Domestic hacking of Chinese VPN links is not the only hacking enterprise that the Chinese government is involved in.

Chinese government has bee expanding its hacking domain agross the globe by breaking and stealing sensitive data from western government networks for some years now.

Canadian and US government network infiltration by the Chinese government is only the tip of the iceburg. They are probobly wreaking havock in Europe and no one even knows.

Hey - at least the Chinese are not spending all day checking how many LIKES they scored on Facebook, but do actual work ;)

Sad really. If only China had lots of oil we could invade them, bomb them and liberate them.

Great that you can joke about this 'MrEurope'

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The Chinese goverment is completely insane

Its hard to know exactly what the majority of Chinese think about their government, or even if they dare think about it at all, but I suspect that eventually most of them will end up hanging from lamp-posts. When the revolution comes, its going to be a big one. By controlling information and communication, they are holding off the day of reckoning, but every little thing is building up the pressure for when the dam finally bursts. And serve them right, they have a lot to pay for.

This is a totalitarian state: what else is to be expected?

The Great Firewall here in China only prevents access to certain blogs, Youtube, Facebook and porn.

The reason the Chinese government restricts access to Facebook is simple: This unregulated website is an outrageous abuse of the internet...to allow a single corporation steal and exploit the personal and private information of unknowing citizens, only for many to be left hurt and psychologically damaged from the horrors of the jungle law they are exposed to.

The reason the Chinese government restricts access to certain blogs is that free speech still means something here (look for Julian Assange's take on it). The written word carries weight as the masses still respect authority here, they still listen and they expect their government to look after them. They dont have the same disillusionment as many western societies - they still have the ties that bind, (by the way, the Chinese government has already laid out its own road map for full democracy here in the next 20-30 years).

The reason the chinese government restricts access to pornographic websites is for similar reasons outlined above, the government takes care of its citizens. While women are respected as equals not objects for male pleasure, it is acknowledged that human nature would have a catastrophic effect on the harmony of society, so the abuse of internet technology for this type of profit is simply not permitted (even for the oldest trade in the world).

In short, Chinese government protects its citizens...western style democracy hasnt allowed corporations to take over here like in the west...no Chinese has heard of a VPN, because nobody cares.

Only a matter of time before technology will defeat the Great Firewall of China.

re: bigishwilly

on a day when a poor woman had her head cut off at random when doing her grocery shopping, your blog is by far the most depressing thing i've read all day.

an increasingly wealthy nation of highly nationalistic, brain washed drones is a major worry: cold war mark 2 coming up...

.no Chinese has heard of a VPN, because nobody cares.

I wonder why they are being blocked then?

Are you a sock puppet bigishwilly by any chance? Your maundering brand of propaganda doesn't work outside the great fire-wall of china.

It's happening, it's just this story is already a bit late to the party, so-to-speak.

information wants to be free. now, where's my dislike button?

I imagine Hollywood is looking enviously at China where VPNs accessing "the wrong data" can be closed down. On a very related theme I have heard that iPredator has been blocked by some ISPs - anyone provide update?

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The real joke is... everybody in China knows how to bypass the firewall somehow or another and can view the content they want.

Maybe they use proxies, maybe they use mirrored websites which arent blocked. Perhaps they use TOR underground networks... Or maybe you can type in a web address and have the pages emailed back.. this just makes the whole censorship effort worthy of a massive stonking "FAIL" stamp in red ink

All this censorship talk is sounding like the Chinese Government have been reading up on TalkTalk's broadband agenda.

Revolution in China is unavoidable, the richer their state-controlled makes people, the more they'll want to change it.

Think we could help them along?

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dirkbruere 13 May 2011 6:44PM

I imagine Hollywood is looking enviously at China where VPNs accessing "the wrong data" can be closed down. On a very related theme I have heard that iPredator has been blocked by some ISPs - anyone provide update?

A lot of torrent sites don't work with IPredator (obviously).!

Well I have just come back from China for 3 months. I paid for loads of VPN software and they were all eventually broken by the Chinese firewall.
They also censor HK tv channels, in mid air its all so confusing when you are watching the news and they cut to commercials right in the middle

Unfortunately, the small minority in favour of the revolution are greatly outnumbered by the population loyal to the authorities.

Do not believe all you read in the western press.

@bigishwilly

Let's get real.

When I was in Wuhan China my fellow workers hired prostitutes at 1000 yuan a night, all contacted on a website called something like "Girls of Wuhan.'
I guess the Chinese Govt. missed that one although it is more likely that some high party member ran it. That was probably how they paid for the Ferraris and Bentlys they drove around in, in a country where a waitress was paid $75 a month (no tips) for a six day week. Your communist party paradise is nothing but a fascist dictatorship involved in tooth and nail capitalism. That is why they suppress personal interaction via the internet, they are terrified that someone will take away their monopoly. BTW I love the Chinese and enjoy my visits a great deal

Adrastos
13 May 2011 7:09PM

Unfortunately, the small minority in favour of the revolution are greatly outnumbered by the population loyal to the authorities.

Do not believe all you read in the western press.

It only takes a small team to hack Chinese networks back to stone age, so I wouldn't place my bets on the loyal numbers!

Free Internet & free Ai Weiwei. Ai has been under arrest since 3 April.
Several friends and colleagues have also disappeared.

The guys running around in the Ferrari and Mercedes are not necessarily party members, they might be paying for the privilege but the number of Chinese joining the various Rich Lits is nothing to do with the party running it. The sale of apartments, the high rise blocks where the level of luxury improves according to the foor level is a direct result of allowing the businesses a greater freedom.

All within te constraints of the government guide lines.

Persian HASH

Do not believe all you read in the western press.

Perhaps the usa should sponsor some tor nodes around the place, cos the bandwidth is really poor...

Adrastos
13 May 2011 8:27PM

Persian HASH
Do not believe all you read in the western press.

I do and I don't . As a rule of thumb, just read between the lines and interpretations are almost always similar.
Back to China, I am a frequent visitor to this "bubble".

Why is Chinese net censorship such big news when western countries are all about to do the same thing?

The USA, EU and Australia all have plans for the same thing. Many of us have been warning people about this for ages but generally get decried as paranoid conspiracy theorists.

USA info.
EU info.
Australia info.

Coming to a so-called democracy near you and sooner than you think. You have been warned.

This is really annoying.

Their relationship with Google seems ever more vindictive. Since this recent campaign started I often struggle to be able to get into my email (google).

Historically, there are a variety of ways of being able to use things like Youtube or Facebook here. Since last week they are not working 90% of the time.

Expats are worried as we have heard that Skype has long been in their sights. I would expect another attack on that in the near future.

It is staggering how firmly they seem to believe they can control something which by its nature is anarchic. It seems like if you throw enough people at it...

The largest army in the world? No guns required, might just be sat behind computer screens across China....

-Certain websites are banned in China for mostly financial reasons. The state owns many enterprises and doesn't want millions of dollars of advertising revenue flowing to the US.

-Since the creation of the Republic in 1921, this concept of China includes massive minority areas. Rightly or wrongly to suggest that China be anything less is at odds with the idea of the China in the minds of most Han. So to suppress the discussion of minority self determination is therefore seen as right, patriotic and doing one's duty for their nation.

my blood runs cold whenever I see headlines like this.

This started a few months ago, though. My VPN provider was hacked, and I changed to a much better service. So far so good - but no doubt the government have their brainwashed IT drones working on the 'problem'.

I would dearly love to see these fuckers' head on poles in Tianmen Square.

Does anyone know if anyone's tried hacking the Firewall?

Dear Jim'll Fix It . . .

I may as well be in f*cking China my internet speed is so shit.

I'm confused. Does this mean that the gov. can disrupt a VPN connection, or only detect it? I've not noticed any change at all to my VPN service.

It's certainly true that Gmail and Google sites in China have become very unstable when not using a VPN -- not all the time but just enough to make their use inconvenient.

Also, I've noticed the Guardian website is unstable when there's a China story on the homepage. The front page loads OK but most of the story links are disabled. Then, reloading the homepage becomes very slow.

Has anyone else noticed this?

there's a revolution coming........................

@bigishwilly it's like throwing a joaza into Tianamen square....no?

Who cares their goddam business?

Worried about China spying on their own citizens? Worry about your own governments doing the same....and we live in a "free" society, that is what they tell us...

A few absolute misnomers here...

1. The Internet in China is a joke in terms of speed and access; this post is via a VPN;

2. The idea that China is a seething mass of frustrated democrats is utterly false; Chinese culture is, still, authoritarian/curmudgeonly/pernicious. Cheating is ever present at all levels of society, irrespective of background or education.

3. The Communist Party have no realistic challengers, as there are no rival power bases at all. Their paranoia about criticism mainly springs from the Chinese obsession with "face", to which criticism - no matter how valid - is anathema. This is the key aspect of this country's dysfunctionality., which has held it back for four centuries.

@arkitkt

Free enough to complain about it on a news website.

@shanghaibobs

The Chinese government can detect and disrupt a VPN connection. My current VPN in China had been very reliable and stable for a number of months until last month when it was blocked for a few days. Luckily my VPN company sent an emergency VPN line and then got the old one back up to speed. Proxies are very popular and usually last for a few weeks before being blocked. It is like a game of Cat and Mouse.

My experience of not using the VPN in China to read the Guardian has been positive and I can't recall many times that any content has been blocked.

While I don't agree with the concept of blocking the internet and an entity holding so much power, it has to be said the China is very different from the West, especially regarding growth, expectations and nationalism. The Chinese alternatives to YouTube and Facebook do give opportunities to Chinese businesses although it does make it easier for the Chinese government to impose restrictions for content on these websites. As an emerging economy, a degree a protection for business can be a good thing and allow Chinese business to start and evolve without foreign firms wiping them out with superior knowledge and large access to resources.

Also, don't assume that Chinese people don't know what is going on in their country, many are well aware of it... and don't naturally assume that Chinese people want a Western style democracy. The Chinese government has to constantly provide more and more to its people to keep them content and prevent uprisings and chaos. In the future, this will become increasingly difficult, and I only think that a big shift towards more transparency and accountability will prevent a complete meltdown.

I really enjoy living in China (no doubt it is a lot easier for foreigners) and it is a little like the "Elephant' in the room regarding government and control. If the British people were offered 8-10% growth per annum and improvements in their overall quality of life, surely they would be happy to surrender some degree of control and allow a government that is focused on pushing the country forward rather than winning the next election through whatever means they can.

"Face" is a cultural tick based on rigid social hierarchies and is the determining factor in every interaction in China. I gain Face if you lose it. I give face by admitting your superiority. It is a zero-sum game and is a factor in everything from the Opium Wars to internet censorship.

This sort of stuff makes western businesses nervous, regarding secure communications back to HQ, not to mention visiting execs and vp's.

They may want to exempt business hotels, or conduct business by phone...

I wonder if chinese government is as bad as most articles we read in western world, why has not it been overthrown by their billions citizens? Especially nowadays, direct communications between China and rest of world increase by trades, tourism and international students, etc. Western democracy is not a new word for their people, for sure.

Yes they have blocked my VPN at the Shanghai Library, it still seems to work at home though.

I hope the US cracks the censorship, even the english-language papers here have the most paranoid and hateful rhetoric about the West, you guys have no idea the mission they are on for world-domination - I don't think the west will realize until it's to late!

Massive espionage programs reported into the US military last week, and British universities (James Dyson) last month; new stealth jets and DongFeng missles that can break the sound barrier and take out aircraft carriers.

The people here are the most incredibly racist I have ever met - I had no idea before moving here - had the hollywood image of wise kung-fu hero's.

I think if the internet censorship was cracked it would really help lift some of the ignorance that is breeding very scary nationalism here (think national socalist)

@Mr. Europe - they don't work particularly hard here for the most part - there's just lots of them; though I'm sure its a different story in Shenzhen factories/Foxconn; and there are plenty of Chinese facebooks - are you sure it's planet Europe you're on?!

@bigishwilly - your more crazy than your Chinese govt employer! They have stopped blocking porn now - presumably as it keeps people distracted from more important concerns, those are not the only sites they block - they block web-pages indiscriminately that have even a hint of subversion - e.g. Rinse FM! But they do employ lots of cheerleaders like you to prowl around threads!

@Boozle:

I think it's true that Chinese people will remain satisfied so long as their standard of living continues to rise. However, only a fool would expect that level of growth per annum to continue.

If I can see it, the authorities here certainly can. I believe they are merely buying time while they figure out what to do next.

Representative government is not perfectly efficient and not the same in every place. However, it is the most resilient and flexible form of government. It seems to work pretty well in Taiwan.

I would be surprised if this had not been a topic at conversation at the highest levels here. The trick is to introduce it smoothly, without widespread chaos while keeping all the vested interests happy.

The top guys in BJ are not all monsters. Change is inevitable. The question is when and how.

This is CCP in blind panic mode and just the latest of many desperate acts over the last few months, some of which are almost comical: the disappearance of Confucius, the banning of jasmine flowers. But like any terrified animal, this is when they are at their most dangerous.

Ironically, they see an enemy where there isn't one. They seem to forget the incredible job they have achieved in creating a nation of unquestioning children. But now they risk alienating the expats, which just shows how far they are prepared to go. They know that this society only functions because of the foreigners who keep everything going (while we pretend that we are just 'helping') and they are obviously gambling with losing that. If that happens, the huge illusion, that is "China" ,will finally be revealed.

The next step (if this carries on much longer) will be the patriotism card. I just hope the Japanese people who live in China see the writing on the wall before it happens, and get out. Their "kristallnacht" cannot be too far away now.

@Shanghaibob

Yes...a month ago it was impossible.... 'they' let the Guardian homepage load - & that was about it! Not even the football page would load.
I don't even bother trying to use a link to an Aiweiwei story now...

During that recent sticky patch there was some accessable China "news'
- like the British-style royal weddings in Shanghai & all that wealth creation guff....

The Guardian are in on this though. I mean... they are looking the other way.

If I were a world news editor or website bod I'd have the China correspondents checking relevant links fairly regularly. If their reports back to Farringdon were negative any puff pieces from Xinhua would also fail to load.

If the autorities are reading this... please hurry up & block analnippon.com !
Although it doesn't have "face" or "book" in the URL - I think it might be harmful...

(makes you wonder what their blacklist criteria really is...)

I work as a teacher in China. The net is often blocked but the last week has been insane. We cant even get education sites like TES. I have a private VPN but the government here has slowed the whole net down. That said my kids all use the net and Facebook. The younger generation will always find a way around the blocking system. They love their I phones and I pads too much. Now they know what's out there even Beijing won't stop them.