Major Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily recently reported that Cuba announced its decision to lift its ban on Google and Facebook. Google also announced a willingness to assist Cuba in providing free Internet access. Chinese mainstream media did not report this news, but on Mainland social media, it quickly triggered a nationwide discussion. The biggest topic was that there are only two countries left in the world that still ban Google and Facebook – North Korea and China. To avoid having the Chinese authorities delete their postings, many Chinese netizens “protested the world’s attempt to isolate China from using Google.” Some expressed their “concerns” about the possibility that “North Korea might undergo a reform at any moment.” The primary Chinese search engine is Baidu, of which the Chinese government is a partial sponsor; the government actively filters it for censored content.
Source: Apple Daily, June 15, 2016
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20160615/885948/