Do you Yahooooooooooo?

Yahoo Mail

In China, the yahoo news page and homepage is not blocked. Yay! This grants the population access to a Western news source (if that is what you elect to call Yahoo). However, people are denied access to the Yahoo mail server. So my family has to attempt to access their yahoo email account via proxy servers, which we have already established are fairly unreliable.

Why is the news site not blocked, but the emails are? My guess is that the Chinese government probably doesn't take the Yahoo news as very serious, so it doesn't concern itself with a a mass site block. Instead it likely censors the few stories that Yahoo produces that China deems as unfit for the population to read. However, perhaps Yahoo has proven to be a hub for protest planned activity or its users are some that China want to keep from accessing their emails, so the email aspect of Yahoo is blocked.

I'm not really sure, sometimes I wonder if sites are not 'blocked' but merely experience a lot of glitches in China because of some area's poor internet connections? This query might make it sound like I am bending my ear to Chinese propaganda, but I'm not. It just seems likely a likely alternative reason.

Points for China!!

https://www.ijreview.com/2015/7/360464-google-exec-reveals-one-word-woman-need-stop-saying-ever-wanna-respected/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=Partners&utm_term=PRM17&ts_pid=2&ts_pid=2

M.A's commentary:
I kinda thought with the Google block it wouldn't have been visible, but bingo, I am not sorry that this got thru

Indigo's commentary:
Had my mother not emailed me this link to say that it WAS allowed in China, I never would have read this article. But I am so glad I did! The word "just" does seem like I am asking permission or requesting something from someone when I might not want to. It is surprising that in the process of writing this blog, I have gained access or become aware of stories and articles I never would have otherwise.

I'm not totally sure why this isn't blocked. China is very pro equality and having the genders be on level playing fields, so maybe this is meant as a tool for the females in the Chinese workplace. Or maybe it is allowed because as far as I can recall, there doesn't exist a Chinese equivalent for the word "just". So the article is therefore irrelevant. Or maybe they see it as a semi-anit google piece because it points out how a previous female Google exec was subconsciously asking permission for things.

Regardless of the reasons, I am glad that I read this and that it is allowed in China.

Can't have Cannabis

image taken from pixabay.com
The American approval of cannabis 

http://news.yahoo.com/washington-state-gets-65-million-first-taxes-marijuana-210748216--spt.html

M.A's commentary:
Hmmm.legalities and implications, I actually understand the blockage. But I still wish I could read the story.

Indigo's commentary:
While I think my mother is correct that it is blocked because marijuana is illegal in China, I think there is probably another reason as well. I think that based on this article, it is clearly very profitable to go into the pot selling business. So, another reason this is likely blocked is to hide from the Chinese population that they could go into this unlawful business and actually do well from it.

Additionally, this article is probably blocked because it highlights the liberal, open "American morals" that allows, even supports light drug use.

Monopoly, Uno, Trivia, Gambling and Games not going on in China

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4881/personal-preference

M.A's commentary:
This is annoying because today  I plan to play this game with my class and I was looking for the actual rules. To save luggage space I just brought over the cards and game board assuming I could look up the game info online. Now I'll be making up the rules.

Indigo's commentary:
At first glance this might seem like one of the random sites that get blocked by China (remember the cookie recipe that was inaccessible??) but after giving the page a read through, I think I can explain why it is blocked.

The game description mentions betting, double money bets and even has betting as a key search term on its page. China is very anti-gambling. While the game Mah-Jong is loved worldwide, it is actually illegal in China because it is considered to be "gambling"(I still bought a game when I was living there). If the government is willing to ban an ancient, beloved game of their own creation, it isn't surprising that this game instruction site is blocked.

Gambling is allowed in state run lotteries, but betting on sports outcomes, or games, is completely against the law. It isn't that different from America or other countries where gambling outside of government sanctioned places such as casino's or lotteries is illegal. So try not to judge the Chinese government too harshly on their anti-gambling rules. They simply take the adherence to their laws a step further by blocking sites that may promote illicit betting.

Don't worry though, I was able to get my mom the instructions to the game!

Instagram? More like Insta....nope

Instagram, instasnap!!!!

www.instagram.com

M.A's commentary:
I just wanted to see some pictures my friend posted of her children on Instagram. However it is blocked in China.

Indigo's commentary:
I think that Instagram has probably been lumped into the same category as Facebook and other social media sites like Youtube. Using Instagram is a far too easy way to share information, even if it is photo based.

For instance it could be used to send pictures of some factory violation taking place, or maybe some violence or protest. A Instagram user could take pictures of the poverty in some places in China and create bad press. We all recently saw the power of a picture when a boy was depicted doing his schoolwork by the light of a fast food restaurant in the Philippines. Due to the picture and viral internet attention it got, he received funds to complete his schooling and got a college scholarship.

The saying doesn't go "a picture is worth a thousand words" for no reason. My analysis is that the Chinese government is protecting itself from Instagram being used against it in some way or other. But it is an unfortunate situation that people can't even gain access to view pre-existing accounts. But I doubt it is possible to block people from making accounts within China but still be able to view them.

The China stock market drop compared to the Chinese stock market drop

Most of the Western sites discussing the stock market drop in China are blocked. However, my mother was able to read about it on China Daily, which signifies that China is making an effort to be more open about its economy with its citizens. But the Chinese painting of the massive dip in the stock market and the way the rest of the world displays it are very different.

This is what my mom was able to open
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2015-07/09/content_21228580.htm

Here are Western articles that are a bit more honest about the drop

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-stock-market-crash-is-just-beginning-2015-07-08

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/china-business/11725236/The-really-worrying-financial-crisis-is-happening-in-China-not-Greece.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6eadedf6-254d-11e5-bd83-71cb60e8f08c.html

The Chinese reaction was more calm

Western articles saw it more seriously

The biggest difference I observe is that in the Chinese version, the 30% drop in the stock market is that it is almost portrayed to be an American problem or only an issue for U.S companies. Instead of focusing on China, it mentions the U.S market a lot. I think this is to take focus off of the national issue The above article even said that Chinese investors should see this as a great opportunity to invest in companies on the mainland. When clearly, any major drop like this is not an opportunity or a good thing.


While the article does mention the 30% drop, it is spelled out in words rather than numbers. It might not seem like much of a difference, but when people read and can visually see numbers and percentages, they pay more attention to what they signify. So it is almost embedded to not cause alarm. The most honest part of the writing was when it quoted that the Chinese bubble could be bursting.


My point in discussing the difference in the Chinese and elsewhere's portrayal of the stock market drop was to highlight that even when China doesn't use censorship, it still puts such a spin on some stories that it almost doesn't seem like the same thing.

Give these article a read and let me know what you think of the difference!

Skimming in China

theSkimm is great worldwide

theSkimm is an online overview of major news headlines that gets emailed directly to you. My mom first introduced me to it. She reads the emails everyday, and is very grateful for that.

These are some links that were blocked
Blocked Texas confederate license plates: http://skimmth.is/1IK7uig

More blocked about Greece crisis: http://skimmth.is/1goWb43

Chinese stock market crash: http://skimmth.is/1goSwmJ

More about the Chinese stock market crash: http://skimmth.is/1G95x8E

M.A's commentary:
I get the Daily Skimm in my email every day. I really like that I can have a recap of the headlines, but do wish I could read the whole story sometimes.

Indigo's commentary:
Personally I love theSkimm. They write an overview of the news headlines in an interesting and simple way so I am able to read through it quickly. So yay Skimm!
I think that a lot of the links go through because theSkimm goes directly to emails rather than being on one centralized website. So it is far harder for the Chinese government to censor.