China Does U-Turn, Lifts Ban On Websites

krou sends in a Guardian (UK) article reporting that overnight talks with the International Olympic Committee have resulted in the Chinese government lifting a ban on websites such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the BBC Chinese language service "in Beijing, Shanghai and possibly further afield." Websites with information on the Falun Gong, Chinese dissidents, the Tibetan government in exile, and the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests are still inaccessible. (We've been discussing Chinese Olympic censorship right along.) Quoting: "A spokesman for Amnesty International said: 'It's good news that our site has been unblocked in Olympic venues and perhaps elsewhere in Beijing, but it is still a long way from the "complete media freedom" promised. It seems public outrage has succeeded where the IOC's "quiet diplomacy" had failed.' Chinese engineers quoted in an article in the Atlantic Monthly said they had been told to prepare to unblock access for a list of specific internet protocol addresses to used by foreign visitors. But Andrew Lih, a new media author in Beijing, said it seemed the authorities might have simply decided it was easier to lift blocks for everyone. 'It's possible [to block individual locations] but would be very complicated,' he said."

Comments

U-Turn?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's no U-turn. At best, it's a hard left.

Re:U-Turn?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's no turn at all, the ban will be back as soon as the olympic games end. This is a minor PR move which has no long-term effect. I mean come on, we've seen complete bans on entire genres of media this year in China. Is that all okay because a couple of wankers from the west are allowed to freely browse during the olympics?

This is really irresponsible reporting.

What better way?

[Anonymous Coward]

What better way to nail subversives ?

Let them convict themselves by allowing that whicvh is is deemed illegal in China ?
The Historical approach..

Interesting...

[The MAZZTer]

Didn't they say they were going to spy on visitors' traffic too? Nothing about that here, maybe they're hoping we'll forget.

If I was going, I'd take tor with me on my laptop. Also I'd buy a laptop first.

Public outrage trumps diplomacy?

[corbettw]

You mean people actually doing something had more effect than other people talking about doing something? Color me shocked.

Re:Public outrage trumps diplomacy?

[flyingsquid]

In the wake of the tragic earthquake that hit China, I'd be tempted to go a little easier on China during the games. But now the government is using bribery and intimidation by the police to try to silence the parents of those children killed by faulty school construction.

I can't imagine any worse torture than that. Your child was killed by a substandard building, put up by a corrupt government. And every month, you get a cash payment, a pension that reminds you of that fact. And it reminds you that instead of seeking justice, instead of standing up for what was right and for your child, you've taken the easy way out. Maybe you're a good citizen, but by signing that form, you've admitted you've abandoned all attempts to be a good parent. I mean, I would want my parents to move on past my death, but I wouldn't want them to be bought off either, I'd want them to tell the government "hey, fuck you buddy". And if I lost a child, I'd want to fight to fix whatever led to that, not just sit there in silence. I don't know. I'd like to think that's what I'd do, anyway, but with a whole nation telling me to be silent, would I have the strength?

I don't know the answer, but this just makes me despise the Chinese government with a renewed passion. And for anyone who cares to stand up and protest this while the Olympics are happening- for the Chinese government's attempt to paint a big happy face over all its atrocities and indecencies against its people and against the human condition, I applaud you, and I wish you well.

Makes little difference

[eebra82]

I sincerely hope that the Olympic Committee doesn't think this is a major success. As long as China remains blocking web sites and other types of censorship, they should be banned from ever setting up the Olympic Games while such governing is taking place.

I'm looking forward to the Olympic Games in North Korea 2012. Apparently, Kim Jong Il is expected to beat 52 world records.

Chinese Government to populous:

[Anonymous Coward]

We are no longer filtering Western propaganda. We want to show you how corrupt the Westerners are and how they lie.

We are a peace loving people who love freedom and human rights. The Western Countries are saying bad things about us because they want to keep us down.

Now, considering how nationalistic the Chinese folks are and how they consider that they should in fact rule the World, and the PC folks out there who are offended easily (they like it because they like to bully people), I expect this post to be modded down into oblivion. See current issue of the New Yorker for an article regarding the Chinese (especially younger folk's) attitude.

How to Lift a Ban For Commies

[Nymz]

1) Ban 1000s of websites
2) Unban 3 of them
3) Claim the ban is lifted, as the other sites are only inaccessible
4) Fail!!!

Note: for those not familiar with the pun - For Dummies

Why Tor?

[Sycraft-fu]

The Chinese firewall doesn't block encrypted traffic. A far superior solution is to simply VPN to somewhere. That's what I do when traveling if I am in any location that I don't completely trust (airport or hotel network for example). I SSH to a server I have at home and tunnel traffic through the connection. It is then as though I was surfing at my house.

Re:Can everybody swallow the blue pill?

[pxlmusic]

chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature.

Re:What better way?

[Ethanol-fueled]

(1) Allow the entire region freedom online while the Olympics are going on
(2) Profit!
(2) Remember which of your own citizens accessed dissedent material,keep tabs on 'em.
(3) After the Olympics leaves China consult the list of new dissidents.
(4) Have them quietly made into unpersons.

Sure, The Leopard Can Change it Spots

[curmudgeon99]

Sure, I get it. China feels like it is getting a black eye. So they think they can put makeup on that black eye by suddenly opening access. We're not fooled. They are a censoring country and they're going to stay that way. The Leopard can't change his spots and China is not going to change what they're doing.

Re:You really think China can break AES?

[Sycraft-fu]

Because they are new to the cryptography game and don't have the computing resources of many other countries. It seems extremely unlikely that even the NSA can break AES (given that they've certified it for top secret data) and when it comes to crypto, they are the best in the business. They are to information espionage what the KGB was to physical espionage. If I'd bet on anyone being able to figure out how to break a cryptosystem without anyone else knowing, the NSA would be my bet.

Regardless, my primary point is I find it extremely unlikely AES has been broken. It is an open algorithm that underwent an exceedingly rigorous selection process. Because of that, it was scrutinized. Once it was selected and made the official AES standard, it then underwent even more. As I said, it's the most tested cryptosystem out there. Thus far, it has held up wonderfully. So basically for a break to happen, there'd have to be a new field of math developed that would allow for some new way of attacking it. That seems very unlikely to happen, and I find it unlikely the MSS have already done so.

Re:You really think China can break AES?

[flosofl]

Because they are new to the cryptography game and don't have the computing resources of many other countries.

Well, these days raw computing power is only one way of breaking crypto. In fact, I'd say that it would be the tool of last resort. Much more common is looking for mathematical flaws in the algorithms. And when it comes to raw talent in mathematics, I'd put China up there at the top of the heap with the NSA.

Remember that Chinese researchers are the ones that discovered collision weaknesses in MD5 and SHA-1, and then found a computationally low (relatively speaking) method of creating arbitrary collisions with those same algorithms. Yes, they were "just" hash algorithms, but they need to be just as robust as symmetric crypto algorithms. So if there *is* a weakness in AES, I would be willing to bet that the Chinese already know it. (I'm not saying there is, AES should do the job fine over there).