Anti-censorship Software Led the Way for Google

At least a million Chinese people have been using anti-censorship software for the past five years.
Anti-censorship Software Led the Way for Google
The symbols of anti-internet censorship software developed by Global Internet Freedom Consortium. (The Epoch Times)
Luo Ya
4/2/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/350.0.1.0.16777215.0.stories.large.2009.09.24.dongtaiwang909222155321657.jpg" alt="The symbols of anti-internet censorship software developed by Global Internet Freedom Consortium.  (The Epoch Times)" title="The symbols of anti-internet censorship software developed by Global Internet Freedom Consortium.  (The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1821498"/></a>
The symbols of anti-internet censorship software developed by Global Internet Freedom Consortium.  (The Epoch Times)
Google’s departure has saddened many netizens in China who believe it marks the end of obtaining information from the Internet. In fact, for quite awhile now, at least a million Chinese people have been using anti-censorship software and have enjoyed being a part of the free world through the Internet.

Bill Xia, a member of the “Global Internet Freedom Consortium” and president of Dynamic Internet Technology, told The Epoch Times that his company had helped people in China solve the information blockade problem, known as “anti-censorship,” as early as five years ago. With their software—UltraSurf and FreeGate being the most popular—anyone anywhere in China can freely surf the Web with a mere double-click.

Western Businesses Caught in Regime Chicanery

Mr. Xia said the Chinese regime has been using chicanery on the issue of information censorship. It accuses Google of violating its agreement to abide by Chinese laws, but in fact, the regime’s practice of information control itself is a violation of freedom of speech as stipulated in the Chinese constitution. He said the regime’s information blockade is done through unspoken rules—making the businesses figure out what the regime would want them to censor. He said the Communist regime is indeed the one who has broken the law.

He believes the Chinese people have become more and more clear on the fact that much of what the state media says, including so-called “expert analysis,” serves a certain purpose for the authorities, but actually only leads people to distrust the media more. “People wanted to surf the Internet freely, so they started to use anti-censorship software to break through the information blockade,” Xia said.

Furthermore, Mr. Xia maintains that the Chinese regime has realized that its media is losing viewers, so all it does now is use technology to manipulate and intimidate people.

Spread by Word of Mouth

Recent history shows that the Chinese regime has taken a series of measures to block the Internet, such as the Golden Shield, the Green Dam, and the Blue Dam projects. In addition, the regime has fostered a great number of cyber thugs and hired hundreds of thousands of cyber spies. But can the regime really block all 300 million Chinese netizens from freely surfing the Web?

“With the anti-censorship software, people in China not only can freely surf the Web but also can send information safely through overseas Web sites,” Xia said.

NTDTV has reported on how the anti-censorship software invented by Falun Gong practitioners is gaining ever-increasing popularity. The software is sold in computer stores in urban China. A researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mr. Chen, said the anti-censorship software developed by Falun Gong practitioners is nicknamed “Dove” and is well known.

He said, “Everyone knows what a ‘dove’ is. One can simply ask ‘Do you sell doves?’ in any computer store. It was sold in stores such as Computer City which has many customers. Therefore, by word of mouth, everybody knows where to buy the software.”

Mr. Chen related an experience: “I saw a guy selling the anti-censorship software on the street for 5 yuan (US$0.73) a piece, so I reminded him to be careful about his safety. I said, ‘You’re selling it right out in the open—please pay attention to your safety!’ The person said, ’Do you know who I am? I am a cop.’”

Google has changed its search engine to one with an .hk domain, and intends to maintain a Chinese Web presence while remaining free from the regime’s censorship.

Read the original Chinese article.