In a speech commemorating a local human rights activist, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian accused Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. of compromising free speech in China to boost their corporate profits.

Chen called on the Chinese government and companies such as Yahoo and Google "to respect democracy and freedom, because it is the correct way to ensure continuous future development." Taiwan's president used an annual ceremony for activist Cheng Nan-jung as a platform for his contention that countries should not compromise free speech or freedom of the press.

Neither Google nor Yahoo responded to requests for comment.

In January, Google launched a censored version of its search engine in China, while Yahoo has faced criticism for providing Chinese police with e-mail messages that helped put a journalist in jail for 10 years.

-- Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service