The Great Firewall Of China
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Coming from a country where there is almost no censorship to speak of, Beijing is taking abit of getting used to.
I am currently using the hotel's complimentary (at least I hope it is) in-room computer to browse the internet. I've read about the heavy online censorship and can now proudly confirm it's all true. I can't access BBC.com, Wikipedia and all blogs hosted by Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad etc. It's all very vexing, especially the blogs which are my daily bread. Ironically, I can't even view my own blog even though I can make entries to my little heart's content. And while BBC.com is banned online, BBC World is being aired on the telly. Go figure.
I brought it up to Hubs and he says it's possible to by-pass the local server and access the no-no sites via foreign networks. Or something. I got lost when he mentioned proxy network and access cards.
Sonny-boy's not a happy camper in this aspect either. His beloved CeeBeebies website, which is under the umbrella of BBC.com is off-limits too. Yes, I can see how a site which contains The Tweenies, Bob The Builder, Charlie and Lola, Clifford the Big Red Dog can be lethal to the morals of the average citizen. Thank goodness the Dutch children's sites are still accessible.
Anyhow, I'm still being optimistic - perhaps it's just the hotel's firewall that's blocking us and not the Great (Fire)Wall of China itself.
We'll see when we move into our own apartment.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 5:47 am
Anyway, enjoy your 18 months there. At least you can get to know your roots. Learn more of real Chinese cuisine.
Are still 'dutchess'? or something else......
: January 09, 2008 4:25 am