Unblocking websites
China never announces the unblocking of websites. So, you have to click around every day to see which sites are jammed and which sites may have quietly been unblocked.
It's pretty a mundane thing to do (click, wait, blocked, click, wait, blocked) but worth doing - because things seem to be changing all the time. China's coming under pressure to fulfil its promise of complete freedom for reporters covering the Olympic Games.
On Wednesday - we clicked on the BBC's Chinese language website, and got the message "This page cannot be displayed." (We also got the same message when we tried to get into the websites of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and Amnesty International.)
This afternoon, we checked again. We clicked on the BBC's Chinese language website - and we got in. We then tried the Chinese version of Wikipedia and got in as well - we even accessed the entry about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests - a subject that the government usually censors. But Amnesty and Falun Gong are still blocked.
So, as the Olympics get closer, we'll continue to click around every day to see which websites we can get into, and which are still jammed.
If you live in China, I'd be interested to know how you get on.
I’m 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~57~RS~)
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James - Surely BBC doesn't pay you to sit there and do "click-wait-blocked", right? If yes, you probably have one of the most amazingly cushy jobs in the world. If you really want to visit FLG or Free Tibet websites, maybe you could just ask BBC to send someone else to cover the game so you come back to the UK for a break. You will get as much as access as you wish.
Please tell us more about the Game and leave politics out just for two weeks!
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James,
As a middle school English teacher, I rely on the internet bar in my village.
This is the first time I was able to visit BBC, New York Times, CNN, etc. But still not BBC Chinese, VOA. I guess the game indeed benefit us, for all our sacrifices. Thanks to Chairman Hu.
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James
Chinese government has no responcibility to report to you what they do or what they don't do. First you don't pay tax to them. Second you use the chinese story to appeal people back in england. It is not china is your colony or something. They don't have to let you know everything happening in china. Accept that.
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Well, if u really wanna know something, it cannot be blocked. For those who want to know the government not really block that much. It's just a filter to pass some information. Sadly you again choose a topic not many chinese care about and most knew it already. If u wanna know what would happen in next few months maybe I can tell u. We all can predict what would happen to the blocking thing. It's been gone on for so long and it's not a big surprise that u can log on the chinese edition of BBC but really a big surprise u found out it's news.
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If the BBC cannot even grant "freedom" in this tiny blog (not many comments survived in the last post due to your restrictions), it is absolutely no reason to criticise Chinese governemnt of blocking those websites, which apparently break the 'house rules'.
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It is laughable that you come all the way to Beijing just to check the website of a cult? Seriously, why are we paying BBC for this?
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I think I can speak for my siblings and their children who are living in China.
After a busy day at work and schools, the adults usually take care of the house things and the youth are doing school homeworks. If they have time after that, they will watch TV problems they love and play computer games to relax. On weekends, they may do some reading (books and newspaper.. If they log in the internet, (they have broadband now.), they read e-mails, check one news, entertainment news, play computer games. Chat with people.
They say they don't have time nor interest for such ridiculous things such as FalunGong, (Words by mouth is something the government can stop.) And they don't care much about Tibet one way or the other. So they don't go to those website because they are not interested nor care. If they are interested in Tibet, it's because they may like to go for a visit.
So do you still think their lack of interest are due to limited access or brainwash?
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Do you know why Chinese people are so kind to foreigner? Just because the Chinese government block some of the websits like BBC. If such websites are accessible to ordinary people, I think most of them will very angry about what you are saying.
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i live in China ,the experience of visiting a website but being shown "this page cannot be displayed" is as common as having three meals a day. so i don't reckon the government would really make up its mind to give its own people free access to the Internet. let alone foreign journalists. as far as i am concerned, i have never entered the BBC chinese service website in my life using the normal way. Nevertheless , when i was listening to the BBC radio,no matter world service or the Chinese language service, the signals were always being seriously interrupted by the sounds of SuoNa, a traditional Chinese instrument. The Chinese government won't let us hear the utterance of the outside world and is sharing no efforts to prevent the voice of its own people from being heard. Thanks to the Internet , i can get access to loads of BBC products via downloading a wide range of podcasts and even can paste my comments here, this, after all, could be count as progresses the government made to some extend.
By the way, as Chinese college students ,many of us do have our own approach to the banned sites--using a proxy,which is an exciting way for us to get in touch with the sensitive issues and an efficient way to dodge the censor of the government,except for the slow speed.
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2. At 4:41pm on 31 Jul 2008, ccpbrain wrote:
James,
As a middle school English teacher, I rely on the internet bar in my village.
This is the first time I was able to visit BBC, New York Times, CNN, etc. But still not BBC Chinese, VOA. I guess the game indeed benefit us, for all our sacrifices. Thanks to Chairman Hu.
----------------------------------
Dude, playing Infernal Affairs again?
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James,
Can you please stop just regurgitating the top news story on BBC Asia-Pacific's front page for your entries' topics?
I understand that Beijing is polluted, and I'm reminded daily by every single credible news source in the world. Also, for the millionth time, websites are blocked in China--I think we all get that.
Please start to venture off the beaten path. Talk to average Chinese people who may not typically be given attention by the mainstream media. Go into a little, local restaurant with just a friend, and get invited to join in on a big dinner with the regulars. Judging by your other posts, you might be quite surprised when some of your sweeping generalizations about "Chinese people" are proved incorrect.
Oh, and for the sanity of us all, find some message boards (in Mandarin) that are not largely populated by 19 and 20-year-old university students majoring in English Language. Think about it: how would the message boards on Facebook sound to the everyday Chinese reader, translated roughly into Mandarin?
I am just asking for a little insight into what life might really be like for everyone in China, not just those who grab headlines. Personally, I believe that a story about how you sat down and shared a pint of Yanjing in Haidian would yield more engaging results. Maybe that's just me though...
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. Too bad I still can’t access to my fav porn site just by using IE.
But it is remarkable for the country to be able to look Chinese BBC and wikipedia even just for 2 weeks! Just for that reason, I am embracing the OG with open arms.
after all, whoever wants to look at stuff that is blocked can always use Privoxy software.
Just speaking for myself, not dare to repersent “ the Chinese people” or even “ the most Chinese people” like a lot people do here, I am personally happy about it.
BBC cheerz!
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Topbear 1974,
I agree with you that Chinese government has no responsibility to report what have happened to James - you made a good point. However, Chinese people have right to know what have happened. The problem is that information is blocked by the ruler you support. What James has been doing is to help ordinary Chinese people to know the world. Smart like you, of course, do not need. But it does not mean ordinary people do not need. Do not be too defensive. Learn to accept different opinions, if they are right. Learn to tolerate different opinions, if they are stupid.
If somedays you make incorrect speeches, I will still support your right of free speaking.
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Hello James,
I share you filling, you wrote something and half educated/biased person put ban on your thoughts.
That exactly what BBC censure team does to Have You Say post if don't fit into liberal bias.
Welcome to the club :).
-Sergey
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To rodmace2000
Good point. Our comments have to be awaiting for moderation by BBC. Why not Chinese authority?
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Looks like there's a lot of Chinese govt backers blogging here, there and everywhere at the moment when anyone criticises the gov't human rights record. Hmmm... I wonder if maybe this could be an organised effort?
Anyway, they may not like it and the Chinese govt may have banned access to it within China but here is a link to the Amnesty report, 'The Olympics Countdown: Broken Promises' on human rights in China: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17844
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The BBC News site was available when I tried it back in May. BBC World was also available on my hotel TV.
I'm not sure how much web site availability has to do with international pressure; how much to do with the inexact science of censoring the internet; and how specific is censorship to location (workplace, hotel or home).
Sometimes major web sites in Europe are just incredibly slow to access from China; and sometimes Chinese web sites are incredibly slow to access from Europe.
I just say this: don't rush to any conclusions - there are too many unknown factors.
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Even though it's not the first time I saw similar demonstrations shown in western media, it's still good to know the progress of the internet accessibility in China.
It's good to know that the BBC Chinese site was unblocked again.
James, maybe the unblocking has to do with your blog along with other complains from journalists who came to China to report the Olympic Games?
Good job! Hope you keep on checking after the games.
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JR, you surely don't have anything better to do. It again shows your British mentality. Enjoy your month-long clicking in Beijing. Everybody else, we can enjoy the Games ... finally.
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Just wanna say, James, u r doing my dream job ever, BBC's correspondent in China!
Love ur blog and keep going!!!!!!^^
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James,
I live in UK, but I do not have access to Al Qaeda website because it is blocked by British government. Why do not you write this fact in an article?
Here is another an example of web control in England.
Birmingham City Council has installed software preventing employees from browsing atheist websites, but allows them to look on conventional religions.
James, bear your mind, China is not a colony of Britain. Do not add new troubles between the two peoples.
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Typical CCP tricks. How much difference does a few days blocking make? None. And why unblocking after the western media complaints
? It's called throwing a bone to barking dogs.
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Some other things are also unblocked. For example, some newspaper stands started to sell New York Times, Wall Street Journal...
But they are a bit pricey (more than 25 yuan). And it seems that New York Times is for reading there or for looking only, and not for sale. So even if you have money you can't get it...
The report call the unblock of these foreign journals a "short vacation".
Among other things, there are also reports on local people's reactions to the designated parks for protesters.
If you can read Chinese, please check out the original report from a Chinese newspaper "Freezing Point", a weekly supplement to China Youth Daily at
http://zqb.cyol.com/content/2008-07/30/content_2286081.htm
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What is 'spiritual movement'? Why it is 'spiritual moment' if it is against China. And it is 'terrorists' if they are against the west?
The more you do this, the more you push all Chinese together to support their government. It will not help Falun Gong, nor Dalai Lama, I am afraid.
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James...
Please 'enlighten' my ignorance a bit here. Now why would you need to access the 'Apple Daily" or the "Free Tibet" sites to report on the Olympics, or even events in China itself? The Apple Daily is a trashy, gossipy site that is at the same level as the "National Enquirere" in the US, and we all know the one thing those Tibetniks are gunning for. So, please explain how this "censorship" is going make your "free and objective' reporting of China a real problem?
I can't help but get the real sense that the western media, like BBC and others, are hell bent on humiliating China and ruining the Games. I guess for you and your crew, it's simply not acceptable for a non-western, non-white nation to have its day in the sun. You just have to make SURE to smear it in the most awful way possible. Si, if you have to bend the truth, or hype up something, to achieve your ends, so be it.
i applaud your supposed journalistic "professionalism". At least the Chinese media does not try to hide their censorship. It's pretty pathetic for someone to claim to be "free and objective" when he really has an agenda.
Michael Lou
Milton, Massachusetts
USA
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I've worked in China for over a year. In this time many English version websites such as the BBC and Wikipedia have been unblocked. However they will often be blocked on a temporary basis for part of a day and so you just have to keep trying to access them or use a proxy site. I hope that the websites won't be permanently blocked again after the games but in the end that's down to the government here to decide.
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Dear Moderator.
When are you going to moderate my post 28 in the "Inside Tibet's capital" forum?
James.
The house rule thing and mederator are a much better idea than the censorship in China. It shuts up some unwanted commentators and deletes their messages effectively while the BBC still can boast "freedom of speech". The Chinese government should learn from BBC. China has 0.3 billion netzens, that will creat lots of moderator jobs. Hangon, I think they are reluctant to do that. I think the current government would rather spend money to help the poor farmers. They recently abolish taxes to all farmers in China. I think that is why people do not mind censorship.
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I try to give you a good idea about unblock website. Please give up to access to Falungong website. The goverment never unblock them. It wastes your time and life.
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It is very silly of the Chinese Gov to block those websites, which makes the majority fail to know that the outside medias are just as stupid. To certain extend the Chinese Gov is protecting the west.
Do you know why there is an 'anti-CNN' website created by a young man? He had an illusion for western system, media and people, and, he was disillusioned.
In China, those who has never live abroad or has access to overseas information has more complaints. They do no have opportunitis to read the biased, unsophisticated and smug world.
situation is changing from this year on, starting from the torch. The authority failed to deliver the right imformation and right reaction while the ordinary people did. the overseas chinese (including myself, i was in Switzerland at the moment) told the people what happened and the lies told by mainstream medias.
Unblocking those websites will make people love their country better. It is true that the Gov considers the people as children, fearing that they will be affected by unproper information. It is all wrong.
Although, the reality tells us that people with free access to all sources still choose what they use to believe, and have not shown any smarter than befooled us.
I think some people in the Gov have realized this and that's why they unblocked BBC website.
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The current Olympic circus was planned by big players last year with the paticipation of right-wing journalists.
Quote from
www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/56145
German Foreign Ministry ront organisation is playing a deceisive role in the preparation of the anti-Chinese Tibet compaign...... The campaign is being orchestrated from a washington based headquarters...... The plans were developed with the collaboration of the US Stae Department and the self proclaimed Tibetan Government in Exile...... and call for high profile actions along the route of the Olympic Torch Relay and are supposed to reach a climax in August during the games in BeiJing......
British journalist James Miles was in Tibet when the 3.14 riort happend. He eye witnessed and reported the other side of the story including the five Han textile women burned to death, programmed attacks on Han and Muslim, and Han assaulted and stoned on street.......However, his report was editorially presented in a context to focus on Chinese repression.
Compare to Chinese state controled media the western media delievers its propoganda in a more hidden way and make the majority of the public beleive they have been told of the truth, having free access to information. After being leaded to all these unnecessary wars the public still doesnot know how did it happen. How sad.
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Can you bring us something about Olympics please....
that'll be cool.
I am a bit tired reading this.
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Hey James,
The censorship of "Falungong" and other topics are permitted by the IOC. Talk about something new.
Leave politics out of the Games.
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James,
I don't know, how will the media-will
be able to do there jobs, during the olympics,
when the government in china, has to block access to certain internet sites...
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To post 2 from ccpbrain:
You have left a number of messages on this blog, so surely this is not the first time that you visited the BBC website.
To James:
about 5% of the comments on this blog are removed because they broke "the house rule". By applying the same percentage, it should be reasonable if 5% of the websites are blocked as they broke "the house rule" of China too?
And does any other government annouce the un-blocking of a website?
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Do the CCP honestly believe that the world's free press will obey their demand that all reporting from China during the games be about sport? This is a hard pill to swallow, especially considering the press have been given every indication they would be able to report freely. The enormous resources of the global media have been deployed to Beijing under that understanding. Now apparently the CCP expects to get away with going back on its word, as it has on the multiple unfulfilled conditions under which the games were granted. It's being an exceedingly poor sport, and as the IOC freely admit, there's not much anybody can do about it.
Through the control of information, the CCP may have a significant degree of control over Chinese popular opinion, but they have far less control over what the rest of the world thinks. By intimidating, spying on and restricting the resources of journalists (indeed, the entire blessed global news media industry,) the CCP is handing western journalists the type of story they've been trying to avoid all along. It's that same narrative of repression, intolerance and paranoid bureacracy with aspiriations to thought control which proved so newsworthy during the cold war. As an avid newshound, i'm certainly finding it riveting, and nobody's even won any medals yet. However, I imagine it's a far less comfortable situation for james and his collegues in the media center.
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"click-wait"? what a ridiculous and useless job you are doing. there is an old chinese saying to describe this:"chi bao le cheng de" which means stick to your rib after eating and has nothing else to do.
I'm living and studying in shanghai now, and i visit some major websites like bbc,nytimes,reuters... i read your blog from the very begining when it was started.
now i'm full of doubt that no matter how hard we chinese tried,the game won't be a success in you westerners' eye just because of politics.
i agree with you on some of your description of china in this blog, but it is also ture that you are only intested in the negative news and enlarges them, to entertain your countryman with exaggerate ill chinese news. i think negative news exsit in every corner of this world including uk and your lovely brother usa, the suffered iraqi knows well of that. even when you were covering some ordinary news i was surprised to find your ability to turn good into bad.
we 1.3b ordinary chinese people are looking forward to this big game and doing everything we can to make it good. why don't you use your "click-wait" time to give a slight report of that kind of stories. it reads in your blog's title:"this blog is where i'll be sharing my thoughts on day-to day life in china plus the big events, most notably the olympic games in 2008". seem that you are not interested in the big event.
ps: falun gong is a cult which declares a doomsday and they are the only hope to prevent it, they even persuade people to suicide to achieve their intention. every country shoud block their website. and i know a cult in japan once released toxic gas in tokyo's subway with its leader a student of dalai lama.
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Look what those reporters have done. Now even such junk websites as "www.playboy.com" has got unblock in China. Chinese culture will be completely destroy by people like James Reynolds, with the help of a weak Chinese president. No wonder this Olymplics is call a cultural gencide. Shame on you! Have fun killing the Chinese culture.
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well,i use proxy..
i hope china can stop blocking sites...
freedom and peace :)
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James... excuse me? Click and wait? That's not in the job description!
Anyway. Unblocking Wikipedia is certainly good, but Amnesty... Amnesty barks and bites for people who feed and clothe them, and it has rather soft teeth at that.
My relatives use the Internet quite extensively. From what I know, they rarely visit anything like Wikipedia or BBC Chinese. To them, Sina and Gov.CN has far more credibility than BBC Chinese or Wikipedia.
While I was in China in July and August 2007, I could visit Facebook without any problems, and it remained the main way of communication with my friends in Canada that circumvents the time lag.
Fact of the matter is, most people in China don't give a thought to western media; they've always proven themselves to be literally incredible.
And media control isn't as tight as you want to think. We've got numerous phone calls from a group named FaLunGong (maybe you've heard of it? I thought so.) while in China. Yes, WHILE IN CHINA. Intelligent people dismiss it as "obnoxious telemarketing". And it is.
The people around me would call me "brainwashed by Communist propaganda". But I'd say to them, "we realize what airs on CCTV is propaganda, while you, my friends, don't realize what airs on CNN is also propaganda at its most subtle form." And they'd put me off as "a fool who doesn't understand the value of democracy." What democracy? Is that something like the Little Red Bible in the Cultural Revolution?
My point is, people in China enjoy more freedoms than western media would like the masses in the west to believe. And most of them are smarter than you think.
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There is a lot of debate above on western vs Chinese media. That in itself should be a sign that the BBC is doing its job - not taking sides, not only airing one view, but allowing all to express their views. Good journalism is getting the overall picture. With biased media this wouldnt exist. Maybe debate is something which is a novelty in China but, my Chinese friends, it is not new here, and it's perfectly normal for us. Let's keep it rational, not emotional, realise we're all human, all the same, and it's only a sporting event. I would also like to congratulate the people of China for their hard work and preparation leading up to these games - I'm sure it will be a gift to the world.
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Patrick Corrigan, you are not the first Westerner who question Chinese posters as “hire by Chinese commy government.” All I can say is that you do not know China. You believe Chinese hate their government – follow the persistent preaching of your media.
Culture is also one of the most important analytical dimensions that needs to be examined and understood if anyone aims to have a meaningful attempt to understanding the West and their political life.
This is really the main theme, foundations that defines Western civilization, beliefs and politics. In that sense, Western Judea Christian culture needs to be examined closely. In Christianity, any truth is derived from inside the West ? a Christian Bible. The Christian Bible is faithfully believed to be truth without any check and balance. The West has never let people have a voice, a chance for self-determination. Children are routinely pushed in the Christian indoctrination since infanthood. I know that Westerners are not aware of the problems of their traditional culture. Any question of the existence of God incurs passionate and fierce anger among Westerners.
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Quote wonderfulChinese, obviously a Westerner, “The house rule thing and moderator are a much better idea than the censorship in China”
The hypocrisy of BBC has reached a new height. My posts in HYS routinely show up first time on page 50. Two identical posts to this blog: one #89 is allowed, the other #25 is blocked. It is a logical fallacy to claim either way in my case. I say the Chinese experience in BBC blog show everyone the true color of the West.
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to robertzhao
If you want to get information about china from BBC, I am afraid you have a very biased view.
I was like you 9 years ago, listen to only BBC and VOA and thought my government was the biggest dictator in the world. That is why I tried every route and spent all my parents' saving to come to work in the "land of freedom". The result is --- there is no ultimate freedom in this world. The freedom only stops when you become a nuisance to the others. With s times density population to uk, it is not surprise there should be tighter rules and protocols between people to guarantee maximum freedom in china. However what BBC is doing to very unreasonable-- by promote the ultimate freedom to one party -- a party they like and chosen--they curb the freedom of the others. What they are trying to do is not to promote healthy communication between different sections of people so that chinese can live in harmony but emphasis the conflict so that the british people can watch more drama from us.
All I can say is to come abroad, to a freedom country, for one year at least. you will know what I am talking about. There is no ultimate freedom in western country. There are restrictions where chinese can enjoy freely. Like if the train service is bad, chinese can protest and get government to sort it out. Here you can only suffer and wait because it is all driven by "market".
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check this out. I seriously think CCP banned bbc chinese is for its own good.
http://news.wenxuecity.com/messages/200808/news-gb2312-665459.html
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'Crossin', why on earth shouldn't James either comment on politics in China (he has made no statement suggesting this is an entirely politics-free blog) or inform people about how restricted websites are in China? It's all very interesting to people who are not there, experiencing communist rule.
It's the mundane, daily things that are most informative of daily life. If you want to read about sports, the BBC has plenty of other pages you can look at.
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there are some articles related with certain sensitive contents within the previous blocked sites are still not accessible. especially when it is in Chinese.
before the unblocking, all the videos in flash within bbc news page were usually blocked.
just hours ago I could not get through to your blog, but it comes back now, weird.
in Beijing
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James:
In reference to the unblocking of BBC and other western news sites. You may regret what you all wish for. Now ordinary Chinese, many of whom are very patriotic (see the Pew survey), and who have access to the net (all 250 million, largest in the world), will have the opportunity to see first hand how biased and mean-spirited you and your types really are in regards to China. They will also have a chance to respond in force; I really do think the Chinese government has finally seen this, and hopefully this new media freedom can be permanent. It will be good for Chinese unity, and for you, it wont be the Chinese government you will have to worry about....you wll hear the real voice of China, and you most likely will not be happy.
It's just another expression of the voice of the people. But of course there will be diehards who will think that these posters are all "spies" and part of a concerted effort.
The problem with western liberals trying to preach to the world is just this...they can't hear anything else but their own noise, a gross reflection of their inflated "white man's burden" ego. Noise can be a form of pollution, but the only remedy is for China and others to rise and rise, stronger, bolder, and more formidable with each day. The more successful China is, the louder these desperate and obnoxious voices until a sudden silence.
I hope you have a great time in beijing, and I hope you thoroughly take advantage of this access to the Chinese people and really show your true colors.
Regards,
Mike
USA
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very strange, I still can't have the access to the BBC's home page www.bbc.co.uk.
They unblocked the news front page and the BBC Chinese but censored the BBC home and James' blog!!! (what's wrong with BBC home? what if you just want to know about cooking)
I could not access this page yesterday afternoon but hours later it became accessible. Can anyone tell me what is going on? This off-on-on-off thing really confuses me.
As James says "It's pretty a mundane thing to do (click, wait, blocked, click, wait, blocked) but worth doing - because things seem to be changing all the time."
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If BBC can have a "house rule" to ban comments "Describe or encourage activities which could endanger the safety or well-being of others" (hurrah!) Why can't Chinese gov ban somthing that they believe is harming the country's stabilisation?
On top of that, "Falungong" is purly political topic and not related to the games at all.
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When a writer from China challenges James,that is understandable. But the ones from a democratic country should know better.
To the Chinese students and the intellectuals, James present is conducive. James China blog has opened a channel of confrontation and eventual conciliation. Chinese and the outsider should use this rare opportunity to learn from each other and build a bridge. The Chinese people have been isolated long enough-thanks to the Communist party’s policy and now that China is emerging from the dark tunnel, she needs support and encouragement.
Where else this Olympic is to accomplish two fundamental objects:-
a) It will consolidate and ligitimise Communist Party’s tighter controll over its people.
b)to assert her position in the world.
c)A fat profit to the mainly western Cooperates who sponsor the game.
But to the millions of Chinese surviving from day to day,it is as fulfilling as the builders of the Egyaptian Pyrimads!
C.tashi
N.Y.
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To Robertzhao.
"what James has been doing is to help ordinary Chinese people to know the world". Yes, correct. James certainly help Chinese to know how biased the western world can be. And he is portraying China as a brutal, backward country that should be treated as an enemy forever.
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To Patrick Corrigan.
You can stick to your Amnesty International forever and believe all the Chinese who speak out against your mainstream media as "organised Chinese government backers". I have seen so many westerners brain washed to the point that they will believe whatever their media says about other countries they do not know much about. They will never questions the motives of some political organisation such as Amnesty International. They get into the stage they can be truely called as China Haters. All of these, is a result of media/government cooperated campaign and individual's inability to see both sides of the story.
Let me ask you a question. We, oversea Chinese have lived in China, have seen what's goingon in China ourself. We master both languages and we have seen the western story about China. Have you learned both sides of the story?
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I still don't understand the link between being able to do good Olympics coverage and having China un-ban the sites to Tibetan Independence movement. Why would one such as Mr Reynolds have to have "access" to such a Tibetnik site in order to report to his readers about Beijing and the games? I asked this question earlier, and apparently no reply. I imagine there really is no good answer to it, except of course, it sounds good for Mr Renolds to complain about it, and all this fits nicely into the pre-determined agenda of making China look as evil as possible to ruin the games.
I always suspected the western media had a biased streak when it comes to China, but after the last few months, starting with the riots in tibet, I am sure of it. It's really ridiculous to read western reporters now complaining that the reactions to the "protests" in Tibet in March from the Chinese authorities were "brutal" and "harsh". But they hardly ever mention the fact that these riots were violent and deadly, and many people were killed based on ethnic idenity (and lots of pictures of monks leading rioters doing all sort of un-monk-like things, like beating people, burning down buildings and bashing in doors to loot. Nice "Buddhists" indeed)).
It's so easy to make the Chinese out to be bad, and the Tibetans out to be such innocent victims, and the head Lama himself as some sort of infallible guru. I wonder if Mr Reynolds and his friends actually understand fully what the word "theocracy" and "god-king" really mean? It's a joke that supposed "liberal" minded people would fall over themselves for a monk-king who was chosen by a small cabal of monk-nobles through some wacky "re-incarnation" theory? Are you kidding? What century is this anyway? Are we going back to the era of Divine-right to rule? Such convoluted thinking on the part of the western tibetniks and their media cohorts amazes me.
Regardless, China should really have learned the ways in which the US and Australia dealt with their aboriginal problems. If China had learned them 50 years ago, there would be no "tibet problem" today. It also amazes me that many of these tibetniks come from these two countries with such 'glorious histories'. In fact, we in the US even has "Columbus Day" to celebrate the beginning of this North American genocide...and US kids get a day off from school for this to celebrate. Amazing!
Michael Lou
Milton, Massachusetts
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Can't understand why the Chinese are so crazy about Tibet, Tiananmen sq, Amnesty and Falun Gong that Chinese gov't is blocking them?
These websites are so popular in China, who knew?
What a bore those Chinese, look up sex and junk to buy China.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
To James:
The first word that you mentioned in this report is China which I know you refered to the Communist Government. However, in this sort of case, it's streets ahead of using the latter directly because , to some extend, China represents the Chinese people who have no free media and fair election, so you can't put an equal mark between China and the Chinese Communist party who is self-confessed the representative of China's people but indeed not.
We are used to accept either geographical or political name of a country as the same meaning like that America means the United States where people can choose their government and so the government stands for most of its people. But there is no place for the habit in an autocratic state.
Some friends gave gratitude to Hujing
Tao for the partly unblocking of the internet, and others said Hu are always busy in work, which could justify he never gets close to Chinese athlets in the games, compared with Mr Bush. So a conclusion is easy to draw that after six-odd years of hard work (being China's president), Hu finally find it's time to improve a little bit of freedom of media. How cushy his job is!
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There are quite a few software that you can download to unblock all the websites. I was able to visit many allegedly blocked websites (including BBC) when I was in China without any problem, and I don't understand how come a person who is so curious about the blocked sites can't bother to find a way around it.
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