China Blocks YouTube
- Categories: International, News
- Date: Mar 26, 2009 10:13 JST
- Tags: Censorship, China, Internet, Politics, YouTube
Chinese Internet users have recently been completely unable to access YouTube, the popular video service operated by US search firm, Google. The service had apparently been blocked by Chinese authorities.
YouTube has of course previously been censored, but in this case the length of the block is exceptional.
The blockage coincides with the posting of a video on YouTube allegedly showing police beating a Tibetan demonstrator to death. Chinese authorities were quick to label the video as being fake.
The “fake” clip in question (YouTube has been deleting them, so it’s clear where their loyalties lie, as if there was any doubt):
When asked about the YouTube controversy, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told reporters “Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite.”
“China’s Internet is open enough, but also needs to be regulated by law in order to prevent the spread of harmful information, and for national security” he went on.
He then boasted of China’s 300 million Internet users and 100 million blogs; he denied knowledge of YouTube being blocked.
The Chinese have typically kept a tight rein on the Internet and have frequently blocked access to websites the government finds objectionable.
Google and YouTube have been previously blocked in China for brief periods, mostly as a response to specific videos that had content critical of the government. Simply blocking individual pages in this case apparently did not send a message the government finds appropriate.
Earlier this year, China also began a crackdown on a number of sites on the Internet, resulting in the closure of hundreds of sites, including a popular blogging site and several sites popular with Tibetans.
With the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests coming later this year, analysts believe that China is making a preemptive strike to stifle any dissent before it can occur.
There is no word on when YouTube will become accessible again in China.
Via Reuters.
Racing Miku Nendoroid Set
Top 10 Cutest Things Guys Do On Dates
Hirasawa Ui Tiny Bikini Figure
Zero no Tsukaima F Yuri Skinship Anime
Yozora Mikazuki & Sena Kashiwazaki Figures
To Love-Ru Darkness Totally Tentacular
Ano Hana Naruko Anjo Anal Dress Figure
Top 10 Most Followed Seiyuu
Wonder Festival 2012 Winter Wondrous As Ever
Ciel nosurge: “Your Date With Ion = $170″
Nisemonogatari – “Where Did All The Ero Go!?”
Police Hunt Ushijima for “Public Indecency”
Cops Bust Cop in Nude BDSM Club Raid
K-ON! “Causes Keionbu Girl Band Boom”
Vippers vs Vankers: 2ch Targets “Korean Propaganda”
Overflow Delays “Final” Game: “We Are Not Going Bankrupt!”
Ritsu Topless Manga Time – “She Has Boobs After All!”
Behold: The ONACOUNTER
Future Diary Unveils Eye-Popping Scenes of Sex & Guro
Lenfried Sakuya Anal Tail Ero-Cosplay
Wonder Festival 2012 Winter Cosplay
“Post The Highest Level Cosplay Ever!”
“Share The Cutest Cosplay Ever”
“Dolls vs Figures – Which is Best?”
“Why Do Girls Always Have Such Cute Rooms!?”
Ranka Lee Wedding Dress Cosplay by Tomia
Shoko-tan’s Madoka & Ika-chan Cosplay “Excessively Cute”
Guilty Crown Yuzuriha Inori Cosplay by Sasa
IdolMaster G4U: “Who Needs 3D Idols Now?”
When it comes to censorship the first rule is:
Don't call it censorship and don't let others know about it.
Therefore I expect this site to be blocked as well.
Governments fear the internet for the simple reason that it's hard to control and to bring into line when compared to regular media like newspapers, radio or TV. The decentralized nature makes it hard to control the exchange of views on the net.
It's every rulers wet dream to control the net. While countries like China are currently trying harder than others to censor the net this doesn't mean that the people living in democratic countries should leave their guard down.
Sooner or later the ruling powers will try to take control over the net by trying to make internet censorship palatable to its people. They usually do this by using pretences like fighting terrorism, hate speech or CP.
Guys, the Tibet videos are only just a red herring, an excuse for the Party to conceal something even more embarrassing.
Fact is, all sorts of videos putting the Party in a bad light (including Tibet-related ones) have existed in YouTube since time immemorial.
What is really driving the Party crazy enough to want to block the video is really down to a peculiar named internet-meme creature, known only as "caonima" (草泥馬, literally "grass mud horse").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu_10_mythical_creatures#Cao_ni_ma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01RPek5uAJ4
If you know your Mandarin, you'll realize instantly that "caonima" sounds uncannily like "fuck your mother" (操你媽). While the "hexie" (河蟹 river crab) in the lyrics of the video link above sounds similar to the current Party doctrine of "harmony" (和諧).
By clever use of puns to criticize the Party, the netizens have at last managed to bypass the blockade of the Great Firewall, leaving the Party going bonkers as to how to block them, and using the Tibet vids as an excuse to try and wipe out the contagiousness of the caonima once and for all.
Thing is, they're just gonna come up with all sorts of puns that their filters will eventually become redundant.
Typo, second paragraph should be "What is really driving the Party crazy enough to want to block YouTube"
So glad they Chinese government blocked youtube. Now I dont have to see those chinese kids flaming my country (Taiwan) every single video I look at.
Quite the opposite? The internet fears the Chinese government?
yay great, JUST LIKE MALAYSIA.
what's with malaysia?
*Facepalm* China.. Not again.. ._.
Even though i'm a Chinese(overseas), well what the hell! F&@K the conservative, communist,stubborn Chinese(CHINA).REPUBLIC COUNTRY MY ASS!!!
Things like this make me very ashamed to be in the same race as them.
+1
+1
“China’s Internet is open enough, but also needs to be regulated by law in order to prevent the spread of harmful information, and for national security”
More like, in order to prevent the truth being spread among the sheeps, so they keep quite.
“Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite.”
The internet fears China.
You stole my comment ಠ_ಠ...
communism is cool Chinese quality.
“Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite.”
lol wtf!?
so i take it that it's the internet is afraid of the "oh-so-great" government of china? wow, just wow...
cant see the video anymore ...
Yah, CHINA QUALITY again FTW!
And who said China is now open and no longer a communist country?
The gov't is indeed keeping CHINA QUALITY within their country...
but I am proud to be seeing brave Chinese soldier defend against wild Tibetan! Chinese need to defend against threat from Tibet! China should all see this wonderful video of brave soldier in action!
Fucking commies.
I can't wait for the CIA-backed revolution in that country.
libérer la Corse!
Free Corsica!
Free Alaska！
我在想那！！！！怪不得
Fucking commies.
google was created in canada >____>
“Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite.”
so, the internet fears china?? what?
WEll, I am in CHINA and using YOUtube through an Uncensoring software...
Its " Free Gate" software. Google it!
The Australian Government fears the internet also, they're making a internet censorship right now! once again it sucks to be me >:|
ok thats hard oO
i mean even the message that some of the vids i want to look at are
blocked by my Nation is annoying like hell, but blocking whole youtube is sick ^^"
they used to say the japanese is trying to hide their gruesome killing and torture the chinese during world war... now it seems they are learning to understand why japanese do so... buaaahahahahahhahahaa
Internet is very serious business in China.
Media control is so common, there's nothing about democratic in countries nowadays. Ideas like rights, democracy, choice are all 'twisted' around government's vision of the country.
Bleh, if you think censorship of media is making the world go backwards, think again, most people aren't realised they are actually more of choosers rather than sovereign actors, contrary to what the 'open' media tries to protray (lulz at consumer's choice)...
Try living in China, then you might actually appreciate what a free internet, press and media is actually worth. Until you have lived under an authoritarian military dictatorship you really have no idea what you are talking about.
but they can't close the internets, or block it for their 300 millions users, if there is a connection there is a way!
I'm sick of this goddamn BS going on between china and youtube, its the third time happening, i dont care what the problem is, whether techincal or political, JUST STOP BREAKING MY BALLS. I dont think its blocked deliberately tho, China has copied tons of youtubes - you know, they dont know what intellectual property is- . if youtube was banned on purpose so would all the monkey sh*t copysites.
If you live in China then go under there ridiculous censorship by using a proxy;
http://www.proxyboxonline.com/
Doesn't blocking all of youtube just bring attention to the fact that they're trying to cover their asses because more shit about them got out that they don't want people to see? Couldn't they just block the video?
Streisand effect.
A typical day
In China they have Controled Liberty of Expression ^_^
And freedom of speech.
In the US they just hope that no big amount of people ever gets interested in expressing themselves. Who's superior?
im sory but did u forget who made youtube? AMARICANS!!
“Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite.”
i must say i lol'd
china ftl
Since China is so good at piracy, why don't they pirate the internet? Like pirate radio stations, someone provide a pirate signal through satillites.
They don't need satellite, all they need is a browser that allows them to bypass the block.
That video is double plus ungood.
Will have minitrue recdep make correct.
Why'd the police let the guy with the camera record that in the first place? I would think that they'd confiscate the camera and beat him up too.
I wondered that too.
Must have had it very well concealed and kept back behind the action. Though I wonder why he wasn't shooed off anyway.
He seems to have tried hard not to show any faces in the video, though.
Which adds to the possibility of a fake.
Though I'm rather unlikely to believe that.
then,this video may be a fake...perhaps someone had directed it...haha, who could they be ??
China sucks. I'm so glad I chose to study Japanese and to live in Japan.
In China:
Taking a shit in public = Ok
Watching funny videos = Hell no
God this is why I love you China!
is it really "beating to death" ?
no, just smack 5-10 times
for punishment maybe
scary propaganda
Nope, not to death.
Still someone shouldn't be beaten for no discernible reason...
Last I checked punishments needed to go to the proper authorities... which would have done the same thing.
Hey, It would at least save some face...
Yup, China isn't the best of places to go to.
Yah, definitely not to death. Over-exaggerated. Though maybe not 5 ~ 10 times... or they must've been very hard 5 ~ 10 times, because I don't think beating 5 ~ 10 times would make them bleed to the point where they leave a trail of blood a foot wide when being dragged along the floor like a dead body.
My take is the "to death" is not for the beating you see, its for the bleeding monk dragged in then laid out on the ground.
The blood must be pouring out as, even in the short period of the video, it has started pooling near his head, that sort of bleeding from the head mean that monk is in bad way.
How bad? "to death" is certainly an option where blunt instrument to head causing massive bleeding is involved
They would never beat a dissenter to death. That's a waste of harvestable organs. Just take them to jail and kill them when an upstanding party member that is a tissue match needs a transplant.
Yes, they do that.
China is a terrible place.
... don't think my sarcastic voice went through... they received a very bad beating, and I'm sure they weren't treated for their wounds afterward. Though maybe they weren't "beaten to death", by leaving them with those wounds just lying on the ground, I don't expect they'll get better any time soon... serious condition, at the least.
What the fuck is this shit? China needs to let Tibet go. This will just keep escalating and escalating until even the Dali Lama will eat his own words and open up a can of whoop ass on the Chinese government
yes be wary, the Dalai Lama is super saiyan stage 6
Ahh, that sucks for them... It's a shame that they have to censor stuff in order to "protect" their people instead letting them protect their own eyes/minds.
But of course, it all really boils down to them not wanting any protests or revolutions that would then change their type of government. They like control, and wish to maintain it.
censorship = mind control :P
Funny how China can be this ignorant because of one mere site.
What's strange is why China didn't just block the specific video, or page, like they have always done, instead of blocking the entire site.
Easier to block a entire site because they will not need to search for every video in every language...
I think the point was to send a message. As a foreign company, Google are expected to be obedient slaves to the party like Chinese ones.
^ true
wasn't there someone nicknamed "Tank man"?
If they would get enoug people too outnumber the ammo of the officers... in china that may be possible :3
^ Ignorant fool, if you start a riot in China you'll get shot. By tanks.
lol, an amarican doing anything we dont want to,?? that would be an intresting idea, if u try 2 sencor us we usaly either start a riot or get louder
Chinese government fears the Internet.
Wasn't it china with the internetcafé, where every customer would get a free girl? The truly must feart the internet, if they want to distract the users by such means!
On second thought, I may should change my nick...
WTF?
Oh well...
Anyway...
Not a big news here in Brazil...
Here, in Brazil, Youtube were blocked for few days only because Cicarelli demanded to the law here to block a video of her being fucked in a beach... u.u;
I think the video is this one:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-133923938835267258
well they were shocked that the woman wasn't a tranny and they didn't get aids.
o.O thank you
*fap* *fap* *fap*
Youtube, it's not working, obviously...
This link, it's only some couple doing private stuff on a beach, china's censorship again?
Scary country.
lol. man you made me see through things, and now i know why there are many fishes in the ocean.
kudos to you sir.
"El imperio de los sentidos" xD
Daniela Putarelli...
oh you
Nice, they got caught, so what? =P they should say: "wish your were us, don't you?" then have some on camera and
*fap fap fap*
so china people can learn from brazil..
use the alternative one...
until they ban all the streaming video provider...
Thanks for sharing! XD
lets hear it for censorship!
When asked about the YouTube controversy, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told reporters “Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact it is just the opposite.”
Well, in communist China, The internet fears YOU
THE FIENDS ...how will their citizens now manage get-by without any Lolcats [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UH7Ixvu8bg] :(
HIP HIP-*glrglhgl*
I woulda' expected "HIP HIP " myself.
I mean the Chinese government is full of bastards, the Chinese people aren't though some can be.
I think the PRC's got 1/3 of the world's population brainwashed.....
All, I've got to say is that the people of the PRC are bastards.....
(I live in Hong Kong, and we don't have these issues, same with Taiwan and Macau.....)
or at least a truncheon in the "HIP HIP" from the chinese police
its ok to shitting in public.but its not ok to watch funny clip on you tube.thats china for yer.
hmm hope there will be side like in toshokan sensou(library war) in china
... I don't think beating people to death is exactly my type of humour...
NOT ONE OF US.
not one of anonymous
Well it is mine.
...You are really odd.
i hate you!