China’s Censorship: How Can You Evade It?

China is one of the most famous countries because of its rich history and culture. Other than the fact that China has over 1.3 billion people, they’ve made quite a few contributions to our time now, too. Home to a lot of different ancient cultures, it’s definitely a place to visit. The only problem is that, China’s internet is not like how it is in other countries. In fact, they have the most famous websites blocked.

China’s Great Firewall

China’s internet accesses are very limited. In fact, if you name a website, chances are, it’s blocked in China. The Great Firewall of China (GFW) is a mix of laws and technological manner imposed by the People’s Republic of China. As obvious as it sounds, its goal is to regulate China’s internet accesses domestically.

It’s quite tough when you think about it, but how did this Great Firewall really start? Who thought of this idea?

The history of the Great Firewall

To start, China did not impose this law when the internet first broke in. In fact, in 1994, the internet was seen and felt to be part of the Open Door Policy. With the help of Western countries, the goal was to reform their economy.

Things changed when the Chinese government followed Deng Xiaoping, the Chairman of the Central Advisory Commission. He expressed his idea from his favorite saying that “when you open the window, flies come in.” Since then, everything got changed.

Beginning the early 2000, the Great Firewall is becoming a reality. Its foundations were born along with the establishment of the Golden Shield Project. The Golden Shield Project is a national monitoring system which watches over every citizen’s record and connectivity to China’s organizations.

Jumping to our time now, this project employs more than 50,000 people to monitor and restrict the Chinese people from accessing websites that are part of their list.

What is the reason behind the restriction of websites?

It’s understandable – actually most, if not all countries have their own version of the GFW. They ban websites that are against their rules; they ban websites that spread hatred and gore; you know how it goes. But China’s reason is much more government-centered.

In their argument, China’s reason on why they block a majority of websites is to protect their national security as well as maintaining social order. Advocates say that the government is worried about the news published by Facebook and Google. That Chinese people might think about opposing the one-party rule.

So it’s safe to say that when you visit China, you won’t be able to go on Facebook for the time being.

How do Chinese people cope with the Firewall?

All of us can feel how difficult it is living in China. Especially with the digital world we live in now. How do people do homework there? How do they travel? What sites do they go on to? Well, the Chinese, of course, developed China’s own social media platforms.

For instance, they don’t have access to Facebook, right? Well, they have WeChat. Google, to add to that, is also restricted. The main search engine they use is Baidu. For traveling, they have their Chinese Uber called Didi.

They have developed all sorts of applications for their people. With this, the people are convinced that China’s all they need – that they don’t need support from other countries. China’s people have grown accustomed to what their country has to offer.

Would it tell you that the website’s blocked?

As obvious as it may seem, the GFW won’t tell you that you’re blocked – it just won’t load. You might forget it and you might think that your connection is not working, but it’ll appear like it’s continuing to load and load.

You won’t receive a message telling you that “The Republic of China has blocked this website.” If a site is blocked, it’s not going to load the specific web page.

How about Hong Kong and Macau? Do these restrictions apply?

Good news for everyone traveling in China’s autonomous regions. No, China’s GFW does not apply in these regions. So you’re free to use Facebook while down in Macau and in Hong Kong. However, the Chinese government still closely monitors these places so be careful.

Is there a way to evade China’s censorship?

But if you’re to visit mainland China, the GFW is strongly in effect there. Let me give you an example about how this works.

Say you’re going on a business trip to China. You need access to your Facebook because that’s how you communicate with your people back home. Since the GFW is in effect, accessing Facebook is not an option. You don’t have a way to tell your people to download WeChat instead.

How would you be able to access restricted websites while down there? Is there a legitimate way – without violating their rules – for you to be able to take that online business call?  

Well, here’s one way to put it – you won’t unless you have a VPN. Yes, you can use a VPN in China but make sure that you have one before you go.

What is a VPN?

A VPN or a Virtual Private Network is a type of private connection that hides your internet traffic. What it does is that it encrypts the data you send and receive. Meaning, the Chinese government won’t be able to keep track of your online activity.

Yes, even internet service providers (ISPs) and the local government will be clueless. The data that would be coming in and out of your device will be encrypted – you would be safe.

But is VPN legal in China?

Everybody in China knows that they have theGFW in effect. People then would find different things on how they can bypass it. If you are not aware, VPNs are a major hit in the Chinese market. The Chinese government is not blocking VPNs because it’s part of the business.

Using a VPN in China is actually what most people and international companies do. In fact, big organizations use VPNs for their business every single day. VPNs are what keep these international Chinese organizations’ data safe and secure. Because of the protection promised by VPNs, Chinese organizations – even the government, loves it.

China does not plan on shutting down VPNs. Why? Because if they do, they’ll lose a large chunk of the business they deal with internationally. Especially now that China has tons of businesses circling the globe, it would be bad to shutdown VPNs.

What VPN providers are the best to use in China?

So if you plan to visit China, ensure that you subscribe or get a VPN service first before going there. You might find it challenging to download a VPN in China. So, to be prepared, have one before you leave. For the VPN clients, you can use whatever VPN you want, so long that they’re secure.

But, we have done some searching about different VPN providers. In fact, we were able to come up with the best VPN providers you can use in China.

Final Verdict

Yes, you can definitely use a VPN in China and the government won’t arrest you .You just have to be mindful, though. Because if other people see you using it, they might report you – you can get in trouble.

Before you leave, make sure that you are subscribed to a VPN provider. It’s not just for your trip to China, you can also use it back home. By being protected from ISPs, the government, and cyber-criminals, what would a monthly price of $15 be? For complete protection from any kind of threat, paying $15 is actually cheap.

Don’t be afraid to use VPN while in China – no one will know you’re doing it. Again, large Chinese international organization use VPN for their own sake, too. What’s stopping you from doing your own thing while you’re there?