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China Reinstates Wikipedia Ban

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the that-was-depressingly-quick dept.

Rob T Firefly writes "The International Herald Tribute reports that the lifting of China's Wikipedia ban earlier this week was short-lived. Wikipedia is once again inaccessible from behind the Great Firewall, along with all other Wikimedia projects. Additionally, the URL of Chinese Wikipedia is once again a banned search term. No reason has yet been given for any of it." From the article: "It wasn't immediately clear if Wikipedia was inaccessible due to technical glitches or because government censors had blocked the site again. The Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Information Industry did not immediately respond when contacted for comment Friday. Beijing blocked access to the English and Chinese versions of Wikipedia in October last year, apparently out of concern about entries touching on the country's sensitive spots -- Tibet, Taiwan and other topics."

7 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. Could be.... by otacon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Could be a "technical" problem...

    --
    In a world of acronyms, the words are the real victims.
  2. Never ascribe to malice... by jginspace · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...that which can be explained by incompetence.

    Whether the earlier opening up or this latest blocking is on purpose I don't think we'll know. According to the Chinese delegate to the conference in Greece two weeks ago no sites are blocked.

    1. Re:Never ascribe to malice... by krell · · Score: 4, Insightful

      " According to the Chinese delegate to the conference in Greece two weeks ago no sites are blocked."

      The same delegate would also be glad to tell you of China's wonderful human rights record, how much Chinese occupation has improved Tibet, and how China is democratic.

      --
      Where were you when the voynix came?
  3. My 2 cents by sheepcentral · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Slashdot ran a story on how the Chinese Wikipedia because so popular so quickly, now maybe I'm stating what some people must believe to be obvious, but maybe the Chinese gov't saw it as a treat to their power. If you think about it something so community based and free (as in speech not beer) could if it took off in a big way might give the Chinese a taste for unrestricted information, then if the Chinese gov't chose to censor it again then there might be protests etcetera and generally it might reduce their dominative power.

    --
    Michael-m.co.uk - Home of Michael Mulqueen
  4. Why Doesn't China.... by rm69990 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why doesn't China scan Wikipedia for certain keywords and just block certain articles? Don't get me wrong, I think China should be banning no sites, period. However, if China's government insists on blocking Wikipedia due to concerns that articles that touch on their sensitive spots might pop-up, why don't they at least make the rest of Wikipedia available?

  5. The Planetary Datalinks by SMACX+guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

  6. Re:Reflects Politics as a whole more like by Ash+Vince · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And the reason for the US invasion of Iraq or Afganistan was US citizens genuinely fearing for their lives?

    Please be serious, every ruling class has their own agenda and they very rarely tell the people they rule.

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    I dont read /. to RTFA, I read /. to offend people in ignorance.