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Man in China Sentenced To Five Years' Jail For Running VPN (theguardian.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tough-luck dept.

A Chinese entrepreneur has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for selling VPN service, a government newspaper said, as Beijing tries to stamp out use of technology that evades its internet filters. From a report: Wu Xiangyang was also fined 500,000 yuan ($75,900), an amount equal to his profits since starting the service in 2013, according to a report in the newspaper of China's national prosecutor's office. The Great Firewall, as the censorship apparatus is commonly known, means people in China are banned from visiting thousands of websites, including Google, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Wu ran his VPN service from 2013 until June this year and claimed to serve 8,000 foreign clients and 5,000 businesses.

42 comments

  1. Poor dude by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When in China...

  2. Oh China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What an awful country. I'm so glad that every big tech company is seeking profits there rather than isolating the nation until they give into at least some idea of reality.

    1. Re:Oh China by ZorinLynx · · Score: 1

      What good is that going to do? It hasn't done any good the previous several dozen times we've tried it.

    2. Re:Oh China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm so glad that every big tech company is seeking profits there rather than isolating the nation

      Yes, make things worse and worse for them until they become like North Korea, except with proven nuclear capability. That'll show 'em!

    3. Re:Oh China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      China doesn’t need US tech companies anyway.

  3. I try not to buy anything made in China by myid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I try not to buy anything made in China, even if it costs more to buy things made elsewhere.

    1. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by diesalesmandie · · Score: 1

      I try not to buy anything made in China, even if it costs more to buy things made elsewhere.

      May I ask why? Serious question

      --
      This is my sig, there are many like it but this one is mine
    2. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by Stolovaya · · Score: 2

      I would imagine because of labor conditions (Foxconn and their suicide nets comes to mind first). Unfortunately, it seems most technology companies use China for manufacturing, so it seems hard to buy non-Made in China technology.

    3. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      The guy in China who broke the law contacted me via VPN to tell you that, due to your efforts, he will be out of jail in 5.5 years, and "thanks."

      Oh, and to please start a gofundme page for him.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    4. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      LG and Samsung are Korean. There are choices. All iPhones are Chinese made.

    5. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by Stolovaya · · Score: 1

      Good point about LG and Samsung.

    6. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I try not to buy anything made in China, even if it costs more to buy things made elsewhere.

      I'm not too concerned about buying things made in China but the lack of free speech is one of the key reasons I would be reluctant to go live there. For all its flaws, one thing I really like about living in the USA really is being able to criticize the government and download porn without worrying about going to jail.

    7. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by myid · · Score: 2

      I try not to buy anything made in China, even if it costs more to buy things made elsewhere.

      May I ask why? Serious question

      I don't want to help China's economy. I don't want to support the economy of countries that have repressive governments.

    8. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by Desler · · Score: 1

      LG and Samsung both manufacture things in China.

    9. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by someone1234 · · Score: 1

      I thought they manufacture in North Korea :D

      --
      Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
    10. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by antdude · · Score: 1

      What tech stuff is not sold in China these days? :P

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    11. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by AHuxley · · Score: 3

      Re "May I ask why? Serious question"
      Who really wants to help fund a totalitarian Communist regime?

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    12. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by Jahta · · Score: 1

      I try not to buy anything made in China, even if it costs more to buy things made elsewhere.

      The sad reality is that globalisation has made this really difficult to do. Even if it doesn't say "made in China" on the box, the odds are that at least some of the component parts come from there.

    13. Re:I try not to buy anything made in China by myid · · Score: 1

      I try not to buy anything made in China, even if it costs more to buy things made elsewhere.

      The sad reality is that globalisation has made this really difficult to do. Even if it doesn't say "made in China" on the box, the odds are that at least some of the component parts come from there.

      You're right about most electronics being assembled in China. And good point about where the components were made.

      Raspberry Pis are "made in a Sony factory in Pencoed, Wales." And some computers, like the Mac Pro, are assembled in the US.

      There are also some non-computer items assembled in the US:

      - Speed Queen clothes washers and dryers.

      - Some Amana dryers.

      - Austin Air air filters.

      - Some brands of cars.

      - Not many clothes are made in the US. But a lot are made in countries whose governments are not repressive. I don't mind buying clothes made in those countries.

      - Also see http://www.usalovelist.com/ame....

  4. How long before it comes to the US. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I ask this because I see frogs in bucket of water on a stove. We already have (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersecurity_Information_Sharing_Act) this which theoretically undoes the onion router when combined with the repeal of network neutrality.

    1. Re:How long before it comes to the US. by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 2

      We already have (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersecurity_Information_Sharing_Act) this which theoretically undoes the onion router when combined with the repeal of network neutrality.

      Um, yeah. Remember, kids -- just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. Or something like that.

    2. Re:How long before it comes to the US. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I find it interesting the first responses to this article are just kind of jokes. Are things so bad in China that people aren't able to use VPNs despite the financial hit that the country will take?

  5. Sounds like he thought free speech was a right.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..turns out he was Wong!

  6. Let's not forget... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    that under China's new draconian social ranking system, he's likely a no one once he emerges from prison.

    Inside China's Vast New Experiment in Social Ranking

  7. Re:Sounds like he thought free speech was a right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like he has experienced the yellow peril firsthand.

  8. jail!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    China is a big jail for human rights, he won't see a big difference outside or inside!

    1. Re:jail!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least on the outside he had food choices. From what I understand of Asian prisons, fish heads and rice is not a myth.

  9. Chinese Impossible Triangle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1 profitable
    2 famous
    3 illegal
    You can only choose 2 of them.

  10. Nipplegate: US shocked by a female body part! by Mojo66 · · Score: 1
    Tolerance: all cultures are different

    Intolerance: my culture is always the right one.

    1. Re:Nipplegate: US shocked by a female body part! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So we should, what? Not criticize China for its tyrannical, authoritarian, corrupt government because it's not our culture? In that case, I guess we can't criticize our own government or the dominant culture in our own society, since if we disagree with them, it's not our culture, and we should tolerate all cultures, right?

  11. Small wonder by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    He should have used a VPN to run that thing.

  12. So much for Net Neutrality by AlanObject · · Score: 2

    Prohibition against VPNs is by no means restricted to China. In most of the Middle East you can be thrown in jail for using a VPN.

    They don't want people to bypass their firewall blocks for services like Skype that would undermine revenues for their Telco carriers. Which, usually, is owned by a close relative of the country's leader.

    1. Re:So much for Net Neutrality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In most of the Middle East you can be thrown in jail for using a VPN.

      Maybe in some parts of the Middle East where they enforce some minimal level of civilized order, but most? I'm under the distinct impression that most of the Middle East is under the law of the gun, not the rule of law. Would police even dare to go into tribal areas where they're unwelcome and likely to be shot for their trouble?

  13. Thats not my experience with the Chinese. by wolfheart111 · · Score: 1

    Its quite odd. Im sitting here on a poplular video chat app with dozens of Chinese folks.... I do this every night, just lounge around with them, chat and dance together... drink together. :) Pajamas.... From the comments I feel most of you have completely the wrong idea about what life is like there. I also feel theres more to this story than meets the eye... Man you should see some of their homes... everything is silk and gold... just beautiful.

    --
    [($)]
  14. So the rest of the world should avoid US goods? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    By this logic, should the rest of the world avoid all US products because you elected Trump? Or what US military did in the Iraq? Or because the various injustice that had happened in the US court systems? Or someone jails for some law in the US which one may disagree (e.g. drug laws)?

    How about which country you are still buying from? Utopia?

    1. Re:So the rest of the world should avoid US goods? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your mistake is thinking the US public gives two shits about what the rest of the world does or thinks. The US has had to listen to the rest of the world bitching, insulting, and complaining about all things American for too long. The US is criticized when they take action and when they do not take action. The US is the worlds largest scapegoat. Any time something bad happens in the world the US gets blamed. Trump recognized this and capitalized on it during his campaign. The US has become too predictable over the years and Trump has worked to change that. His frank and public criticisms of NATO and the UN is just a reflection of the US citizens attitude. He just says what a lot of other people wanted to say but decided to be diplomatic. And diplomacy is overrated and a waste of time. So far Trump has decided diplomacy is worthless with NK and the Palestinians. His actions have given Israel the power to solve their unruly neighbors problem. He told the NK Rocket Man he was one bad decision away from total annihilation which has the added benefit of scaring the shit out of China. The Chinese are actually enforcing the NK sanctions the US has basically demanded. Prior to Trump they never enforced these types of sanctions in the past.

  15. It's worse than you think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm living in China about 50% of the time for many years. The general public doesn't try to access international content on the internet that much, but those that do have a very bad experience. The internet in China is subject to 100% deep packet inspection. All connections to the rest of the world are monitored, throttled, or blocked. The only social media and messaging platforms allowed are the horribly compromised spyware approved by the government. All standard VPN protocols are automatically identified by the Great Firewall and throttle or blocked. The only VPNs that work are custom non-standard protocols that must continuously change to avoid detection.

    People who disagree with the government regularly disappear without any notification to their families. Let this be a warning to everyone living in the "free" world. It is a very slippery slope. Little by little, our privacy and rights are being taken away.

    1. Re:It's worse than you think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really ?

      I am in China approx. 2 months / year ( Shenzhen/Dongguan(Humen)/Xiamen/Qingdao) - I see quite well-informed peple, and they are well aware of the outside world. Actually I see US people being much more "US-centric" than the Chinese being "China-centric" - just check the new in US, 99% US-news.....

      In China they actually cover "foreign" stuff too.....Seems more more open-minded than US news in US.....

      And one big thing : The Chinese know they are far from perfect. But they are changing, fast. What happened the last 10-15 years is AMAZING. US ? - stckt.

      And China does not need the west anymore, they have an approx. US-size mid-income consumer group.

      No, I am not from US, I am European

  16. I try to persuade everyone not using china app... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But when I think of RMS's opinion, I know I'll never success...

  17. MOD UP ^^^ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MOD UP

    Parent is best kind of correct. Governments (all governments) are merely systems to govern populations through a set of rules for employing an exclusive right to the use of deadly force and/or imprisonment (sometimes with the consent of the governed, but often...not so much).