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China Blocks Google.com, Gmail, Maps and More During 18th Party Congress
DavidGilbert99 writes "In an extraordinary move, the Chinese authorities have blocked access to Google.com, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Docs, and many more Google services as the Communist Party of China holds the 18th Party Congress. The blocking of these sites was reported by Chinese web monitoring site GreatFire.org, which said, 'Never before have so many people been affected by a decision to block a website.' The latest move in a long line of disputes between the Chinese government and Google, it is unclear yet whether this denial will be temporary (like a similar one in 2010) or permanent."
it will be really good for business as the chinese people become more and more backward, thanks to the gutless dictators in the communist party.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Ratcheting up Internet restrictions is the norm during times like this. Expect VPN's in-country to also be strangely slower.
What's interesting to me are the new unconventional methods of restraint China always seems to be a pioneer in. It seems protesters throwing leaflets out of taxi cabs is a growing fear, so taxis are restricted in being able to travel around Tiananmen and will their windows locked, with some having control handles removed altogether.
I was present in China during the Arab Spring, when it was feared protest would spread. Any mention of a meetup place for protesters would all of a sudden shoot up the priority list for construction repairs. Many areas were cordoned off with armadas of street sweet sweepers.
Paranoia is an extremely inefficient use of ingenuity.
I got a catholic block.
If China doesn't want to have open communication with the rest of the world, oh well. The internet isn't for everybody, however I've got to ask where are the Chinese people in all this if they truly care?
"The Chinese 18th Party Congress was cancelled after attendees were unable to find where it was located without using Google Maps."
Now let these companies stand strong, don't budge, and the people will become restless, they will become angry, and they will revolt against their government. Irony. The thing they are trying to prevent will cause a spark that will lead to their downfall.
You have no right to judge.
Yes, yes we do. We have the right to say "that is wrong, you should stop that." Everyone does, about the actions of any political group (although they may be wrong, they have the right to say it). That's one of the things that "freedom of speech" and it's very very close partner "freedom of conscience", is all about.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
If China doesn't want to have open communication with the rest of the world, oh well. The internet isn't for everybody, however I've got to ask where are the Chinese people in all this if they truly care?
The ones who actually do something are either in the ground, in prison, or at the business end of an AK-47 in a "fun-time all-day (and all-night) exercise party" in fields or factories, or, if lucky, simple unemployed. The ones who care but don't do anything are, well, not doing anything, for fear of ending up in the first group. That's why Internet access is useful, it allows them to speak out with less fear of getting caught.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
I wonder...
Billions in Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader Wen Jiabao
Tibetan Protests Erupt in Western China
The Communist Government of China Massacres Thousands at Tiananmen Square
Are comments disabled on this post?
No. I am in Shanghai, and Slashdot is not blocked. It is possible that it is blocked in Beijing, where the party congress is being held, but to the best of my knowledge, Slashdot has never been blocked in China. It just isn't popular enough here to matter.
Slashdot has never been blocked in China. It just isn't popular enough here to matter.
Yeah, its that way in Texas too. Rick Perry doesn't even bother to block Slashdot.
Sorry, but judging things is a fundamental human right. This is something that I have found largely misunderstood by my Chinese friends. They will say things like "There is no difference between the US government and the Chinese government, both are corrupt." While I agree with the corruption (although it is a much more straightforward sort in China), I think they miss a key element in the United States, i.e. we enjoy certain inalienable rights that they don't understand the benefit of, largely because they have never had them.
Americans, and really everyone in western style democracies are free to criticize and judge any government, religion, or belief they want to in a public forum. This is freedom of speech and it is the most important right we have.
I am not living in China, But I am a chinese and a member of the communist party. I think it is suck. I do not understand what are we fear for ?
I've got to ask where are the Chinese people in all this if they truly care?
The Chinese are no different from anyone else. They are happy to tolerate authoritarianism as long as the authorities deliver the economic goods, and the CCP has been extremely successful at that (greater than 10% annual growth for 30 years straight). It is no different anywhere else. The Arab Spring was not about democracy, it was about economic stagnation.
Until the Chinese economy has a major recession (which it will eventually), the CCP has nothing to worry about.
It's really none of your business unless you live there. You have no right to judge.
If China were Myanmar I might be inclined to agree with you, but its not. China is not an "emerging power", its arrived, and what she does affects people around the world. So, yes, everyone has a right to judge. I find it interesting that people around the world feel like they have the right to judge the US in exactly the same vein, so yeah, we have the right. Aside from the voluminous human rights violations and atrocities China commits on a daily basis inside, they've taken to picking fights with neighbors like Taiwan, Japan, and S. Korea, they have no problem voting down UN motions to censor and even deny aid to the people of Syria, occupying Tibet, and generally causing their own brand of mischief, so, yeah, I feel empowered to criticize them directly. Good thing I'm not a Chinese citizen, huh?
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Saying that anything is blocked or filtered is just a daily way of life there. It would be like reporting on someone receiving a speeding ticket.
It's really none of your business unless you live there. You have no right to judge.
This seems to be a recurring theme these days. If something is illegal in one place, they seem to think it must be made illegal everywhere.
Criticizing the government is illegal in China, it is not in Japan, Europe, the United States and the rest of free world.
Even worse, it is hypocritical, as you are more than welcome to criticize other's governments, just not China's.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
You have no right to judge.
Yes, yes we do. We have the right to say "that is wrong, you should stop that." Everyone does, about the actions of any political group (although they may be wrong, they have the right to say it). That's one of the things that "freedom of speech" and it's very very close partner "freedom of conscience", is all about.
There's also this thing about "needing a right" before we're allowed to do anything.
Even supposing the OP is correct, we actually have no right to judge, it's completely irrelevant.
We can do whatever the fuck we want, we're not limited in our actions to some inclusive list of "rights". The OP has rights that we can't abridge, but beyond that we're free to do as we please.
We don't have the right to judge (according to the OP), but we will do it anyway. China is wrong, their actions are less effective than actions based on freedom, and the sum total of all their authoritarian moves will eventually cause their downfall. Free regimes will outcompete authoritarianism in the long run in every case. "The illogic of waste".
it's difficult to tell what is blocked or just some problem...people always jump to conclusions, of course.
however, slashdot wasn't accisble for extended periods in the 2006-2007 period. if it was being blocked, the I find it difficult to beleive it was deliberate...more likely the blocked a whole netblock which happened to include slashdot. i don't recall any sensitive topics, but people spout all sorts of bs here, so perhaps there was a thread I missed.
Max.
What the hell hell part of "Communist " wouldn't a nerd understated?
I would say the majority of Slashdot have no clue. I see repeated posts calling America a 'police state' or if there is some censorship there is a cry that there is nowhere worse on the planet than the USA. Those that have never left their mother's basement have no idea what a real police state means, or what censorship means. It doesn't occur to them as they post their rants on a forum that in a lot of the world that forum wouldn't exist in the first place.
Rights are a myth. If your rights can be "trampled" or with-held, then they are not rights at all. All anyone can do is whatever they can get away with. I suppose the only right a person might have is to try.
I believe in karma, which is why, when I do something bad to people, I assume they deserve it.
The United States is not a democracy.
But we ARE democratic.
Also, no-true-scotsman fallacy. If a nation has a system where the leaders are put into power by the masses, it's a democracy.
Whine all you want about the oddities of the electoral college (and it IS pretty messed up), but people vote and have an influence, no matter how small, over who leads them. If the USA isn't a democracy, what is?
I am an American of Italian decent living in China. I am also an engineer and an attorney.
I find it interesting how many people who have never been to China often claim China is a police state. Yes, China censors the Internet, but that is because a large portion of the populace is uneducated and easily manipulated. Democracy is very limited in China, but that again relates to the low level of education for peasants in China who if allowed to vote would choose an incompetent government. On the other side, as long as you do not actively protest against the government, China is an incredibly free place to live: more free than the USA has been in 50 years.
China is incredibly safe. In my 10+ years in China I have never been in a situation where I thought the street I was on was dangerous; I cannot say the same about Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington DC. There are no arrests for public intoxication in China. Period. It is nearly impossible to be arrested for disorderly conduct in China. And if you do something wrong and apologize chances are 9 times out of 10 the police will let you off with a warning.
So yea, in the USA we have these great laws which allow us to march in Washington DC but then we have a government which spends more than it takes in, raises taxes and burdens our economy with high debt. Our government is actively enslaving our children by saddling them with a debt in the future to please curry favor with voters today. Watch during the next four years as the economy in China continues to thrive while the economy in the USA continues to crash. Then tell me which country is more free.
Get some perspective. As an American you are four times more likely to be arrested and imprisoned by your government than a Chinese citizen
As a Chinaman you are ten times more likely to be executed by your government. When they kill you they take you away in a van and your family never sees your body again. Many have speculated that this is so that they can break you down for your organs, which have signifcant resale value. Look up "chinese death van", and "black market organs" and read, read, read until you stop saying anything this dumb.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"