I have done quite a bit of research into sending and receiving SMS to/from China in the past couple of years, partly because I lived out there until recently and mainly because needed to keep in contact with people in the UK, and now the reverse is true (so I can keep in touch with people there). As has been said in other replies this isn't down to censorship as some suggest but to do with peering agreements between networks.
There are 2 major Chinese mobile networks - China Mobile (CM) and China Unicom (CU) - although this is changing soon or may have already.
CU has a majority CDMA network, with a small (crappy reception) GSM network. CM is mainly GSM.
The Chinese mobile needs to have international SMS / Calling enabled on their contract. This sounds obvious but is easily overlooked!
I have tested with the following UK networks - O2, Voda (business contract) and Orange.
Sending from China to UK
CM > O2
CM > Voda
CM > Orange
all messages send from China, arrive in UK fairly soon after.
CU > O2
CU > Orange
all messages send and receive as above
CU > Voda
Couldn't get messages to arrive.
Now, from the UK > China, things were a lot simpler.
Orange > CU
Orange > CM
Voda > CM
Messages send and are received.
O2 > CU, CM
Voda > CU
No messages are received but report sent.
I have contacted both the latter networks, and although they have roaming agreements with both Chinese networks (to allow voice calls on users travelling in the others region) they don't with SMS, so they can't guarantee a message sent will arrive (so they don't). Voda told me they have no plans for this (odd, since it sent fine to CM), O2 said they were trying to reach agreements in time for the Olympics (which after a quick test now they haven't managed).
So in my experience, Orange in the UK and CM in China are the way to go. Orange actually have a PAYG tariff called "Camel" now which gives ridiculously cheap SMS and voice to China so it actually works out cheaper for me anyway.
Hope that is useful!
Sorry but that is crap. There were *thousands* of students at that event and in the weeks preceding it, and what do you think happened to them when they went home? Do you think they kept quiet about it, or rather they told their parents, friends, their parents friends? What do you think they did? And so on?
More people know what hapened then, and why, than popular media in the west admit to. Every year on May 4th (Childrens day) there are silent protests to remember the victims and why it happened. Just because you can't search for it on the internet without having your connection dropped doesn't mean the Chinese are ignorant of the date and the event. *They know* that next year is the 20th anniversairy, and so does the government.
I am sick of every time China is mentioned in a/. post, people start harping on about "human rights" and "t*b@t" as if the people who live there don't have a say in how the country is run, or that a country is entitled to make mistakes as it matures. We did it -the 19th century is littered with cock-ups from the current Western powers getting it very, very wrong. We learned, and moved on. China is less than a century old (post Qing) and frankly most of it was in a medieval state until very recently (precious T*b@t, for one, was a theocracy which had a history of being nasty to its own people). China is learning - and needs to be advised, not told what is right and wrong. You try telling anyone what to do and see what happens, usually they do the opposite.
That said, I think these devices, along with all "non lethal" weaponry are a mistake in any country. The number of taserings has shot up in the UK, Canada and the US recently, and for no sensible reason. The world appears to be getting less safe, more surveilled and there is more acceptance of what a few years ago we would have called "wrong" in the name of our freedom. Give a man a gun, he has to deal with the consequences of killing if he fires; give him a pain inducing sonic blaster, he will probably not think twice about pulling that trigger.
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I have done quite a bit of research into sending and receiving SMS to/from China in the past couple of years, partly because I lived out there until recently and mainly because needed to keep in contact with people in the UK, and now the reverse is true (so I can keep in touch with people there). As has been said in other replies this isn't down to censorship as some suggest but to do with peering agreements between networks. There are 2 major Chinese mobile networks - China Mobile (CM) and China Unicom (CU) - although this is changing soon or may have already. CU has a majority CDMA network, with a small (crappy reception) GSM network. CM is mainly GSM. The Chinese mobile needs to have international SMS / Calling enabled on their contract. This sounds obvious but is easily overlooked! I have tested with the following UK networks - O2, Voda (business contract) and Orange. Sending from China to UK CM > O2 CM > Voda CM > Orange all messages send from China, arrive in UK fairly soon after. CU > O2 CU > Orange all messages send and receive as above CU > Voda Couldn't get messages to arrive. Now, from the UK > China, things were a lot simpler. Orange > CU Orange > CM Voda > CM Messages send and are received. O2 > CU, CM Voda > CU No messages are received but report sent. I have contacted both the latter networks, and although they have roaming agreements with both Chinese networks (to allow voice calls on users travelling in the others region) they don't with SMS, so they can't guarantee a message sent will arrive (so they don't). Voda told me they have no plans for this (odd, since it sent fine to CM), O2 said they were trying to reach agreements in time for the Olympics (which after a quick test now they haven't managed). So in my experience, Orange in the UK and CM in China are the way to go. Orange actually have a PAYG tariff called "Camel" now which gives ridiculously cheap SMS and voice to China so it actually works out cheaper for me anyway. Hope that is useful!
More people know what hapened then, and why, than popular media in the west admit to. Every year on May 4th (Childrens day) there are silent protests to remember the victims and why it happened. Just because you can't search for it on the internet without having your connection dropped doesn't mean the Chinese are ignorant of the date and the event. *They know* that next year is the 20th anniversairy, and so does the government.
I am sick of every time China is mentioned in a /. post, people start harping on about "human rights" and "t*b@t" as if the people who live there don't have a say in how the country is run, or that a country is entitled to make mistakes as it matures. We did it -the 19th century is littered with cock-ups from the current Western powers getting it very, very wrong. We learned, and moved on. China is less than a century old (post Qing) and frankly most of it was in a medieval state until very recently (precious T*b@t, for one, was a theocracy which had a history of being nasty to its own people). China is learning - and needs to be advised, not told what is right and wrong. You try telling anyone what to do and see what happens, usually they do the opposite.
That said, I think these devices, along with all "non lethal" weaponry are a mistake in any country. The number of taserings has shot up in the UK, Canada and the US recently, and for no sensible reason. The world appears to be getting less safe, more surveilled and there is more acceptance of what a few years ago we would have called "wrong" in the name of our freedom. Give a man a gun, he has to deal with the consequences of killing if he fires; give him a pain inducing sonic blaster, he will probably not think twice about pulling that trigger.
Sorry, for my first post I ranted a little.