Youtube is blocked in China
Tal
March 25, 2009, 12:05 AM posted in General DiscussionWell, it's something I've been dreading but I suppose it was inevitable. Youtube is now unavailable to all poddies like myself who reside in mainland China. I'm just surprised it took them so long. I guess one good thing (maybe the only one) about all the Olympics hooha was that it delayed BS like this.
I reckon it'll spoil the fun for the many poddies who like to post youtube vids here, as well as cutting off access to many fine Chinese musical performances and other cultural treats. Sad.
jckeith
March 25, 2009, 06:52 PMWell as noted there's nothing really new in this game of claim and counter claim, but I have to agree that banning sites is surely not the wisest (or even most effective way) for the Chinese government to deal with this problem.
What problem?
Anyone with half a brain knows for example that the US led invasion of Iraq was unjustified, probably illegal, and definitely not done for altruistic reasons, yet now, several years down the road, what difference does it make to anyone except historians? China's totalitarian regime can still learn a trick or two from the 'paper tiger' imho.
I'm not quite sure what to make of this. What exactly do you mean?
tvan
March 25, 2009, 03:59 AMI hope Google doesn't cave. Last time YouTube was blocked was because they had the nerve to set up a YouTube "Taiwan" site. However that only lasted a few months.
miantiao
March 25, 2009, 05:15 AMi had a student say something very interesting to me the other day.
if china had democracy and freedom of speech his country would fall into a civil war and separate into what he described as something similar to the three kingdoms period.
he kept referring to 蜀国。
changye
March 25, 2009, 08:23 AMHi miantiao
What the student said is, good or bad, very right. Probably that's the most persuasive (and plausible) excuse reason why the CCP never realizes democracy and freedom of speech in the PRC. After all, satisfied pigs are much happier than dissatisfied Socrates. The problem is that most people, me included, can become neither the former nor the latter, unfortunately, hehe.
calkins
March 25, 2009, 10:04 AMI hesitate to post this...one, because of the sensitivity of the situation and two, because it is very gruesome.
Do not watch this if you are the least bit squeamish. Seriously. I am usually not squeamish at all, but after the part that says "Gruesome", it was not easy to watch.
This is the video that caused the Chinese government to block Youtube. The Chinese government claims that wounds seen in this video are faked, and that the events were pieced together. Well, of course they're pieced together, that's what happens when the government doesn't allow outside media into Tibet.
I'm no doctor (or makeup artist), but those wounds look pretty real to me. As do the battons, the kicks, the dragging, etc. It's all overly excessive, no doubt about that.
There may be some doubt to the location and/or timeframe to these events, but it's nothing we haven't seen before.
Please note, I'm not passing judgement on Chinese people, only on the government. Obviously, I don't agree with censorship (and I certainly don't agree with this kind of brutality), so I feel compelled to "share" this. One of the greatest reasons for having media, is to spread images like these to the rest of the world, so that hopefully a positive change will come about.
Again, this video is disturbing.
miantiao
March 25, 2009, 10:12 AMcan't see it calkins!
is it possible to get access to youtube via another means, like re-route through a series of servers or something like that? a site that gives access to youtube that the great wall doesn't detect?
i'd really like to see the vid.
calkins
March 25, 2009, 10:18 AMHey miantiao, I'm not sure how you could do that. But I do remember a post a while back, by an expat in China, who uses some kind of downloaded software to view banned sites.
I can't remember what it is, but maybe some other users could help. Anyone know?
RJ
March 25, 2009, 10:21 AMthere are proxys that you can use but I dont remember what they are called. Never needed them, but I have seen them used in China.
miantiao
March 25, 2009, 10:43 AMsorry rj, but what's a proxy? nevermind, i'm a tech illiterate. even if you explained it to me it would just 左耳进右耳出， 呵呵
changye
March 25, 2009, 03:23 AMHi rigau
Just "enjoy" observing stark realities in China. I didn't realize the importance of freedom (and water) until I came to China several years ago. What you take for granted in your country often doesn't exist here in the PRC. Thankfully, living in an autocratic state (tentatively) makes your home country look better than it really is, hehe.
miantiao
March 25, 2009, 11:02 AMchanelle, cheers for that. about the dogs, well, i could never knowingly eat a dog, but i do like to provoke emotional resonses in others ;-)
chanelle77
March 25, 2009, 11:05 AMHaha, you're most welcome: I hope it works, I get some flash player error when I try vids, but at least I can access blocked sites.
tvan
March 25, 2009, 11:47 AMCalkins, didn't look as bad as Rodney King and the LAPD. If this hadn't happened, I never would have bothered looking at the video. I wonder if anybody ever told the PRC of the Streisand effect. Is there an equivalent term in Chinese?
calkins
March 25, 2009, 11:58 AMI agree Tvan...the Rodney King beating was just brutal. I didn't think the above was that violent or disturbing (comparitively)....but those wounds are what got me. I definitely couldn't be a surgeon!
I also agree about the Streisand effect...the Chinese government has a knack for shooting itself in the foot.
kimiik
March 25, 2009, 01:54 PMSeriously, I don't think that Youtube is unavailable in China because of this little video in english.
Btw, showing the dead body left to the vultures and eaten by them with a narrative voice saying that it's part of the tibetan culture would be the "Gruesome" part. Even in India, this old tradition is generally banned for obvious hygienic reasons.
tomluo
March 25, 2009, 02:44 PMPersonally,the action of the blocking youtube is the right choice the government of china .Previously,I saw lots of viedos about violence and .....
jckeith
March 25, 2009, 04:09 PMCalkins, didn't look as bad as Rodney King and the LAPD. If this hadn't happened, I never would have bothered looking at the video. I wonder if anybody ever told the PRC of the Streisand effect. Is there an equivalent term in Chinese?
Authoritarian regimes have a knack for counterproductive behavior. It was the Czech government's banning of rock and roll which sparked the Velvet Revolution.
Tal
March 25, 2009, 06:00 PMPosting anything interesting or relevant to this subject feels risky and makes one hesitate, and a probably not so irrational fear that BBC News will be the next web based media source to be 'silenced' made me ponder before highlighting this story.
Well as noted there's nothing really new in this game of claim and counter claim, but I have to agree that banning sites is surely not the wisest (or even most effective way) for the Chinese government to deal with this problem. Anyone with half a brain knows for example that the US led invasion of Iraq was unjustified, probably illegal, and definitely not done for altruistic reasons, yet now, several years down the road, what difference does it make to anyone except historians? China's totalitarian regime can still learn a trick or two from the 'paper tiger' imho.
Oh meanwhile, perhaps yet another example of 'talking pygmy to a dwarf'...
chanelle77
March 25, 2009, 10:48 AMThis is not a prefect solution, but you can see sites that are blocked i.e. youtube. At least it worked for me. It does not display cpod's site very well, but I could get to youtube via this site. It is in Dutch, but I think you can figure out where to type the url ;-).
ps I did not check this vid so do not know if it works. I am afraid it has dogs in it ;-)
pearltowerpete
March 25, 2009, 01:50 AMHi reigau
The Bamboo Curtain is a fickle barrier. Youtube has been blocked before, and I am sure it will be back again.
This time, the cause is supposed to be videos of the beating of a monk last March.
There may be other causes. I have read speculation that the CCP is keen on boosting domestic video cites like Youku at the expense of Google's Youtube.
Whatever the reason, these shenanigans do not give the image of a confident or modern state.