China's internet restrictions seem to be getting stricter. Here's an interesting article about how China started banning individuals from registering internet domain names last month. You now have to present a business license and a company chop (official company seal) to register a domain. Can you imagine?
Right now in China you can't access facebook, youtube, twitter, this blog, and many other websites. A few of my Chinese friends told me how they used to have facebook accounts and then one day they could no longer go to the site. I am also unable to view personal blogs and online videos. I've definitely felt disconnected, but finally I found out how to get around the restrictions. As opposed to when I was here before, there are some services out there that are easy to find and allow you to access blocked sites.
I'm no expert, but I'll try to explain what I did for those of you in the same situation. VPN (Virtual Private Networks) change your IP address so your computer appears to be located in the US or Europe. Here's a good list of VPN Service Providers. There are some that are free but I hear that they drop off often and are not secure so I am using a $15/month provider called Surfbouncer (www.surfbouncer.com). They rotate the servers every few weeks so it makes it that much more difficult to track. It took me about 5 hours to download and figure out how to get it to work but considering I don't know anything about this stuff it was pretty painless (except for the fees).
In the absence of Facebook and because I have yet to meet/make even one expat friend, I joined a local Beijing social networking site. So far I've yet to have someone add me who is worth befriending even in cyberspace and I'm glad I used a pseudonym (think famous bank robber). The only people who have added me are men from countries I don't know anything about (Moldova, anyone?) who happen to be in China and want to meet or people who just want me for my English skills. The other day I was in a dvd store and I overheard some girls speaking with a British accent and I was so close to just walking up and asking them to be my friend! Wow I sound like a stalker myself.That's what facebook is for.
-mk