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China Will Block Internet During Olympics, But Will Go Easy On Pirates

by Tim Stevens, posted May 8th 2008 at 10:50AMBreaking News

China Will Block Internet During Olympics, Not PiratesDespite having the highest number of online users in the world, China is still one of the most strict censors of the Internet. In the build-up to the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer, the nation has been talking about the easy availability of Internet access for the media covering the games, but now it's backing away from pledges of "complete freedom," indicating that some sites will continue to be censored.

So, the media may find themselves blocked from some sites while in the country, but, in an ironic twist, the Chinese government is also saying that it's unable to block those selling Olympic-themed memorabilia. Officials have complained about seeing vendors openly selling knockoff shirts and mascots (along with pirated copies of Hollywood movies and the like) on street corners in Beijing. The government has fined a number of them recently, but is indicating it is powerless to stop it completely.

So, between the censorship and bionic swimming suits, it's certainly shaping up to be an interesting Olympics, and we haven't even started talking about the competitors yet! [Source: Reuters]

World's Highest Wi-Fi Hotspot Now On Mt. Everest

by Will Safer, posted May 7th 2008 at 9:57AM


Admit it. You've tapped into a neighbor's Wi-Fi, siphoning off a little bandwidth for free so you can check some e-mail or maybe just surf the Net for a bit. Of course, you could get your access on the up and up by going to a local Internet cafe -- but what do you do when you're attempting a shot at the top of the world?

China has the answer.

17,000 feet above sea level, at the base camp to Mount Everest, China Mobile has built a business office and Internet cafe. The Mount Qomolangma base camp provides mobile and Internet services to "government officials, mountain climbing members and journalists," reports China Daily.

The highest hotspot in the world was established to support the Olympic torch's journey across the so-called "rooftop of the world." The China Mobile office offers Wi-Fi access with remote payment, SIM change service and other basic services, "in addition to free film, vending machines and new business experience." China Mobile claims "about 40 to 50 people go to the office and Internet cafe every day to experience the services."

No word on the quality of their lattes. [Source: China Daily via CNET]

Move Over US, China Now Has the Most Internet Users (220M)

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 21st 2008 at 10:20AMBreaking News

China Becomes World Leader in Internet UsageAmerican scientists invented the Internet, so it might make sense that Americans have always been the most populous group surfing the digital byways. But this ranking changed at the end of last year, with statistics showing that China now has the most online citizens of any country in the world.

According to the study, China now has over 220 million users online, compared with 216 million U.S. surfers. The American figure includes a full 71% of the American population -- such high penetration is one of the big reasons that growth of online users here is slowing. That 220 million Chinese, however, represents only 17% of its population, which means that this gap is only going to keep growing. growing.

So, it seems, the beginning of an online culture shift is at hand. Get used to it! [Source: USA Today]

200-Million Spam Text Messages Hit Chinese Cell Phones

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 25th 2008 at 1:39PM

Phone Spam Hits Nearly Half of Chinese MobilesThere's little more irritating than getting spam text messages on your cell phone, especially when your plan has you stuck paying for each message that comes in.

Thankfully, phone spam is a fairly isolated problem here in the U.S. In China, however, it's another story entirely, as nearly half of all the cell phone users in the country recently got hit with a flood of spam text messages.

Last week, over 200-million spam messages were sent to subscribers of China's two largest mobile providers, China Mobile and China Unicom. The messages originated from seven different advertising firms, which took advantage of security lapses at the two service providers to send out the blasts. Those advertising firms have been apparently blocked from future spam attempts, but it remains to be seen whether they'll face prosecution or not.

Here's hoping.

From BBC News

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Chinese Mobile Phone Has Two -Year Battery Life

by Will Safer, posted Mar 24th 2008 at 3:19PM

Chinese cell phone with two-year battery life.

Battery life is often the determining factor when we buy consumer electronics products. How does a cell phone with two years of stand-by time sound to you?

A new phone out of China promises just that, giving you two years of stand-by time and two to three days of active talking time -- all without plugging the phone into the charger even once.

You may be thinking this device, Solo Mobi model number ZJ268, would be nothing more than a big battery with a keypad, but the handset actually has Bluetooth support, slots for two SIM cards, keypad AND handwriting input, and MP3 playback capability. The Solo Mobi also has plenty of standard phone applications like calendar, task list, and (of course) a contact list.

The 32800 mAh battery is rated by the manufacturer to operate for 666 days in standby mode, which blows away anything else we've seen on the market.

As best we can tell from the manufacturer Web site, the basic cost of the phone is $128. According to the specifications, it does come with a charger -- but why would you need one?

The good news is that if you can get your hands on one -- either by going to China and buying one or finding it for sale online -- you'll be able to use it with ay T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless SIM card.

From Textually.org.


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China Blocks YouTube Access Over Tibet Protest Videos

by Will Safer, posted Mar 17th 2008 at 1:26PM

The flag of the People's Republic of China

The free flow of information is one of the basic rights those in open societies claim as an advantage over those who live in closed societies, and one right many Web surfers may take for granted. Case in point: if you lived in China right now, you'd find your access to YouTube denied as that country attempts to block its sizable population from viewing videos of recent demonstrations in Tibet's capital city of Lhasa.

China blocked access to the popular video site over the weekend as video images captured on cell phone cameras were posted of people protesting the Chinese government's control over the smaller Asian country.

While people around the world have been following the news of the Tibetan protests, Internet users in China, who number more than 210 million, have found only a blank page when they try to call up YouTube on their browsers. While China does encourage its people to use the internet for education and information exchange, there is also a fair amount of censorship in place. At its most basic level, pornography is blocked but also images and information that runs counter to government policy can also find itself beyond the reach of most Chinese citizens.

China has been trying to balance control with the recognized need for growth of the online industry. The country briefly sought to limit online video sharing to only state-owned companies but concern over stifling a valuable and growing industry moved the government to let private companies continue their operations – with strict guidelines, however, over content.

From AOL Money.


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China Shut Down 44,000 Pornograpy Sites in 2007

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jan 23rd 2008 at 12:16PM

China Shutdown 44,000 Pornography Sites Last Year

The Chinese government went Web-site-censoring crazy last year. According to the official state media Xinhua News Agency, China shut down over 44,000 Web sites and arrested 868 people for Internet pornography. The shutdowns and arrests were part of a crackdown on Internet pornography that had "perverted China's young minds," according to China's Public Security Ministry.

Despite the massive number of site closings and arrests, China has struggled to block the offending content (see the related links below for more on China's efforts in 2007). The Internet by its very nature is open and almost impossible to control. Whether China is attempting to block pornography, online gaming, or political dissent, it's likely to fail over time with any censoring eforts.

From Newsvine

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China Cracking Down On Online Games

by Evan Shamoon, posted Jan 17th 2008 at 3:40PM



Once the Chinese government gets its mitts on your industry, you're in trouble. Their newest target? Online games.

The government is issuing a set of new rules meant to crack down on what it calls "undesirable" elements of online games, mainly MMO-style affairs. All the hysteria stems from fears of growing Internet addiction which, as anyone with a level 60 Night Elf knows all to well, doesn't do a whole lot for productivity.

According to an Xinhua news agency, the number of online gamers in China rose 23 percent to 40.17 million last year. Regular subscribers, which accounted for over for over half the players, rose a rather staggering 30 percent.

Um, we blame their parents?

From Reuters

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'Lust, Caution' Sets Off Frenzy of Virus and Anti-Sex Warnings

by Tim Stevens, posted Nov 20th 2007 at 12:39PM



It wasn't all that long ago that director Ang Lee was opening eyes and pushing boundaries with 'Brokeback Mountain,' a film about sweaty cowboy man love. Now he's back with another controversial film, but this one's stirring up a different sort of controversy, this time in China. The hullabaloo features an interesting mix of warnings from a variety of sources, including both physicians and computer scientists who are all urging caution in viewing the film.

The first warning appears to be intended to stop Chinese computer users from downloading illegal copies of the film. A Chinese anti-virus company is saying that those copies of the film that can be found online come with a virus. The firm isn't detailing just what virus it is, but says the virus contains code to snag user passwords.

The second warning comes from Chinese physicians who warn that the ... erm ... extreme sexual positions demonstrated in the uncensored version of the film (which is seven minutes longer than the heavily censored version shown in China) rely on "abnormal body positions." They advise that only women with "comparatively flexible bodies that have gymnastics or yoga experience" dare try them, or risk "unnecessary physical harm."

We're not sure how much of these examples are sound warnings from concerned experts, and how much is a sort of combo smear-campaign against both illegal downloading and illicit films. We here in America think that if you're planning on seeing this film -- and we don't recommend it since it's likely to be an illegal copy -- you should fire up your virus scanner and either do a few stretches, or call up that gymnast you dated in college.

From Reuters

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Chinese Man Hacks Lottery System, Gets Life in Prison

by Evan Shamoon, posted Nov 8th 2007 at 9:07AM

China man

Note to self: Next visit to China, don't try rigging the lottery.

A Chinese lottery ticket seller has been sentenced to life in prison after taking advantage of a flaw in the system, which netted him 28 million yuan ($3.76 million) in tickets.

Basically, he figured out that a person can buy tickets with the right numbers within five minutes of their being announced -- and he did this many times over, according to sources at the Intermediate People's Court in Anshan, northeastern Heilongjiang province.

The 36 year-old man, Zhao Liqun, apparently "asked his neighbors and friends to cash the tickets at the Welfare Lottery Center and to bring back the money." No word on whether or not they get pinned as accomplices, but we're betting dollars to yuan they're not getting off scott free.

From Reuters

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Chinese Authorities Find 88 Types of Fake Samsung Phones in Beijing

by Evan Shamoon, posted Nov 6th 2007 at 2:39PM


In China, the Samsung cell phone has become the new Louis Vuitton handbag. Which is starting to piss some people off -- first and foremost, the folks at a little company called...Samsung. So in cooperation with Beijing's Haidian and Fengtai Industry and Commerce Departments, the Korean electronics giant has identified 88 fake varieties of its mobile phones floating around Beijing.

The fake phones used such misspelled names as Samsumg, Samsong, and, uh, "Amycall" -- which, apparently, those with a rather undeveloped understanding of the English language often confuse for the real thing.

Try saying "Samsumg" 10 times fast. Impossible, right?

From China Tech News


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China Blocking All RSS Feeds

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Oct 5th 2007 at 12:29PM

China Blocking All RSS Feeds
Ok, this has simply gone too far. It's one thing to block access to certain sites or even kill new Internet cafes, but to prevent an entire nation of people from using a technology as wonderful as RSS is just plain cruel.

Today, the Chinese government enacted a blanket ban on RSS feeds. We can only assume that this is because RSS feeds are quicker and easier to update. They can also be updated more often, making them much harder to censor than regular web site content.

The iron fist of oppression can only win for so long, however. Resourceful users have several workarounds at their disposal like a Firefox (a popular web browser) extension Gladder and the anonymous web browsing tool Tor.

All we know is that if someone took away our RSS, we'd be mighty pissed off.

From TechCrunch

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Chinese Gaming Company Bans Men Playing as Women in RPGs

by Evan Shamoon, posted Oct 1st 2007 at 8:21AM



Just when you thought it was safe to venture out into cyberspace wearing your elven-stitched miniskirt, a floral bikini top, and enough mascara to make Liza Minnelli blush -- you find out it's not. At least not in China, if you happen to be interested in playing Aurora Technology's MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) 'King of the World' (or any of the company's other MMORPG's, for that matter).

Apparently, Aurora has laid down the law: Users are only allowed to play as characters of their gender. The company has gone so far as to freeze game accounts of male players who have decided to play female in-game characters, and it requires gamers (mostly all male, we're guessing) who chose female characters to prove their biological sex with an oh-so-very-foolproof self-portrait using a Web cam, according to a report by 17173.

It's the ignorance of the past combined with the surrealism of the future! Yay, China.

From Newsvine



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Man Dies After Days of Non-Stop Gaming

by Tom Conlon, posted Sep 17th 2007 at 10:19AM

Man Dies After Three Days of Non-Stop Gaming

If you don't think Internet addiction is serious, consider the man in China who just died after a three-day, non-stop gaming session at a Beijing Internet café. The unnamed 30-year-old man was rushed to the hospital -- most likely after passing out -- and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Suicide has been ruled out as a cause of death.

The man's death reflects a disturbing trend amongst gamers in Asia who are playing online until it literally kills them. In 2005, a 28-year-old South Korean man died of exhaustion after a 50-hour marathon gaming session in an Internet café. In 2002, a 24-year-old South Korean man died after 86 straight hours of online gaming, while that same year, a 27-year-old Taiwanese man died after 32 hours of non-stop Internet gaming.

Internet addiction has become such an epidemic in China that the government no longer allows the opening of new cyber cafés and has started a state-sponsored Internet addiction camp to help treat the 13 percent of Chinese Internet users under the age of 18 who are believed to be addicted.

China has gone so far as to force game developers to institute mandatory limits in online games. For example, games will reward the player with fewer points or treasures after three hours of play and even inundate the player with messages that his character will soon be killed if he doesn't get offline immediately.

Though there's never been a case of a U.S. citizen dying from over-gaming, there have been reports of children suffering from seizures or developing blood clots after sitting in front of the game console for too long. Hopefully, we can rely on parents to do the policing instead of having time limitations actually programmed into the games themselves.

From Reuters

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China Claims "Massive Damage" From Hacking

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 14th 2007 at 9:15AM

China Claims It was reported earlier this month that United States officials were blaming Chinese forces for an infiltration into Pentagon-based computers, a hacking that resulted in an internal network crashing for more than a week.

Now China is claiming it is actually the victim, saying its "core, vital departments" have been infiltrated by hackers causing "massive damage" to its networks. The Chinese government's response is, perhaps unsurprisingly, to call for even more rigid controls on the online rights of its citizens: This means narrower filters and more blocking of online content, and expanded spying of Chinese citizens' online habits.

This reaction has many China experts from the West believing that these claims of computer hacking are completely fabricated, that they are simply excuses made up to enable the Chinese government to put tighter reigns on Internet usage by its citizens.

China has already greatly restricted and censored online content with its "Great Firewall". It sounds like that wall is only going to get higher.

From BetaNews

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