China blocks major social media web sites on eve of Tiananmen anniversary
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China's government ratcheted up its censorship of the Internet on Tuesday by blocking blogs, Internet forums, and social media sites, two days before the 20th anniversary of the military's attack on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
Twitter, Hotmail, Flickr, Opera, Live, Wordpress and Blogger are among Web sites that have been blocked since yesterday, according to Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based media rights group. Web sites of the Hong Kong-based Apple Daily newspaper, Yahoo! Hong Kong News, Microsoft Corp.’s Bing.com were also inaccessible.
CNN broadcasts went blank in Beijing and Shanghai during a segment on the crushing of the pro-democracy protests on June 4, 1989.
Government Internet monitors have shuttered message boards on more than 6,000 Web sites affiliated with colleges and universities, apparently to head off any talk about the 1989 events, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
Numerous blogs maintained by edgy government critics could not be accessed. Video sharing site YouTube has been blocked within China since March.
Chinese authorities offered no explanation for the blocking. In general, they say they take necessary steps to ensure that Web sites comply with local law, which requires companies and individuals who post information to largely avoid sensitive topics including Tiananmen Square, Taiwan and Tibet.
CNN broadcasts went blank in Beijing and Shanghai during a segment on the crushing of the pro-democracy protests on June 4, 1989.
Government Internet monitors have shuttered message boards on more than 6,000 Web sites affiliated with colleges and universities, apparently to head off any talk about the 1989 events, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
Numerous blogs maintained by edgy government critics could not be accessed. Video sharing site YouTube has been blocked within China since March.
Chinese authorities offered no explanation for the blocking. In general, they say they take necessary steps to ensure that Web sites comply with local law, which requires companies and individuals who post information to largely avoid sensitive topics including Tiananmen Square, Taiwan and Tibet.
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