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Thread: Google inaccessible in China!

  1. #1
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    Google inaccessible in China!

    http://news.com.com/2100-1023-956243.html?tag=fd_top

    China appears to have blocked leading search engine Google, sparking speculation of a crackdown on Internet content viewed as subversive ahead of a Communist Party congress in November.
    The U.S.-based Web site, which has become popular among Internet surfers in China because of its simplicity and ability to run thorough Chinese-language Web searches, was inaccessible via Chinese servers as early as Saturday, users said.

    "It's being blocked out of Beijing," said one industry insider, who follows China's regulation of the Internet closely and used his computer to confirm and pinpoint the block.

    The government openly attempts to control Web content in China, where the Internet threatens Communist Party control over the media. It blocks several foreign news sites and frequently forces domestic sites to expunge content deemed unwholesome.

    Google was being blocked because searches could bring up links to pornography, content associated with the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong and information deemed harmful to national security, according to an article posted on Web portal NetEase.com.

    China's media censors tend to be particularly edgy during politically sensitive times, analysts said, and a Google block may be an attempt to sweep up ahead of the Party congress, which is expected to see sweeping leadership changes. It was the first time the government had blocked access to an Internet search engine, analysts said.

    "It's pretty surprising," said Nathan Midler, a senior analyst at International Data Corp in Beijing. "Google, as a search engine, doesn't necessarily conjure up the idea of a Web site worth blocking."

    There was no official announcement and officials at the Ministry of Information Industry were unavailable for comment. Google officials in California could not be reached.

    In May, China lifted blocks on the overseas Web sites of several Western news agencies, but other news sites and politically sensitive Web sites are still unavailable.

    Google has caught on quickly in China, becoming a top choice for searching Chinese sites alongside leading Chinese portals Sina.com and Sohu.com, analysts say.

    "It's a very, very popular tool and there's a major hassle factor," said Duncan Clark, head of Beijing-based tech consultancy BDA China.

    "But ultimately, in the run up to something like the Party congress, it's 'Batten down the hatches!'," he said.

    President Jiang Zemin met Party propaganda chiefs from around the country last week and told them it was critical to create a "good atmosphere" for the congress starting on Nov. 8.

    Unlike Sohu and Sina, Google's headquarters are in the United States and it does not yet have operations in China.

    "It's not like Sina or Sohu where all they need to do is make a phone call and they can remedy the situation. It doesn't even matter if they make a phone call, Google is not going to do anything as a result of it," IDC's Midler said.

    The Google block highlights the risks associated with the Internet business in China, Midler said.

    "Internet market growth can be hampered, and will be hampered probably, because of the government influence and the government's concern about controlling content on the Internet," he said. "There's a certain element of risk involved."

    Tough new Internet regulations and a self-censorship pledge taken in March by 130 major Web portals, including Yahoo, have drawn fire from critics who say they are sacrificing freedom of expression for business.

    Despite the apparent block on Google, Yahoo, which uses Google for searches, was still available in China.
    i think its funny how google is blocked but yahoo is allowed.....
    [shadow]i have a herd of 1337 sheep[/shadow]
    Worth should be judged on quality... Not apperance... Anyone can sell you **** inside a pretty box.. The only real gift then is the box..

  2. #2
    AO Curmudgeon rcgreen's Avatar
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    i think its funny how google is blocked but yahoo is allowed.....
    Maybe someone forgot to pay the necessary bribe.
    I came in to the world with nothing. I still have most of it.

  3. #3
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    thats pretty sad that people cant read what they want but their are many proxy servers being set up to help them out and ferreting software to sneak stuff in, if they really want it. thats about all we can do about it. wonder how long it'll be before americans give up the right to free information, to help stop terrorism.
    Bukhari:V3B48N826 “The Prophet said, ‘Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?’ The women said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is because of the deficiency of a woman’s mind.’”

  4. #4
    Senior Member problemchild's Avatar
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    Indeed.... we're not as far removed from these things as people think. And the fact that people believe it will never happen here is *precisely* why it's being allowed to happen.
    Do what you want with the girl, but leave me alone!

  5. #5
    Originally posted here by Tedob1
    wonder how long it'll be before americans give up the right to free information, to help stop terrorism.

    Good point, Tedob1....../me thinks it's already starting to happen. You now live in a country where police and intelligence agencies monitor what you read and can arrest you on suspicion of subversive activity.


    How long before google is banned in the US?

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    Damn Problem, I'm glad someone else here see's whats going on. I am so tired of explaining to people that there is no special, secret, magic fairy dust spinkled on people who happen to be born in America. These people will ignore the creeping loss of liberty until its entirely too late. I worry alot nowadays.
    \"Now it\'s time to erase the story of our bogus fate. Our history as it\'s portrayed is just a recipe for hate!\"
    -Bad Religion

  7. #7
    Damn Problem, I'm glad someone else here see's whats going on. I am so tired of explaining to people that there is no special, secret, magic fairy dust spinkled on people who happen to be born in America. These people will ignore the creeping loss of liberty until its entirely too late. I worry alot nowadays
    you are right.
    this quote makes me think:

    "In America, they first came for the hackers, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a hacker. Then they came for DeCSS, and I didn't speak up because I didn't watch DVDs. Then they came for Napster and MP3, and I didn't speak up because I didn't listen to MP3s. Then they came for the cryptographers and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a cryptographer. Then they came for the researchers and the curious, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a researcher and didn't question things. Then they came for me, but by that time there was no one left to speak up." --- Richard Forno, Washington, DC 2001
    *the wise do sooner what the fools do later.
    --Gracian

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    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/...in520314.shtml

    It's over folks.
    Hate to be a pessimist but you cannot deny the numbers.....
    \"Now it\'s time to erase the story of our bogus fate. Our history as it\'s portrayed is just a recipe for hate!\"
    -Bad Religion

  9. #9
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    Originally posted by: Conf1rmed_K1ll
    me thinks it's already starting to happen. You now live in a country where police and intelligence agencies monitor what you read and can arrest you on suspicion of subversive activity.
    Yeah, you can see it happen in New York already. They're asking everybody to carry their personal information (passport(s), etc.) with you on a daily basis...
    ...This Space For Rent.

    -[WebCarnage]

  10. #10
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    A friend of mine was telling me about how this irish guy he knows got arrested, well not "arrested" per se, but taken into custody in the Boston area because he and a friend of his were speaking Gaelic, a language the nearby highly-trained police officer couldn't identify. The ACLU is all over it, but still. Does speaking Gaelic really qualify as "suspicious behavoir"? It's shocking, really...
    \"Now it\'s time to erase the story of our bogus fate. Our history as it\'s portrayed is just a recipe for hate!\"
    -Bad Religion

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