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BEIJING – For Chinese Internet users frustrated by the government blocking of Western social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, the best way to communicate has been on microblogging services via major Chinese Web portals like Sina, Sohu, NetEase and Tencent.
Microblogging – short, punchy, Twitter-like posts that can be as brief as a sentence – has become an increasingly popular way to communicate. That is, until now.
There has been a sudden spate of temporary shutdowns of blogs in the name of "maintenance" – which many suspect is just another example of the government cracking down on the flow of information.
‘Sorry,’ no Internet today
It started with the microblogging service on the Chinese site, Sohu.com, which suddenly became inaccessible last Friday night and recovered service early Monday morning.
On Tuesday, NetEase.com, another microblogging site, had a notice saying, "Sorry, we are currently undergoing maintenance."
NetEase restored its service Thursday afternoon with its official notice "We have finished upgrading the system." But users discovered that the site’s old search function had disappeared.
The microblogging services on two other popular portals, Sina.com and Tencent.com, were not shut down. But a "beta" logo is appearing on both of their microblogging front pages, which means they are testing the service.
The shutdowns come just as the government-sanctioned China Internet Network Information Center released a report saying the number of Chinese Internet users reached 420 million at the end of June.
The speed at which Internet use is growing has made it more challenging for the government to monitor what people say and read online every day.
Early last year the Ministry of Industrial Information ordered that so-called "Green Dam" software be installed on all personal computers in China. The government said the software was meant to block websites considered inappropriate or harmful to users. But there was such an outcry from China’s netizens that the government was forced to abort the plan. And more recently, Google pulled out of China briefly due to a dispute over censorship of search results. The U.S. technology giant resumed business on the mainland this month after Beijing renewed its license.
None of these major portals’ spokesmen or editors has confirmed whether the government is behind the current spree of unexpected glitches.
The explanations given were either "system maintenance" or "upgrading," although the simultaneous timing is highly suspicious.
Bloggers still get word out
Gaoming, a Chinese tweeter, wrote on Twitter.com about the shutdowns. "All major domestic microblogging services have stopped their URL link functions. You can’t find any links on theses websites anymore." (Sophisticated Internet users have been able to access Twitter and Facebook via proxy servers.)
Another tweeter and popular commentator, Wen Yunchao, wrote, "Internet control policy in China can be concluded in one sentence: Trying as hard as possible to stop the spread of information."
But, despite the turmoil, Lian Yue, one of China’s most popular bloggers and a microblogger on both Sina and Tencent, said he’s still optimistic about the future of microblogs in the country.
"The government will definitely tighten their control over microblogging, but I don’t think they’ll completely shut them down," said Lian. "It’s hard to dig out the real reason behind this temporary shutdown, but it could be related to the change of the way information spread. Microblogging speeded up the information flow, but information censorship has always been there."
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During my most recent trip to China I had to uninstall all my anti-spyware and anti-tracking software before I was able to connect to the Internet.
How ironic...during my most recent trip to China I had to uninstall all my anti-std and anti-pregnancy hardware before I was able to connect to the Internet. Conspiracy? I think not!
Unless China addresses the SOCIO-CULTURAL growth in addition to economic growth in the long term, their reign as the decades most rapid rising power will soon end.
The clamp on information flow and cultural growth cannot be sustained. Social turmoil will result in economic instability if not erosion.
Wait-- but we let everyone and anyone speak their minds here, and our economy seems to be the one that's sputtering....how ironic.
It's not ironic that their country is doing better. We're taking care of thousands of illegal Chinese, as well as thousands of other people all over the world. It has nothing to do with how we communicate. I wonder how many illegals they have? The people there can't live off the system as we can. Or should I say...an American can't live off our system for long, but everyone else can. Now that's ironic. There are millions of illegals in California alone. Image how many are really here. Since the 70's our population has increased at an alarming rate. As for sensorship. We're all being sensored. HELLO!
Why do we let China get away with murder, literally [to wit: Tibet to Tiananmen Square and and way beyond] and, in the case of Shanhaiing the internet, figuratively! I mean, we certainly wouldn't tolerate legislation that would allow us to be monitored illegally by our government...oh wait...uh, never mind.
So what else is new?....................should this really surprise anyone? The Communists wouldn't be Communists without blocking open and free speech. They are a boil on the planet's ass, and they like to keep a docile populace under their thumb. It's a power thing with them I guess.
Yes, while they're population is "under their thumb" of the Communists as you say, the majority of us here in the USA are under the creditors thumbs for the rest of our lives....not sure which is worse.
You said it Jack !! Read this.......it isn't any wonder why the economy isn't going any where. The Middle Class used to spend us out of these recessions. They can't afford to now!!
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/the-u.s.-middle-class-is-being-wiped-out-here%27s-the-stats-to-prove-it-520657.html?tickers=%5EDJI,%5EGSPC,SPY,MCD,WMT,XRT,DIA&sec=topStories&pos=6&asset=&ccode=
Maybe ObaMAO ordered it.
Shouldn't dignify that with a response, but get stuffed.
I have lived and done business in China for 20 years.
It might still be a totalitarian dictatorship, but actually things have gotten a little better as time has gone by.
I remember when I was not allowed to carry a camera around 'sensitive installations' like developing ports, and I was not allowed a fax machine. The 'secret police' followed me around to make sure I was 'obeying all relevant laws'. It was a cranky, paranoid, and suspicious government and people were so afraid of it, they didn't talk politics at all, even to their closest friends because you never knew who they might be secretly working for.
Now you have bloggers speaking their minds out in the open, and while they might be thwarted to a degree, they are trying.
So you can't expect a former separatist Communist regime to let everything change over night. But it seems that a little at a time, things are changing anyway.
I have news for you flylowguy, my son in law flies there quite often. They follow him around as soon as he's off the plane. You can't change the spots on the Commies. Ever. Paranoid control freaks!
Only those who have something to fear suppress other people's freedoms. History reveals that freedom will eventually prevail over oppression.
Who is the idiot with the ObaMAO comment? Another clever far right GOP supporter with his brains hanging out his back door?
Because we have sold our soul to them. They own most of our debt. We have shipped our manufacturing and jobs to them. If they decided to call in our debt and stopped shipping us goods tomorrow, we would be floundering by next week. China owns us!
If they own the debt then that is their worry, if they own the real estate they cannot take it home so that is also not America's worry. America needs to repatriate all those lost jobs and closed down factories that were allowed to migrate to cheap labour countries for short term gain and long term pain. They are what made America a great power.
yep obammy is going to try this under the disguise cyber attacks the reason he wants to take over the internet, right around election time he will shut it down and say it is because of cyber attacts, clean your guns and keep them handy, Too Arms I say!
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THIS IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE...JUST THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.
I wonder what would happen if we all got off our (you know what's) and started communicating in person?You know...like we used to. I think governments like the fact that we spend all our time communicating electronically. It keeps us informed, or not informed, but so what? A computer is a powerful tool that contributes to our laziness. I think we've gotten out of practice of talking to each other face to face. We've said it all. We've seen it all. Now it's time to say hello to your neighbor again. Wow...we could probably even change the world. I know that's what we all want.
Does anyone out there know anything about Obama's last "Executive Order?" It's quite interesting to say the least! Before anyone spouts off about politics please do your homework!
I'm not going to tell you what it was about, I want y'all to do your own research!
Actually China has sold off some of our debt.........Japan now has more of our paper than China does.
I'm not sure I feel better.