The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the plan to reopen Tibet...well who knows. Chinese authorities will not release any information regarding the reopening of Tibet's borders to foreigners. Originally, the date to reopen was set to be May 1st, but now it is uncertain when this will happen. Certain "reliable reports," according to the article, state that Tibet won't reopen until the start of this year's Olympic games.
This isn't really something that seems unexpected. With all the things that have been going on in Tibet, this is just the icing on the cake. China's Great Firewall limited all news access about Tibet. Chinese citizens could not search for news updates about the current situation since Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube are all blocked by the Chinese censors. Surfing through a proxy server was the only hope Chinese citizens had to find information, that is until the Chinese government shut down all forms of media in Tibet and made all foreigners leave the area.
I know the use of proxy servers and other internet privacy tools must be on the rise in certain parts of the world. Chinese citizens are not allowed to view websites that are outside China's borders, severely limiting the news and information flow through the country. Bloggers and media face severe penalties if they post things that the Chinese government finds offense or does not approve of. The need for anonymity becomes more important every day. I know I will be using a proxy server...I do not do anything illegal therefore I shouldn't be tracked when using the internet, and the same should especially go for the Chinese citizens who can't even look up information on Wikipedia or use Google.
While I am glad I have certain freedoms that others do not, who knows how extreme censorship can become...therefore I will continue using my proxy server to stay anonymous.
No comments:
Post a Comment