{"id":10014,"date":"2014-05-20T07:48:26","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T11:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=10014"},"modified":"2014-05-13T07:49:13","modified_gmt":"2014-05-13T11:49:13","slug":"internet-censorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/internet-censorship\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to the Internet in China – Censorship"},"content":{"rendered":"

For foreigners visiting or living in China, the internet can be a frustrating and confusing place. Popular websites in the West are blocked in the Middle Kingdom – no Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube allowed. The “Golden Shield Project<\/strong>” (\u91d1\u76fe\u5de5\u7a0b -j\u012bn d\u00f9n g\u014dng ch\u00e9ng) is an internet surveillance and censorship program ran by \u00a0the government’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS). More commonly referred to as the “Great Firewall of China<\/strong>” (\u00a0\u9632\u706b\u957f\u57ce – f\u00e1ng hu\u01d2 ch\u00e1ng ch\u00e9ng), this is the reason you will get an error message in China if you try to do a search on the Tiananmen Square incident of 1989 or the Dalai Lama. As of 2013, it is estimated that China employs around 2 million “internet police.”<\/a>\u00a0To put it into perspective, there are more people policing the internet in China than there are armed forces.<\/p>\n

\"Some<\/a>

Some info on China and the internet. – Photo from GDS Infographics on Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

Let’s take a closer look at the issue of internet censorship in China.<\/p>\n

History<\/h2>\n

Back when China began economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping, the famed leader had a saying he particularly enjoyed:<\/p>\n

“If you open the window for some fresh air, you have to expect some flies to blow in.”<\/h4>\n

\u6253\u5f00\u7a97\u6237\uff0c\u65b0\u9c9c\u7a7a\u6c14\u548c\u82cd\u8747\u5c31\u4f1a\u4e00\u8d77\u8fdb\u6765
\nd\u01ce k\u0101i chu\u0101ng h\u00f9, x\u012bn xi\u0101n k\u014dng q\u00ec h\u00e9 c\u0101ng y\u00edng ji\u00f9 hu\u00ec y\u012b q\u01d0 j\u00ecn l\u00e1i<\/h4>\n

With more economic freedom in China came foreign investment and ideas, many of which conflicted with the ideals of the Communist Party. As such, the government would occasionally have to “swat flies” to protect its interests. This idea serves as the basis for the need to censor the internet in modern times.<\/p>\n

The very first e-mail sent from China in 1987 read, “Across the Great Wall we can reach every corner in the world.” W<\/span>ithin a few years, steps were already being taken to restrict it. Here’s a key portion of the initial regulations put forth by the MPS just a decade later in ’97:<\/p>\n

“Individuals are prohibited from using the Internet to: harm national security; disclose state secrets; or injure the interests of the state or society. Users are prohibited from using the Internet to create, replicate, retrieve, or transmit information that incites resistance to the PRC Constitution, laws, or administrative regulations; promotes the overthrow of the government or socialist system; undermines national unification; distorts the truth, spreads rumors, or destroys social order; or provides sexually suggestive material or encourages gambling, violence, or murder. Users are prohibited from engaging in activities that harm the security of computer information networks and from using networks or changing network resources without prior approval.”<\/span><\/h4>\n

Fast forward another decade, and you’ve got a highly sophisticated system in place where the government manages to maintain a tight grip on what can and can’t be accessed or said on the internet. According to a 2012 report called “Freedom on the Net,” China ranks third – behind Iran and Cuba – on the list of most restrictive countries when it comes to the ‘net.<\/p>\n

Methods for Censorship<\/h2>\n
\"A<\/a>

A common sight when surfing the net in China.<\/p><\/div>\n

So how exactly does China manage its Great Firewall and censor the internet? A variety of techniques are put in place, such as:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • DNS poisoning<\/li>\n
  • Blocking IP addresses<\/li>\n
  • Analyzing and filtering URLs<\/li>\n
  • Inspecting and filtering packets<\/li>\n
  • Resetting connections<\/li>\n
  • Blocking VPNs (virtual private networks)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Of course, China’s program of internet censorship is far from transparent, so there’s no way to know the full extent of how they do it. For more details on the various methods used and exactly how they work, check out this great article<\/a> from How to Geek. For an example of how complicated this issue is, take this into consideration – Google itself is not blocked in China, but the powers that be have managed to block certain search terms. You can load Google just fine, but you’ll receive an error message as soon as you attempt to search for something like “Falun Gong.” Go back again and search for something trivial like “Beijing roast duck,” and you’ll be given thousands of results. While you won’t be specifically told that searching for Falun Gong is blocked, it’s pretty obvious what is really going on.<\/p>\n