PF Blocked in China: Increasing Censorship Methods

[Moridin]

http://greatfirewallofchina.org/test/

'The censorship methods used by the Chinese government are becoming more sophisticated, more refined and more extensive every year, involving an increasing number of local as well as foreign parties in their system.'

This is quite disturbing and sad. It would seem as the PF website is banned in China.

 

[vanesch]

That said, how do we know that the website in the OP works the way it announces it works ?

 

[neutrino]

It says my location is Australia.
(I'm not from Australia)

 

[MeJennifer]

This is quite disturbing and sad. It would seem as the PF website is banned in China.

Last month I stayed one month in China and I had no problems accessing PF.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

Free Tibet

I'd be surprised, aside from the politics forum there really isn't anything worth censoring on PF, is there?

 

[JasonRox]

Free Tibet

I'd be surprised, aside from the politics forum there really isn't anything worth censoring on PF, is there?

Wasn't pengwuino worth censoring?

 

[VietDao29]

Is that true? I cannot believe that sort of thing anyway. Why on Earth does that thing block yahoo.com, and also msn.com? And guess what, they also block Google... Aaaarrrghhh, what the heck are they thinking? Isolating from the rest of the worls I guess.

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

I think that the google thing is proof that it is not accurate as I am pretty sure that google has bent over backwards to meet China's censorship demands.

 

[Moridin]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2231101.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3548035.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4056255.stm

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

Hm wow, my bad. I thought that there was an article in the news not too too long ago about how people were mad because google was censoring search results per China's request. I guess they have gone to the next level since then.

 

[Gokul43201]

Hm wow, my bad. I thought that there was an article in the news not too too long ago about how people were mad because google was censoring search results per China's request. I guess they have gone to the next level since then.

No, I believe you are right. The news stories linked above are 3 (or even 5) years old.

This one shortly followed the first story linked above: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2254622.stm

More recently:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4654014.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4735662.stm

Other search engines like Yahoo, also operate in China: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6191171.stm

 

[Ivan Seeking]

There was recently an investigative report that showed Internet bars in China. [I know I posted this somewhere] If certain banned words are typed, such as the name of a banned dissident group, a red light and siren goes off, and you get arrested.

 

[Evo]

This is a good article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/09/i...efbf52347&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

No, I believe you are right. The news stories linked above are 3 (or even 5) years old.

Ahhh, heh. That would explain it.

Thanks a lot for noticing that. I could have sworn that they had access to google.

 

[Evo]

Ahhh, heh. That would explain it.

Thanks a lot for noticing that. I could have sworn that they had access to google.

They have Google, Yahoo and MSN, but the Chinese Government tells them what they are allowed to let Chinese people access. If you want to provide service in China, you have to do as the Chinese Government says.

 

[JasonRox]

Last month I stayed one month in China and I had no problems accessing PF.

I believe that depends where you are in China. Being in Hong Kong can help a lot if that's where you went.

 

[MeJennifer]

I believe that depends where you are in China. Being in Hong Kong can help a lot if that's where you went.

Nope, mainland China, and in different places.

 

[mrjeffy321]

I am inclined to say that the sites which are claimed to be ‘blocked’ are not 100% accurate.

When I was in China (the heart of mainland Communist China with giant pictures of Chairman Mao) I was able to browse around on the internet without finding any sites which were outright blocked.
From the connection point I was using in China, I know that yahoo.com is available (which is claimed to be blocked by the above link). I do not specifically remember visiting physicsforums.com while I was over there, if I did I would have defiantly remembered it being blocked. I was able to make a (what the Chinese might consider) controversial forum post from my Chinese internet connection using certain key words like “democracy”, “freedom”, and “protest”, but my door was not kicked in by commi storm troopers.
Right by the Ethernet cord which allowed the internet connection there was a sign which read something to the effect of “please respect the wishes of the People’s Republic of China was viewing the internet”.

But all of this was done from a hotel’s internet connection….not from a Chinese citizen’s private connection or local internet cafe. I think there is a difference in the way they monitor / censor the internet; they obviously must be using a different standard for American tourists than they do for their own citizens.

 

[MeJennifer]

I viewed PF at computers of Chinese citizens at their homes.
No problems whatsoever.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

There have been a number of high quality investigative reports about China as a global power and the forces for democracy operating within. I came away with two distinct concepts: First, the old guard in China is mostly gone, and those in power realize that China must change. But there is also fear of too much change too quickly, so the flow of information is being throttled with full knowledge that eventually this cannot be controlled.

[late edit: I should have said that the flow of information and other new freedoms are being throttled]

The other more disturbing point was that there are far too many young men as compared to young women in China, and when this happens in a society, we can expect an aggressive and possibly hostile/militaristic result. Of course, globalization does not apply to goods and services only; ie. Chinese men can marry women who are not Chinese.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

For example:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...0mar30,0,7657698.story?coll=la-home-headlines

In the old China of Tiananmen Square, this problem would have taken about an hour to resolve.

 

[scott1]

I'm glad P.R.C blocked PF.It's bad for Chinese users but at least P.R.C found the freedom of expression allowed on this site(but with cretin restrictions but still allows for unnecessary flame wars) is a threat to there authoritarian regime's power that they have to block it.