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Kaiser Kuo I've been using other "network tools" with the similar functions of a mobile VPN such as Surge on iOS. P technical. Took me 40 mins or so to learn. Apps like it are not VPN services but a tool that you can use to establish your own secured network. Not an ad.

How could anyone who has had the slightest interest in China be surprised by ANYTHING the Government does, or does not do! Not taking it "lying down"? Why, how else they going to take it? And finally, how has something "reflect badly on the Party" ever affected the Party? Nothing I can recall...

plus xi jinping has his own instagram account. how's he gonna update that?

Dude it has started. Lost a few freebies in a week. It's so backward in so many ways. But hey they always need a good old school metal revival. They don't seem to kind that hahahah

The Xi regime and Party already look pretty bad. This is just one more move to assert to foreigners and the "vocals" that the Party will do all it can to maintain internet sovereignty and national sovereignty at any cost. I actually deeply appreciate this, because it proves almost all the theories about globalization since 2000- that predicted the increased irrelevance of the state and sovereignty in the form of the nation - wildly wrong.

This is so stupid, even strategically. You're right, all they do is call more attention to something that didn't even have widespread impact. But I (edit: we all) have been saying this for years, and in that time they actually succeeded in creating an intranet anyway. At the end of the day, I suppose that's all the justification they need. Not that the party believes in justifying itself.

there will be workarounds, there always is in china- a connected party members cousin will have a stake in a VPN somewhere.

I read somewhere else that this would impact only China-based VPN services, but I suppose if it's the carriers themselves that block them it also goes for services like Astrill?

Guo Wengui among other factors?

Not liking this either.

Bottom line is this policy is simply consistent with what is turning out to be a fairly reactionary regime. "Party first" and "party at all costs" seem to be the main goals of the Xi administration. I just have to wonder if gripping the body politic so firmly is the best way to accomplish the goal of party supremacy in an increasingly modern, connected and sophisticated China

golden times ahead for ppl who can help companies stay connected to the actual internet

Have heard this so often in the past, but never 100% block. Surely hope this time is no different.

It's interesting that by doing that the Chinese authorities are inadvertently participants in creating a stronger more censorship resilient internet, which is something that is needed not only in China

it seems the strings are usually pulled tight around this time of the year...

Hit back where it counts: #DivestChina We need a global campaign to push China towards greater freedom. Liquidate Chinese investments until they make progress on that.

If it actually does happen (doubt there won't be a way to use VPN's) I will not live here. I have a lot to change if that's the case but it just won't be fun here anymore.

There are still other ways to bypass the GFW. It might cost a little more and be harder to set up, but those who need to will always find a way.

It's come to the point where its entirely worthwhile to launch your own low orbital cubesat above airspace with ground station control to receive your telemetry. Just need someone to launch one above north America or Europe to pair for earth's rotation

Blocking all VPN services in China would be suicidal .. How would foreign business and foreigners be able to survive in China then? I don't believe they'll shut down everything.'

that won't affect foreign VPNs although it would be deemed illegal to use them (that's if you get caught, though) while you are still inside Mainland China.

A part of me has just died.

I stopped jiggling multiple VPNs (free and paid) or plugging into friends' overseas servers and just used roaming data on a foreign SIM since they were allowed to bypass the GFW last year. Not really a price effective option for long term foreigners, but if you're just visiting it's manageable and simple and you can still see Xi Jinping's Instagram posts in a timely fashion.

It could also just be that the carriers have close down the local DNS service that made it really easy to circumvene GFW. I was surprised lately to have unblocked Internet traffic at hotels in BJ n SH but maybe to OBOR conference

I understand it to be a specific approved policy by the telcos for roaming SIMs. I guess Chinese telcos also like data roaming fees!

Not sure about your hotel situation, but the GFW is as much hit and miss as it is a tight net. Things open and close seemingly without structure. Often due to operator error or other prevailing network conditions.

I wonder how much of this is related to political maneuvering ahead of November's Party Congress. Certainly, President Xi Jinping needs to look as strong as possible if he is to get what he wants, and asserting sovereignty over Chinese cyberspace is a great way to do that. There is a long-term trend in China of tightening digital control, but blocking all VPN access sounds draconian.

Your Firewall is my Gateway Drug, to paraprhase Bezos. Any possibility of someone starting a WOFE Co, leasing its own fibre from Japan like most of the tech multinationals, and then offering company VPN to its own 'employees.'

I better start embracing the dark ages. All of my internet use revolves around the use of a VPN. 😔