Jul 08
You’ve probably heard about recent censorship of certain websites in China due to the sensitive anniversary of the 1989 “protests”. We’ve only just got some sites back again here in China, but it looks like as a result of the rioting in Xinjiang in the last few days, the net nanny has gone crazy once again and arbitrarily blocked various popular websites including Twitter and Facebook, much to the irritation of many Chinese netizens. All part of the fun of living in the PRC. On a positive note, I might actually get some work done today!
July 8th, 2009 at 12:33 am
Unless f5ing Facebook’s homepage is your job, you won’t get ANY work done! ps Add me on FB when it’s back!
July 8th, 2009 at 8:42 am
This is exactly the sort of website that should be encouraged in the current circumstances: get the youth of western China so addicted to the thing that they sit in front of the screen throwing virtual animals at each other or answering irrelevant quizzes 24 hours a day rather than going out on the streets and rioting.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:34 am
I’ve been thinking about this a bit more and it is bizarre they’ve blocked Facebook. I suppose they don’t want the news of what’s happening to spread around China and create undermine the harmonious society that we all enjoy here in China! But as CP points out, when Twitter and Facebook are down, what else is there to do except go beat up some innocent bystanders in the streets. In fact that’s what I’m gonna do right now!
July 8th, 2009 at 11:28 am
I am in Shanghai this summer on an internship and I am definitely someone who used to strongly dislike living in China (dirty, polluted, mean people, etc: I’m Chinese-American, btw). I’ve got to say this time around I’m enjoying myself immensely and meeting lots of people. I do have a big problem with this whole web censorship thing that happens sporadically. How else am I supposed to stay in touch with (er, stalk..) my friends? How do people deal with such minor inconveniences? Oh, and don’t get me started on smoking in clubs and restaurants.. but that’s a rant for another day. I want facebook back!! My productivity is going through the roof!
July 8th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Ren – If you have the right attitude then China can be fun. The trick is not to let petty things upset you (sometimes easier said than done I know). At the end of the day, Facebook being blocked isn’t really a life or death situation and there’s more to life than the Internet. It’s also temporary and FB will certainly be back soon.
Enjoy your Shanghai summer internship.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Yes very annoying! But woai most chinese people don’t use facebook. At least very few that I have met use it as there are the chinese copies available – like kai xin wang that Carrie was using yesterday. Pretty much the same thing as facebook but geared completely to a chinese audience. And its not blocked at all so these chinese are still amuzed and not ready to run out and beat the living daylights out of everyone….Its just going to be us foreigners out there!
Ren: interesting that you find the smoking so annoying. I say this because myself, and I think probably lots of other people that write here, have been in China since the laws back home have changed and so to us, smoking in bars/clubs is just the way its always been. In fact when I go home and no one is smoking inside although I think its certainly great for my health, I think it feels weird…..any one else agree?
July 8th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Yes, I grew up in London and lived there till I was 28 but I’ve never known what it’s like to be in a bar or club without smoke.
July 8th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I just want my facebook back. How ridiculous it can be to suddenly block the websites ‘they think’ are not good.
Trying hard to like Shanghai more in my 2-month summer intern as well.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
facebook was not accessible here in Europe at about 1pm Shanghai time; so, the outage is not necessarily related to the riots.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Tim – Many thanks for the information but it’s definitely the government here blocking Facebook. It’s very easy to test and we in China are used to it. Basically I could not access Facebook from China but when I went via the UK VPN gateway I was able to access and post things on it. Disable the VPN and the site is once again down.
BFung – You’re only here for 2 months, stop wasting time on Facebook and go out and enjoy the city.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
hihihihihihihihii
i can access it, but only at work, hahahahha
man im high today
July 8th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Shopgirl – It’s because your office network is routed through Australia.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
luv it
July 8th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
cant u update your blog more often, like i update it like 3,4 times a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
im so bored.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Shopgirl – I could update more often but I think once a day is really the maximum. Better to have one good post each day rather than lots of irrelevant uninteresting posts. Quality over quantity I am sure you can appreciate that!
July 8th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
My work firewall allows me to visit WoAi’s blog, but not Shopgirl’s. I think this underlines the last sentence of the previous comment
July 8th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
CP – I am not a big fan of text speak, but …. ROFLMAO!
July 8th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I didnt even get that joke
July 8th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
CP – virtual animals, love it! classic post
July 9th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
May be they just blocked it because of some new unrests in China?
For example unrests in Xinjiang these days….
Just like it was with Youtube at the time of unrest in Tibett…
It’s amazing how China still repeat everything what was at the time of Iron Curtain in my country. Politic of Isolationism.
That’s sad.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:43 am
popularity contest?
Facebook is such a waste of your time anyways! I am glad my work has blocked it so ppl don’t waste time on there oggling over their ex bf/gf’s photos or updates.
Linkedin is where it’s at!!
July 10th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Miss Jane – I think you summed up Facebook pretty well. The uproar in China is quite shocking. It’s Facebook!! I’d be more upset if they blocked The Guardian or other news site which I definitely need to keep up with world events.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
WTF???? R U TWO GAY OR SOMETHING????? JEEEEZZ WTF????? THE GUARDIAN???????????? I CAN ALREADY TELL THAT UR SOME GAY NERDY LOCAL…. “I DEFINITELY NEED TO KEEP UP WITH WORLD EVENTS” WTF??????
IT’S SOOOOOOOO GODDAMN ANNOYING THAT FACEBOOK’S BLOCKED IN CHINA!!! I’M CHINESE-BORN-AMERICAN AND I ALREADY LOATHE CHINA TO DEATH IN THE 1ST PLACE, BUT NOW THAT FACEBOOK’S BLOCKED, I HATE THIS DIRTY, DISGUSTING, POOR AND TOTALLY NOT DEVELOPED COUNTRY EVEN MORE!!!
UGH!!!!!!!!!!
July 16th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Chinahater – So for you, being able to access Facebook is much more important than say, catching up on world news and events? Your parents must be very proud of you. Just out of curiosity, what are you doing in China?
July 16th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
chinahater- what a wanker
July 18th, 2009 at 2:28 am
The locals tell us that if we complain then we should get out of China — ok, fine! But first reimburse all our expenses to come here, pay back the down payment of our apartment which they have charged for 6 friggin months, and finally the business investment worth 800,000 RMB that our boss paid. Because yeah, everyone of us in the company wants to quit but we can’t let our boss suffer just because suddenly we cannot do any more business because most of our client’s website abroad are not even accessible. Tell me, is this fair?? How can we write SEO contents for websites that we cannot even see without a proxy, and furthermore the next day, the proxy is blocked. Now, for other foreigners out there are u still considering of doing business in China??
July 18th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Ehi ppl, im here in china 3 years already, last year cos of the stupid comunist summit they cut all the overseas tv, its ok we must install the parabola, after cos of tibet cut youtube , now facebook….ok, use VPN, but why we dont go back to our contry and leave this ppl in the own s***,
Tanx china…..
after we will see who will start and run the nuclear plant, or hydroelectric station…chinese ppl? can forget…. just “close” my freedom, even on the net is bad things, is regime
July 21st, 2009 at 9:47 pm
DAHHHHHH I HATE CHINA! no, not really I love it other than you know, the facebook thing… or the youtube thing expecially. Like a few posts up, ya gotz to have the attitude.
I like seeing the many people around me and hot chicks! Now, I’m sad that I have to go back to America tommorow :*( Everyone’s so nice other than my home state… and school beah… oh well I’m comming back NEXT YEAAAAUUUURRRR!!!!
2 things China needs
1.websites
2.p0rn
99.more prostutes
yeah, I can’t count…
I is am Chinese American
September 19th, 2009 at 3:31 am
stupid foreign motherfuckers, if you hate China so much then pls leave my country.
October 13th, 2009 at 9:26 am
@WoAi – Do you know how to access Facebook?
October 14th, 2009 at 2:49 am
I’m not WoAi – but a VPN like Witopia or Itshidden will do the trick.
October 14th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
@Jen – As T suggests, Witopia or one of the many other VPNs available such as Freedur. Expect to pay around 40-60 dollars per year.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:35 am
@WoAi and T – Thanks for the infos. I was thinking VPNs that do not need to pay.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:47 am
@Jen – If you just want to browse then there might be some free proxy servers but the problem is, sites like Facebook where you need to make comments, upload photos and stuff may not work, so you have to have a proper VPN that fools the site in to thinking you are actually somewhere else.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
well i tried that some free VPNs but unfortunately useless itshidden also useless somehow its not connecting to server. till today i found so many ways to get access for facebook but now all of them useless as well. dont know what to do basicly i cant trust that VPN stuffs really somehow facebook must do something about this otherwise we gonna lose our contacts with our friends which ones i even dont have their mails. i didnt realized that someday suddenly facebook will be closed in here damn…
October 19th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
@Bug – If the only way you have to contact them is by Facebook then they are probably not very important friends.
October 28th, 2009 at 11:53 am
@WoAi – When do you think facebook will be unblocked here? It’s like you know, eh…..hahaha….
October 28th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
@Jen – It’ll be unblocked on January 27th 2010.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
@WoAi – How do you know the date?
October 28th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
I don’t know the date that was my best guess :p
October 28th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
That date reminds me of my friend’s birthdate.