In today’s #AtoZChallenge in China… people might be thinking how I can publish blogs, tweet, or post Instagram photos in China. It’s because of a VPN — or virtual private network.
In my several #AtoZChallenge entries about the internet in China (the Great Firewall and Mobile Communications) I talked about the thriving “e-cosystem” behind what people outside the Chinese cyber-shield think otherwise. Inside the Great Firewall, mostly foreigners use systems like VPNs to bypass strict encryptions that block many foreign news websites and social networking sites. Only a few Chinese who I know use VPN (and among them are exchange students and professionals traveling outside China).
From what it seems, most of the Chinese whom I talked with about using a VPN seem not to care because they are “satisfied” with most of the online content they have.
V is for Virtual Private Network
What exactly is a VPN? For foreigners in China, it’s a way to access Google and Facebook. Outside China, it’s viewed as a technology that allows for a secure internet connection, especially when someone uses a public network, say at airports or coffee shops.
VPNs, I must say, are a complicated technology that I think I won’t be able to explain further (despite having read various sources). However, my notion of a VPN has been always it offers network security. But I remember in my class before a topic about corporations that hold user data. While I’m certain that my VPN service won’t keep my private data secure, at least it can offer another level of encryption. Anyway, that is too technical to be discussed here.
What I’m actually looking forward to is the future of VPNs in China. Early this year, authorities in Chongqing municipality began to crack down on the “illegal” use of VPNs, with violators facing a fine of up to RMB 15,000 (USB 2,200). On WeChat, several contacts posted local news articles that said there would be a crackdown on commercial VPN providers.
In the Great Firewall entry, I mentioned that an opinion piece in a state newspaper said the cyber shield won’t exist forever, especially when “China and the West hold an equal footing in terms of soft power.” In that regard, VPNs might soon go out of fashion in China without everyone even noticing what they are for. But will that “equal footing” be ever achieved, possibly in this lifetime? In the foreseeable future, that might not materialize as soft power doesn’t mean everything that’s seen or heard on the internet. We have Hollywood and Western brands and internet giants trying to penetrate the massive Chinese market… while Chinese pop culture is relatively confined within the borders of the Great Firewall, and many Chinese products viewed by many as “fake.”
Featured photo via Picjumbo.
See more of my #AtoZChallenge: Chinese Adventure
Fascinating post (and blog).
This is really interesting.
Cait @ Click’s Clan
Seventy years ago it was radio broadcasts on radio free Europe that opened up the world to the censored and they are going strong. Perhaps one day a similar thing will be developed for the internet.
Perspectives at Life & Faith in Caneyhead
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