4 ms·

Not secretly, at least in terms of "翻墙" (circumventing the GFW). It is commonly talked about in mainland chatgroups and on websites, sometimes with euphemisms (

Not secretly, at least in terms of "翻墙" (circumventing the GFW). It is commonly talked about in mainland chatgroups and on websites, sometimes with euphemisms (e.g. "科学上网" (surfing the web scientifically), etc.), but no one really bats an eyelid when talking about it. In any case, I find it amusing that the case of UK disallowing E2EE could come back to CCP so quickly. Maybe without the example of CCP, other governments wouldn't realize the greatness of censorship? /s Source: being a native who lives in mainland China.

_l219 2y ago
And in case people think this is just propaganda, I can vouch for this as someone that lived in China for a few years as a foreigner and currently live in the UK. Everyone does it, it's normal, even police do it… I am much more concerned about going afoul of the government here in the uk than back in china
- throwaway290 2y ago
  If you are in a tech savvy bubble everyone uses VPN. Sometimes because your job requires it (which makes it legal). Outside of it no regular person uses VPN. Guess which circle has more people. Police is a bad example because they obviously can do whatever they want that's not even a question. What are they gonna do put themselves behind bars?
throwaway290 2y ago
You just literally supported my point that people talk about it secretly. They talk about VPN anonymously and/or using various terms that are not "VPN" or its Mandarin equivalent. The term you gave as "circumvent the GFW" actually literally means "climb over the wall". Guess which one is illegal. Yes double meaning words are famous in PRC just like in USSR and this basically illustrates what I mean. You need to be in the know, in the circle or bubble to even understand what is talked about > in mainland chatgroups and websites ... no one really bats an eyelid when talking about it Techies talk techie things. There are more non techies than techies. My point is from police's perspective 90% of the people they deal with don't use VPN.

_l219 2y ago

And in case people think this is just propaganda, I can vouch for this as someone that lived in China for a few years as a foreigner and currently live in the UK. Everyone does it, it's normal, even police do it… I am much more concerned about going afoul of the government here in the uk than back in china

throwaway290 2y ago
If you are in a tech savvy bubble everyone uses VPN. Sometimes because your job requires it (which makes it legal). Outside of it no regular person uses VPN. Guess which circle has more people. Police is a bad example because they obviously can do whatever they want that's not even a question. What are they gonna do put themselves behind bars?

throwaway290 2y ago

You just literally supported my point that people talk about it secretly. They talk about VPN anonymously and/or using various terms that are not "VPN" or its Mandarin equivalent. The term you gave as "circumvent the GFW" actually literally means "climb over the wall". Guess which one is illegal. Yes double meaning words are famous in PRC just like in USSR and this basically illustrates what I mean. You need to be in the know, in the circle or bubble to even understand what is talked about > in mainland chatgroups and websites ... no one really bats an eyelid when talking about it Techies talk techie things. There are more non techies than techies. My point is from police's perspective 90% of the people they deal with don't use VPN.