Just as they did last March, the Chinese government has blocked YouTube access without explanation.
“We don’t know the reason for the blockage,” said Scott Rubin, a spokesman for Google, who then added that China had blocked the site as of 5:30 p.m. pacific standard time today.
Although the government did not give an explanation, the most obvious reason is the fact that a video went up on March 20th that showed Tibetan prisoners being beaten by Chinese policemen. It also shows a man having a nail driven through his foot after he tried to help one of the innocent monks.
A Chinese government official added, “We encourage the active use of the Internet, but also manage the Internet according to law.”
We will keep you updated.
Result for: tibet
This morning the Chinese government blocked access to the popular video sharing site YouTube after over 20 videos about protests in Tibet appeared on the site.
The protests, which occurred in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on Friday, were against Chinese rule. The government has been blocking news broadcasts since the protests in an effort to control what the public knows about the events.
The videos were mainly of foreign news reports and montages of photos taken from the scene. The Chinese government has not yet officially confirmed that they have blocked the site, but Chinese citizens trying to access the site are met with a blank screen.
China has the second largest amount of Internet users at 210 million and is expected to soon surpass the US for largest population of internet users.
This news follows recent decisions by other countries to Block access to YouTube. Last month Pakistan blocked access because of “anti-Islamic” postings. Late last year Turkey made a similar move but the access was only blocked for a couple of days.
Result for: tibet
The Chinese government will be shutting down or “punishing” dozens of video-sharing sites that carry content deemed pornographic, violent or a threat to national security, announced a regulator yesterday. The news comes as China tries to tighten Internet control over the country.
Recently, the Chinese government blocked all access to YouTube after videos of protests in Tibet surfaced on the site.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, which made the announcement, noted that Tudou.com, China’s most popular video-sharing site, was among the sites that was being penalized.
Rules that had taken effect on January 31st ban Chinese sites from posting or distributing online video that “involves national secrets, hurts the reputation of China, disrupts social stability or promotes pornography.” With the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the government is hoping to stop any bad media that might tarnish the event.
