Deutsche Welle Chinese Edition recently reported that Global Times (Huanqiu) Editor in Chief Hu Xijin just posted a complaint on social media Weibo that it has been really hard to get onto the “foreign Internet.” Hu and the Global Times are strong defenders of the Communist Party’s propaganda policies and Internet access control policies. However, they were often given privileges to get outside the Great Firewall to speak for the Party. Hu has been actively posting pro-Mainland messages on twitter for over a year now. It appears he just lost his access to the outside Internet world. China is currently in preparing for the celebration of the Communist government’s 70th anniversary. Internet access controls have been tightened up. Within two hours, Hu’s complaint on Weibo was quickly deleted. Chinese President Xi Jinping recently pointed out that the Chinese internet needs to be “safe and controllable.” China has also been cracking down on VPN providers recently. Hu Xijin also defended the Great Firewall himself when he had an interview with Hong Kong TVB, saying controlling access to outside networks is necessary.
Source: DW Chinese, September 18, 2019
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