On January 23, BBC Chinese reported that the Chinese government has recently been blocking more and more VPN (Virtual Private Network) and Proxy service providers. [Editor’s note: VPN and Proxy servers are the primary technology channels used to bypass the government controlled Internet firewalls, such as the Chinese “Great Firewall.”] Multiple commercial VPN/Proxy service companies are reporting failures on overseas servers located in the United States and Australia. Some regular companies’ communications with foreign partners or even with their parent companies located outside China have been seriously impacted, especially small and medium sized companies. Large international companies are not heavily impacted since they typically build their own VPN infrastructure. Some Chinese officials, who would like to remain anonymous, confirmed that the government recently “upgraded” the Great Firewall to defend its “Internet sovereignty.” Not long ago, Google Mail was blocked in China as well – now the connection is largely restored.
Source: BBC Chinese, January 23, 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/01/150123_china_vpn_block