Beyond the Wall: Escaping China’s Great Firewall
A recent op-ed in the New York Times by Murong Xuecun stated, “You shouldn’t let a wall decide what you know.”
He was referring to the Great Firewall of China (GFW), and how important it is for Internet users in China to bypass the GFW and the restrictive censorship it imposes. We couldn’t agree with this sentiment more, and believe that everyone should have access to a free and open Internet. As Murong describes, the difference between those who escape the wall and those who don’t is huge:
“One world stands for free information and the exchange of ideas, the other for censoring and monitoring. The wall fences in a Chinese information prison where ignorance fosters ideologies of hatred and aggression. If the firewall exists indefinitely, China will eventually revert to what it once was: a sealed off, narrow-minded, belligerent, rogue state.”
The good news is that there is an escape from the Great Firewall, and we’ve seen an increasing number of VPN connections out of China recently. That means more people have been using tools to bypass the GFW, including VPN services. We must continue this fight, however, as escape options aren’t always easy to come by. This week a VPN service that is popular in China, Red Apricot, also known as 红杏, announced they’ve temporarily stopped accepting new user registration. Additionally it was reported that police were speaking to the creator of Shadow Socks, a popular proxy service for wall escaping in China.
We believe those who are successfully bypassing the Great Firewall have a responsibility to tell others. The process of breaking out of censorship starts with creating awareness, and extends to providing people with the tools to access an open Internet. We’re so grateful that thought leaders such as Murong Xuecun are continuing to spread awareness, and here at Golden Frog we provide a tool – VyprVPN with Chameleon – that allows users to bypass the GFW.