ZCZC
BFF-32
CHINA-CENSORSHIP-COMPUTERS
China blocks all language editions of Wikipedia
BEIJING, May 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Beijing has broadened its block of online
encyclopedia Wikipedia to include all language editions, reported an internet
censorship research group, ahead of the country’s most politically explosive
anniversary.
According to a report by the Open Observatory of Network Interference
(OONI), China started blocking all language editions of Wikipedia last month.
Previously, most editions of Wikipedia — besides the Chinese language
version, which was reportedly blocked in 2015 — were available, OONI said in
their report.
AFP could not open any of Wikipedia’s versions in China on Wednesday.
“At the end of the day, the content that really matters is Chinese-
language content,” said Charlie Smith, the pseudonym of one of the co-
founders of Greatfire.org, which tracks online censorship in China.
“Blocking access to all language versions of Wikipedia for internet users
in China is just symbolic,” he told AFP. “It symbolises the fear that the
Chinese authorities have of the truth.”
Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation that hosts Wikipedia,
did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
China’s online censorship apparatus — dubbed the “Great Firewall” —
blocks a large number of foreign sites in the country, such as Google,
Facebook and The New York Times.
Topics that are deemed too “sensitive” are also scrubbed, such as the 1989
crackdown on Tiananmen pro-democracy protesters which will mark its 30th
anniversary on June 4.
The expanded block of Wikipedia comes as Chinese authorities ramp up
online controls and crack down on Great Firewall circumvention tools, such as
virtual private network (VPN) software, under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In November, China’s cyberspace authority said it had “cleaned up” 9,800
accounts on Chinese social media platforms like messaging app WeChat and the
Twitter-like Weibo that it accused of spreading “politically harmful”
information and rumours.
Chinese Twitter users have also told AFP that they have experienced
intimidation from local authorities — and even detention — for their
tweets.
The latest move to block all versions of Wikipedia could be linked to
online translation tools, which make it easy for Chinese users to read
anything on Wikipedia, explained Smith.
Images can also be considered taboo, he said.
“A picture is worth a thousand words, and there is no dearth of Tiananmen-
related imagery on the Wikipedia website,” Smith added.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1626 hrs