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from my testing, google.com and gmail have been blocked in Beijing for a few days now. Of course, this is the same government that forced taxi drivers to remov
by monkeypizza 14y ago
from my testing, google.com and gmail have been blocked in Beijing for a few days now.
Of course, this is the same government that forced taxi drivers to remove the handles from their taxis so passengers can't roll down their windows, because they were afraid someone would drive by Tiananmen square and drop a bunch of ping pong balls with political messages on them.
- nickpinkston 14y agoYea, I was having on-off problems with Google domains as I traveled from Xinjiang (Google blocked) to Shenzhen (Open) to Beijing (Spotty Open) - is it that fickle all the time? Is it by region, time, or whim?
- seanmcdirmid 14y agoEach ISP has their own implementation of the golden shield, so different regions will block different things. The system is entirely opaque to us, I wouldn't be surprised if blocks were determined at the decentralized local level rather than by the central government. Beijing ISPs blocking more during this "sensitive time" would be consistent with that thought.
- nickpinkston 14y agoSounds about right - pretty wild. What else surprised me was the strobe light / camera systems at the chokes points to cities / neighborhoods. Overall, I don't think China seemed that bad - not like military with AKs everywhere, but this stuff was quite interesting to see first hand.
- seanmcdirmid 14y agoThe bizarre thing is that its a much freerer society than even the states in some ways. The police don't really bother you unless the situation becomes "visible," lots of sketchy things happen out in the open. You don't have to wear a helmet when cycling, etc...
- nickpinkston 14y agoYea, I felt the same way - it's almost libertarian in some ways. I felt far less paranoid around their police / security people because it seemed like their default position wasn't: hassle. Though to be honest, the police in the states aren't really hard to beat - what culture of BS that is...
- seanmcdirmid 14y agoI've heard of some "situations" involving raves and outdoor parties where weed was involved, but in each case the foreigners get a free pass while the Chinese get to spend all night in a police station getting drug tests. Anyways, we will never be Chinese and won't see the real China.
- olalonde 14y agoI actually heard that regular policemen in China couldn't recognize the smell of marijuana.
- seanmcdirmid 14y agoThese aren't regular police men, they are the police guys who are in plain clothes and drive black Audis. Quite a bit different from the regular traffic cop.
- olalonde 14y agoYou can drink beers in the street, nightclubs and bars don't have a closing time, policemen are not armed, there is no law about where you can or cannot smoke, it's ridiculously easy to get a visa and stay in China as long as you want. You will never ever get a fine in China for a civil offense (not wearing a seatbelt, spitting on the floor, peeing in public, crossing the street on a red light, etc.). At worse, you are going to get a friendly warning. Traffic policemen are not allowed to chase speeding cars. They will rely on license plates and CCTV cameras instead. China is surprisingly more free than many western countries as long as you don't step into political territory. Being a foreigner also helps a lot. Some people might argue that those freedoms seem anodin compared to freedom of speech or political freedom but in many ways, those things have a bigger impact on your everyday life than the latter freedoms. If you're libertarian leaning like me, you'll probably like China.
- beefsack 14y agoIt's up and down here in Guangzhou over the past few days unfortunately.