump and the rest of the GOP. It will be important for the Republican candidates to state clearly and decisively where they stand on the many statements that Trump has made.

Winn for first time, Saudi women vote

At least 17 women have been elected to public office in Saudi Arabia, according to preliminary results published in state media Monday. Saturday's historic elections for municipal councils marked the first time women in the country were allowed to vote and to run for office.

The female winners include Salma al-Oteibi in the Mecca region, Lama al-Suleiman and Rasha Hufaithi in Jeddah, Hanouf al-Hazimi in Al Jouf province, and Sanaa al-Hammam and Masoumah Abdelreda in the Ahsa region.

Despite the new rights extended to women, critics have said restrictions made it hard on women who wanted to run for office and vote.

Among other things, women complained of difficulties proving identity and residency and a limited number of registration centers, according to Human Rights Watch.

Female candidates also were barred from speaking to male voters and required to segregate campaign offices, the organization said.

In the end, 979 women candidates and 130,637 women voters registered to participate in the election, according to Saudi election officials. A total of 5,938 men ran for the local offices, which mostly oversee planning and development issues.

Voters will fill half of the seats. The King selects the other half, according to the U.S. State Department.

A significant step forward

More than 1.3 million men registered to vote, according to the Saudi government.

The move to allow women to vote has been described as a step forward for equality in the male-dominated kingdom.

"Saudi women have faced significant obstacles in their fight for their right to vote and run in the municipal council elections, but their participation on December 12 will send a strong signal to Saudi society that women are continuing the long march toward greater participation in public life," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for Human Rights Watch, said in a statement last week.

Women's roles changing

Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Sunni Islam has given rise to an informal system of male guardianship over women that requires women be accompanied by a male guardian to travel or go to school.

They are required to cover their heads, and may not drive.

Still, the role of women in the kingdom has slowly been evolving.

Saudi officials first proposed allowing women to vote in 2005, according to Human Rights Watch. The late King Abdullah, who died in January, issued a decree in 2011 ordering that women be allowed to vote in municipal elections and stand as candidates.

Two years later, he ordered that at least 20% of seats in the Consultative Council be set aside for women. The council advises the King and can propose laws. He appointed 30 women to the council a month later, according to the U.S. State Department.

The number of women in the Saudi workforce also has been increasing, from 23,000 in 2004 to more than 400,000 in 2015, according to the government.

Honduras national team soccer player Arnold Peralta shot dead at shopping mall

Honduras national team soccer player Arnold Peralta has been shot dead while on vacation in his home country, officials said Thursday.

Peralta, 26, was shot in a shopping mall parking lot in La Ceiba, but no suspects have been identified.

"We won't rest until those responsible for this act are identified and detained so that they can face justice," the government said.

Authorities did not say what day Peralta was killed and have ruled out robbery as a motive, since Peralta's belongings were not taken from him.

The 26-year-old played as a midfielder for the Honduras national team and for C.D. Olimpia, a club based in Honduras' capital, Tegucigalpa.

Among his former club teams was Scotland's Rangers F.C., which he left in January after arriving in the summer of 2013.

Rangers FC

The Glasgow club said it would observe a minute of silence for Peralta before its home match Saturday against Greenock Morton F.C.

Honduras has topped the list for the world's highest murder rate in recent years, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime has said.

International teammate Boniek Garcia -- who plays for Houston Dynamo in MLS -- was one of the first to pay tribute.

"Rest in peace brother, God will receive you in heaven, you will stay in our hearts. Strength to the family," he tweeted.

Boniek Garcia

His club Olimpia also paid its respects.

"We deeply regret the death of our player Arnolt Peralta. The Olimpia family is in mourning," it said on the club's Twitter page.

Club Olimpia 

MLS side Seattle Sounders was another club to pay its condolences.

"Our thoughts go out to Olimpia and the friends and family of Arnold Peralta," they said.

Seattle Sounders FC

Another international teammate, and former Premier League star, Hendry Thomas paid tribute.

"What sad news. Rest in peace Arnold."

Hendry Thomas

China says no plans to stop blocking foreign web sites - Bad luck Zuckerberg

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been courting China assiduously -- learning Mandarin, welcoming officials to Facebook's offices and asking President Xi Jinping to choose a name for his then unborn child.

But, so far, there's little sign his charm offensive is paying off.

Lu Wei, China's Internet czar, says the country has no plans to stop blocking foreign websites, which includes popular social media sites such Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as some news websites.

"I can't change you, but I have the right to choose my friends," Lu said at a rare news conference Wednesday.

"I indeed have to choose. We don't welcome those who come to China to make money while smearing China."

"It's like a family who doesn't welcome unfriendly people into their house as guests," he continued.

Lu denied that the Chinese Internet was becoming a cut-off "Intranet" -- a common charge of critics who say that the country has dramatically ramped up its war on the open web through a vast censorship apparatus known as the "Great Firewall of China."

Activists say, that in the past year, regulators have shut down tools that allow people to access blocked content and threatened their developers, both in and out of the country.

No censorship?

Lu said China didn't censor online content, but like most countries, regulated it.

"If we really censor the Internet, how come our Internet user population and their reliance on the Internet keep growing?

"Let me tell you, China has four million websites, nearly 700 million Internet users, 1.2 billion mobile phone users as well as 600 million WeChat and Weibo users. Every day they post 30 billion messages. It's simply impossible for any country or organization to censor 30 billion messages."

But he added: "Not censoring doesn't mean there is no bottom line: If you touch that line and violate the law, you will be held responsible."

China's homegrown tech industry has thrived -- in part through creating heavily regulated Chinese versions of popular blocked services that many users find are as good if not better than their inspiration.

Instead of Google, Chinese users have Baidu; instead of Twitter, they have Weibo; and instead of Facebook, there's WeChat.

However, Lu, who was among the officials that visited Facebook's campus last year, didn't shut the door completely on Zuckerberg and other blocked tech companies hoping to do more business in China.

"We are open to all Internet companies around the world. As long as you don't harm China's national interests or Chinese consumers' interest, we welcome you and your growth in China."