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China stepped up its push to block VPN services last week. Photo: AP
Opinion
Mr. Shangkong
by George Chen
Mr. Shangkong
by George Chen

China to pay price for 'closed-internet' policy

Thinking everything will look good by blocking online access may sound too simple and naive

History always repeats, just sometimes in different ways.

The so-called "closed-door" policy of the Qing government closed Chinese people's minds for about a century. Now, the more ironic question will be how long Beijing's "closed-internet" policy will last.

For many foreigners living or travelling in the mainland, last week they were surprised to find their long-time trick to skirt online censorship of popular websites through virtual private network (VPN) services could not work anymore.

The mainland media quickly confirmed the government decided to upgrade its censorship technology to block all VPN tools except for a few institutional users, who can get a permit from Beijing.

Censorship on the mainland is nothing new to the world. From Beijing's viewpoint, it can help the government block or remove information that it believes is harmful to the development of the socialistic society in the country. But who can define what information is harmful or not?

The websites of the , together with dozens of leading international media outlets, have been blocked from accessing the mainland for years. Does that mean most of the international media is "harmful" for Chinese readers?

The Qing dynasty's "closed-door" policy paid a huge price for the future of China. It missed a rare opportunity to quicken the pace to reform itself into one of the leading powers in Asia. Instead, it was eventually forced by foreign invaders to "open the door" of the country.

Today, the mainland has become more powerful, but it does not mean it can do anything to buck the trend of information flow and technological developments worldwide.

The price Beijing will pay for its "closed-internet" policy will be huge. Many mainland scholars are now limited to do their research as they can rely mostly on domestic search engines and online research tools where English-language information is limited. Students also find it difficult to stay in touch with foreign universities or employers after the blocking of Google's email service.

Ironically, as Beijing stepped up its push to block VPN services last week, Vice-President Li Yuanchao made a rare comment that he believed he was a victim of "overseas online rumours". Indeed, Li has been widely reported overseas for the past few weeks as the next potential target in President Xi Jinping's anti-graft probe.

For Li, does that mean the "closed-internet" policy can save his reputation? We know a Chinese proverb " ", which means "to plug one's ears while stealing a bell". If Beijing thinks shutting down the internet will make everything look good, it may sound too simple and too naive.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: China to pay for closed-internet' policy
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