China Blames VPNs for Recent Terrorist Attacks
The Chinese government is accusing virtual private networks (VPNs),and other technologies that bypass internet censorship, of being the catalysts to recent terrorist attacks. According to IT News, domestic terrorists from western China are finding ways around the nation’s online censors to view blocked videos of terrorism.
On March 1, 29 people were killed in Kunming, China, after knife-wielding attackers descended on civilians leaving a local train station. Zhang Chunixan, a top Chinese official, blamed this violent outburst on a group of separatists from Xinjiang, which is a region of western China. Chunixan also suggested that the violence was fueled by the use of VPNs to access violent footage originally blocked by the Chinese government.
“Right now, 90 percent of Xinjiang’s terrorism is the result of jumping the wall, and following online videos to create terrorism,” he told journalists.
Additionally, Chinese authorities have begun to monitor and respond to rumors on Sina-Weibo, a social media tool similar to Twitter. During and after the March 1 attacks, Sina-Weibo users posted pictures of police responding to the scene and of injured victims around the train station. As the pictures circulated, Chinese citizens became enraged. Many protested against the graphic and sensitive photos, asking users to stop circulating the pictures.
According to Xinhuanet.com, Sina-Weibo users turned to the social media website to respond to those users posting the graphic pictures. “We should not forward unconfirmed information and bloody pictures to avoid more panics,” one user stated. Shortly after the knife attacks on March 1, China’s public service bureau reportedly arrested 45 people for posting false information online about other potential terrorist attacks.
As of now, the Chinese government hasn’t implemented any additional strategies to block the use of VPNs. However, China has blocked several U.S. sites including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. In the past, China’s “Great Firewall” hasn’t been hard to break through. Users willing to pay $10 USD or less a month could easily access VPNs and restricted websites. But, after the recent violent attacks, China plans to implement stronger restrictions and gain more control over the nation’s internet access. The country intends to have a tighter grip over local social networking sites as well, in a response to reported threats against national stability.
Leave a Reply