China Blocks YouTube, Again

cryfreedomlove brings news that YouTube has once again been blocked in China. The Google-owned video site was censored in China last year because of videos about the protests in Tibet, and that may be the impetus behind this latest restriction. According to a New York Times report, "'The instant speculation is that YouTube is being blocked because the Tibetan government in exile released a particular video,' said Xiao Qiang, adjunct professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley... Mr. Xiao said that the blocking of YouTube fit with what appeared to be an effort by China to step up its censorship of the Internet in recent months. Mr. Xiao said he was not surprised that YouTube was a target. It also hosts videos about the Tiananmen Square protests and many other subjects that Chinese authorities find objectionable."

Comments

What should Google do?

[sabre86]

My initial response is that Google should just ignore the blockage -- stick by the free speech principles that they purport to support.

But it is my hope that Youtube, blogs and similar sites have a positive effect on subverting the PRC government's policies of censorship and thought control, even when censored. Wikipedia suggests that this is true, with sexual content becoming less censored around 2004. It's also clear that the Chinese populace is willing and at least somewhat to subvert such censorship, as indicated by the "Ten Mythical Creatures" meme.

So, though it galls me, perhaps Google should aim for some sort of middle of the road response to maximize the subversion of China's anti-free speech policies.

--sabre86

Re:What should Google do?

[Jurily]

My initial response is that Google should just ignore the blockage

When in Rome...

But it is my hope that Youtube, blogs and similar sites have a positive effect on subverting the PRC government's policies of censorship and thought control, even when censored.

Thought control is nonexistant. Chinese media may seem that way from the outside, but you have to understand that people are much more critical when they know it's controlled.

A seemingly irrelevant quote: "Strangely enough, Hungarians living outside of Hungary - especially those living overseas - never really understood Hofi's message. This wasn't because of a language barrier: it was a consequence of drastically different experiences regarding certain historical events."

He became a legend not because he was critical, but because he said what everyone in the country was thinking anyway.

Re:What should Google do?

[ShieldW0lf]

A seemingly irrelevant quote [wikipedia.org]: "Strangely enough, Hungarians living outside of Hungary - especially those living overseas - never really understood Hofi's message. This wasn't because of a language barrier: it was a consequence of drastically different experiences regarding certain historical events."

He became a legend not because he was critical, but because he said what everyone in the country was thinking anyway.

Every crazy leader you've ever heard of was like that. We get more and more dissatisfied with living under the system we're in, until one day, some madman who doesn't care about political correctness stands up and says "We're all thinking the same way, lets get those motherfuckers!", and everyone follows them because they were the sanest person who was willing to lead them against their enemies.

It has to be a madman, because they're the outsiders. The insiders are paralyzed into indecisiveness by what they stand to lose, and are crippled by their tendency to use traditional methods to achieve their goals, which is a liability when you're trying to create a fresh new system.

China have censored part of the internet?

[Hasney]

I'll alert the presses!!!!!

The real story

[Ukab the Great]

Secret footage of Mao Tse-Tung wearing a really comfy pair of Italian loafers. The Tibet stuff is a cover story.

Tiananmen Square

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't believe this isn't talked about more. I can't believe it didn't come up before they decided to let them host the Olympics.

You guys know they put a bunch of farm boys into tanks and had them roll into Tiananmen Square and start shooting students, right? Shooting from their tanks onto balconies.

What do you think happened to that guy standing in front of the tank (you know the picture)? You think he's still alive? Can you imagine the courage it took to do that?

And the world rewarded these murderers with the Olympic Games.

In soviet ...

[houghi]

In Soviet America sites block you.

(I am glad I can't moderate myself, as I would have no idea wether this is troll, funny or insightfull. Oh well. I have way too much karma anyway.)

Great firewall of... wtf?

[girlintraining]

Okay, seriously; They've invested tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars into a national infrastructure informally known as the "Great Firewall of China". And yet they block sites wholesale rather than by keyword, URL, or a dozen other possibilities? If they're trying to keep this as transparent to the population as possible, why constantly block and unblock popular sites? It just compels people to ask the question "Why do they keep blocking/unblocking this site?" And the answer is only a google query away.

I'm not arguing for or against censorship here, I'm merely pointing out that it's difficult to imagine that they lack the most basic capabilities of censorship software that is sold commercially and globally elsewhere, and that it is not technically challenging to impliment those features. Why spend millions on an infrastructure item that lacks even the most basic features needed for its intended use?

Re:Great firewall of... wtf?

[hengdi]

It IS transparent to the population of China. I live here, and its just not an issue even with the net-addicted teenagers I teach every day. They all use Chinese video sites, and the only people annoyed by this are us westerners.

Think of it this way: how many Chinese language sites do you go to every day? Would you notice if a few got shut down? That, my friends, is the reality of this to the average Chinese person.

Now, if they shut down WOW, we'd have a revolution today!

Re:Great firewall of... wtf?

[sakdoctor]

Youtube isn't globally popular:
http://www.youku.com/

Facebook isn't globally popular:
http://www.zhanzuo.com/

MSN messenger isn't globally popular:
http://www.qq.com/

And in fact there is a cloned super-sanitized version of every web service that exists, so the majority of people just don't notice or even care.

Re:first

[severoon]

I guess the YouTube posters got all cocky when "The River Crab Wears Two Watches" and "Grass Mud Horse" didn't get it blocked...

This is an unfortunate development. For a bit there, it looked like China might be going more open, but I guess the infantilization of their people is more important. :-/