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> You cannot visit those well known global sites like Google, Twitter, etc. Google's main search function has not been blocked for the past two years according

> You cannot visit those well known global sites like Google, Twitter, etc. Google's main search function has not been blocked for the past two years according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Websites_blocked_in_mainland_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Websites_blocked_in_mainland_C... Erotica is bad, but torrents (isoHunt, etc.) are OK. The New York Times and the Economist are blocked, but strangely, Amnesty International, the BBC, and Wikileaks are permitted. They probably have a big productivity boost by not having Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

deleted 10y ago
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mikeash 10y ago
I know it was probably just a joke, but they have local equivalents for Twitter and the rest, so productivity is no doubt just as bad. This is one of the interesting aspects of the system. It started out as just a tool for censorship, but it's becoming a tool for protecting local businesses from outside competition as well.
seanmcdirmid 10y ago
Google Search has been blocked over the last two years, even through the CN site that redirects to HK. Mobile is possibly an exception, but I never had an Android phone so don't know.
- sjrd 10y ago
  I was in China not a month ago. Google Search definitely did not work on Android without a properly setup VPN + custom DNS.
- thaumasiotes 10y ago
  Mobile wasn't an exception (I haven't been in China for a year, but I was there for two years before that); my phone was cut off from all google services. Edit: I say cut off; that's not entirely true. I couldn't communicate with google from my phone. I could visit Google Play in a web browser, tell it to install something, and the install would hit my phone just fine.
- tluyben2 10y ago
  Google search, Drive, Sheets, Docs, Gmail (normal web/app) are all blocked; with ZPN proxy on Android (but not on desktop for some strange reason) Search, gmail and drive work, but sheets/docs are broken for me still. I'm in Shanghai.
inimino 10y ago
Google search is definitely blocked. (Source: I'm in China.) The "unblocked" there seems to be a typo since the "duration of blockage" column says "to present", which is correct. Regarding social media, of course, the local social media are popular enough that practically nobody would use the American ones even if they were all unblocked tomorrow.
arcticbull 10y ago
The fascinating part is it varies geographically within China too, so for instance Github is not blocked on the coast (at least in Shenzhen) but is definitely blocked out in Xinjiang.
civilian 10y ago
The mistake you're making is that the Chinese government has chosen one standard and applied it consistently throughout the web. I imagine they've applied it like a game of wack-a-mole: if a group embarrasses them, they block it. Otherwise you can continue rockin' in China. There is a national law against pornography, so that's not surprising. I imagine that isoHunt and the BBC and Wikileaks just haven't caused China enough trouble yet.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

mikeash 10y ago

I know it was probably just a joke, but they have local equivalents for Twitter and the rest, so productivity is no doubt just as bad. This is one of the interesting aspects of the system. It started out as just a tool for censorship, but it's becoming a tool for protecting local businesses from outside competition as well.

seanmcdirmid 10y ago

Google Search has been blocked over the last two years, even through the CN site that redirects to HK. Mobile is possibly an exception, but I never had an Android phone so don't know.

sjrd 10y ago
I was in China not a month ago. Google Search definitely did not work on Android without a properly setup VPN + custom DNS.
thaumasiotes 10y ago
Mobile wasn't an exception (I haven't been in China for a year, but I was there for two years before that); my phone was cut off from all google services. Edit: I say cut off; that's not entirely true. I couldn't communicate with google from my phone. I could visit Google Play in a web browser, tell it to install something, and the install would hit my phone just fine.
tluyben2 10y ago
Google search, Drive, Sheets, Docs, Gmail (normal web/app) are all blocked; with ZPN proxy on Android (but not on desktop for some strange reason) Search, gmail and drive work, but sheets/docs are broken for me still. I'm in Shanghai.

inimino 10y ago

Google search is definitely blocked. (Source: I'm in China.) The "unblocked" there seems to be a typo since the "duration of blockage" column says "to present", which is correct. Regarding social media, of course, the local social media are popular enough that practically nobody would use the American ones even if they were all unblocked tomorrow.

arcticbull 10y ago

The fascinating part is it varies geographically within China too, so for instance Github is not blocked on the coast (at least in Shenzhen) but is definitely blocked out in Xinjiang.

civilian 10y ago

The mistake you're making is that the Chinese government has chosen one standard and applied it consistently throughout the web. I imagine they've applied it like a game of wack-a-mole: if a group embarrasses them, they block it. Otherwise you can continue rockin' in China. There is a national law against pornography, so that's not surprising. I imagine that isoHunt and the BBC and Wikileaks just haven't caused China enough trouble yet.