China tightens internet controls during major political meetings

China has stepped up efforts to block internet users from accessing banned websites during a top political meeting this week, a leading provider of firewall-spanning software told AFP.

Beijing imposes the world’s most widespread censorship of the internet, with internet users in mainland China unable to access everything from Google to news sites without using a virtual private network (VPN).

As thousands of delegates gather in Beijing this week for the annual Two Sessions meeting, VPN software is finding it increasingly difficult to circumvent censorship and outages are becoming more frequent, even compared with previous sensitive political events. .

A representative of the Liechtenstein service Astrill confirmed to AFP: “Currently, censorship has increased due to political meetings in China. Astrill is one of the most popular VPN services for foreigners in China.”

“Unfortunately, not all VPN protocols are currently up and running,” they said. “We are working intensively to get all services back up and running, but we don’t have an ETA at this time.”

In China, it is illegal to use a VPN without government authorization and to use the software to access blocked websites.

However, state media staff and diplomats have access to banned websites such as X (formerly Twitter).

During the two sessions, security was tightened across Beijing, with security guards patrolling the streets with sniffer dogs and elderly volunteers wearing red armbands monitoring pedestrians for suspicious behavior.

Chinese social media giant Weibo has also been quick to block sensitive topics.

All tags discussing Beijing’s decision to cancel the prime minister’s traditional press conference were quickly removed from search results.

Another piece of content that mentioned China’s economic woes and declared that “middle-class children have no future” was also deleted.

China’s domestic media is controlled by the state, and widespread censorship of social media is often used to suppress negative or critical reporting.

Regulators have previously urged investors to avoid reading foreign news reports about China.

President Xi Jinping said in a speech last year that the ruling Communist Party’s control of the Internet had been “strengthened” and that it was crucial for the country to “govern cyberspace.”