In some of the world’s toughest internet restrictions, the Chinese government has banned users in mainland China from accessing news websites from Google without using a virtual private network (VPN).
At a high-level political gathering this week, China will step up efforts to restrict software that allows users to access banned websites, a prominent supplier of firewall-breaking software told AFP. did.
Under some of the world’s toughest internet regulations, the Chinese government prohibits users in mainland China from accessing everything from Google to news websites without using a virtual private network (VPN).
Moreover, it has become increasingly difficult for VPN software to overcome censorship, even when compared to other sensitive political occasions, with hundreds of delegates this week attending the annual “Two Sessions” gathering. As people gather in Beijing, service outages have increased significantly.
“Currently, there is increased censorship in China due to political meetings,” a representative for Astrill, a Liechtenstein-based service that is the most popular VPN service for foreigners in China, confirmed to AFP.
“Unfortunately, not all VPN protocols are functional at this time,” they said.
“We are working intensively to get all services back to normal, but there is no estimated arrival date at this time.”
In China, it is prohibited to use a VPN or access prohibited websites without government permission.
However, diplomats and representatives of state media are allowed access to banned websites such as X, formerly Twitter.
Throughout the two sessions, security in Beijing was stepped up, with police patrolling the streets with sniffer dogs and senior volunteers wearing red armbands to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
Weibo, China’s giant social media platform, was also quick to block the offending topic.
Search results for all hashtags related to the Chinese government’s decision to postpone its annual press conference were immediately deleted.
Another comment about China’s economic woes, declaring that “middle-class children have no future” was also removed.
China’s domestic media is state-controlled, and widespread social media censorship is often used to suppress negative and critical reporting.
Regulators have previously urged investors not to read foreign news reports about China.
In a speech last year, President Xi Jinping said that the ruling Communist Party’s control over the internet was “strengthening” and that it was important for the state to “govern cyberspace.”
