On this episode of China Uncensored,
China is letting people tunnel
through the Great Firewall.
You just have to give up
all of your personal data.
Hi, welcome back to China Uncensored.
I’m your host, Chris Chappell.
So, the Chinese Communist Party has a problem.
It wants to have total control of the Internet in China.
You know, to protect the Chinese people
from all the harmful things on the web,
like, anything that might make a person
question why the government should have
total control over the Internet.
To do this,
the Chinese regime built the friendly
Great Firewall of China.
The firewall keeps out degenerate Western influences,
like Grumpy Cat,
so Chinese netizens can focus on
the much cuter Chinese version,
Snoopybabe.
The problem is,
it also keeps out loads of really useful websites,
like Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
And while the Chinese regime is rather happy
that the average Chinese netizen
doesn’t have access to Facebook,
it’s concerned that businesses
inside China will suffer.
What do you do when you can’t access Facebook
to advertise your company to reach overseas clients?
What do you do when you can’t even use Gmail?
That’s why Chinese netizens and businesses in China
use VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks.
Think of them like a tunnel
through the Great Firewall.
They not only allow access to blocked websites.
They also add an extra layer of security
for both individuals and corporations.
They protect people’s data
from leaking onto the internet.
Developers need VPNs to access
sporadically blocked websites like Github.
Researchers need to access Google Scholar.
Businesses need VPNs to send secure emails.
“VPNs are absolutely critical
to almost any businesses in China,
large or small—
and especially important
for innovative businesses.”
And that put the Chinese regime in a bind.
On the one hand,
it needs the Internet
to boost the economy,
to justify its rule.
On the other hand,
if people used the open Internet
to find out all the things
the Chinese regime has done,
that would undermine its rule.
But where you see a problem,
the Communist Party sees an opportunity!
Companies need VPNs to function in China.
So what’s an authoritarian regime gonna do?!
Ban everyone’s VPNs.
Okay, no more private VPNs.
Now what?
Why, the Chinese regime builds its own VPNs!
Of course, you have to pay to use them.
And any data that goes through
will be monitored by the government.
And since there will be literally no other option,
Chinese and foreign companies
will be forced to pay big money...
for the privilege of being tapped,
monitored, and their confidential information
reported back to the Party.
Remember, it’s not just individual netizens
and companies affected.
According to the Financial Times,
embassies have also been affected.
They say it’s a violation
of the Vienna convention.
Look, embassies need to send
confidential emails.
Like about how frustrating it is
being a diplomat in China.
China’s internet regulators
have been tampering with
individual VPNs for years.
But it had, for the most part,
left internal corporate
and embassy VPNs alone.
It didn’t want to hinder economic growth
or affect international relations.
This is not the case anymore.
After the 19th Party Congress last year,
the Communist Party decided that
surveillance takes precedence,
even over economic development.
Probably because given the choice
of pulling out of China,
or playing by the Communist Party’s rules,
most would be willing to choose the latter.
Like Apple!
Apple has been more than happy to comply
with China’s strict new Internet laws.
Apple removed 674 VPN apps
from its App Store in China.
Wow, I didn’t even know there were t
hat many different VPNs to begin with.
But it’s not all doom and gloom.
Yes, the Chinese Communist Party
is closing the last bridge to the outside Internet.
But that doesn’t mean Chinese people
will never even know what happened.
Because as of now,
the China Uncensored website,
ChinaUncensored.tv,
is still unblocked in China.
So what do you think about
China’s VPN extortion ring?
Leave your comments below—
while you still have access to the free Internet...
Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell,
see you next time.
The Chinese regime is making it harder
for people inside and outside of China
to learn the truth.
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and I’m not just tooting my own horn here.
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