I can't reach Google from China

'The operation timed out when attempting to contact www.google.com'

[bathrobe]

I'm located in China. Today it is impossible to get either www.google.com or www.google.co.jp (Japanese Google).

Is this affecting anyone else? Or is it only China? (or only me?)

[RobPike]

BEIJING: China appears to have blocked leading search engine Google, sparking speculation of a crackdown on Internet content viewed as subversive ahead of a Communist Party congress in November.

<edit>Full article snipped, copyright reasons. A brief excert and a link to the article left. </edit>

[news.yahoo.com...]

[edited by: NFFC at 4:43 pm (utc) on Sep. 3, 2002]

[mikeputnam]

I am surprised how quickly the current news outlets dropped this topic. It isn't even mentioned on frontpages such as AP/Reuters/CNN.

[bateman_ap]

New article, looks like it was a 'mistake'

[theregister.co.uk...]

[toadhall]

A mistake? Yeah, like somebody tripped over a cord and, whoops...
Bye bye.

[google.com...] - 9/3/2002 4:07:26 PM
[google.de...] - 9/3/2002 4:27:41 PM
[altavista.com...] - 9/3/2002 4:42:24 PM
[google.be...] - 9/3/2002 4:44:11 PM
[google.com...] - 9/3/2002 7:06:10 PM
[google.co.uk...] - 9/3/2002 7:14:33 PM
[google.ca...] - 9/3/2002 7:29:25 PM
[google.com...] - 9/3/2002 7:33:07 PM
... all banned.

See: [code.law.harvard.edu...]

[Hemsell]

I emailed a person in china who was complaining of being unable to get to Google.
I pinged Google and email him the IP address. He is successfully using Google again.

IF China were to block Google, wouldn't it be easier by IP address?

I think, and so does the individual, that it is just DNS issues, despite all the hoopla on cnet and slashdot.

[mack]

Very interesting that people are able to use the service by IP but not by domain. Perhaps this is a half harted measure to prevent the average surfer from accessing the service, but allowing people with internet knowledge access. possible I suppose.... what do you think???

[Hemsell]

I just think they goofed up somehow.
Google has a very complicated DNS system I imagine, wish I knew more about it.
It redirects users to differnet servers based on local and other info.
I really wish they would publish more of how they do it. I can understand why they do not do so though.
I am taking CCNA classes so this really interests me.

Todd

[China_Jim]

I'm in Beijing Hemsell and it seems deliberate to me - the attempt to get Google fails in the same way as attempts to access BBC. I can get on the IP address, but that may only be matter of time - i was using [216.239.35.101...] for a few days but that seems to have been found and blocked now too. i have a few other workarounds that i won't discuss here as the official net guardians probably read this too.
You'll never go bust over estimating the paranoia and pettiness of the Chinese security services

[Woz]

Hi China Jim, welcome to Webmasterworld.

I am sure there are many workarounds for getting the good oil, but as you say, it is best not to post them as anyone could be listening.

Take Care.

Onya
Woz

[bobriggs]

sticky?

It seems only a matter of time before WebmasterWorld gets blocked also, for the same reasons

[China_Jim]

Thanks for the kind words of welcome Woz. the one positive of this for me is it was looking for confirmation of this issue that brought me to this excellent site.

[PaulPaul]

You'll never go bust over estimating the paranoia and pettiness of the Chinese security services

Excellent point China_Jim, but I dont think this only applies to the Chinese.

[martinibuster]

PAULPAUL has got that right.

Here in the Untied States, the majority of the people are NOT skeptical of what they read/hear in the media. That's why I read the foreign news on the net to find out what's REALLY going on around here.
;)

[Giacomo]

From Harvard's real-time filter test page [cyber.law.harvard.edu]:

Testing complete for [alltooflat.com...]
Result:
Reported as accessible in China

Looks like the most powerful free speech tool in the 21st century is going to be be a looking glass [alltoofat.com]. ;)

[yuderdc]

I am a graduate student in Shanghai, China. The situation is getting worse here. Besides the domain, many IP address, which were accessible yesterday, are also blocked today.

We need your help and encourage. We should let the goverment know that they can block a searching engine but they can not take away the spirit of freedom.

[larocca]

Google is blocked, but sometimes typing the numeric address works. [216.239.39.100...]

Almost everybody's fed by Google, but [metacrawler.com...] is probably the best of the bunch. At least, if you're looking for LESSON PLANS it is. How can I teach without Google? Huh? Chinese textbooks?!

I would guess the CACHE feature got them in some trouble. That, plus nobody's using the Chinese search engines over here.

Other sites that are (unofficially) banned are Yahoogroups, Geocities, Tripod, Angelfire, and pretty much any new domain I've tried. (Temporarily on the new domains.) Last month, About was gone for a week. AltaVista's been blocked for a long time and nobody cared, but now it's "officially blocked."

Since information becomes obsolete quickly in this game, go to [proxysite.com...] and find some "proxy servers." The Govt can't block them fast enough. (Until they block proxysite.)

Cheers!
Michael

[Ailin]

Hi yuderdc, I'm not too far from you in Hangzhou. Work for an internet company here. Yeah, the IPs are going quick. I've noticed quite a few stop working.

As said before, discretion is probably a good idea...never know who's lurking in these forums.

[heini]

Apparently Sourceforge is blocked also, reports NetEconomie [neteconomie.com] - because it might guide people to develop search applications?

[China_Jim]

That's true in my experience heini, though couldn't say why. Very frustrating as you can imagine.

[bathrobe]

I tried proxysite. It timed out. Guess it's now blocked too... If you have any good workarounds, don't post them here. The goons are watching.

[toadhall]

Perhaps the moderators could clean out the workaround citations and sticky the good intentioned member.
Hate to see Webmasterworld used as an unwitting accomplice to this travesty.

[heini]

Thanks Toadhall. Whatever is said here is out in the public for long. That goes for this thread as well as for any material accessible via sitesearch.
I believe members from China can find out and evaluate best what works for them and what doesn't.

[toadhall]

Not sure what you mean by "out in the public for long" heini.
Explain?

[korkus2000]

I think heini means that it isn't going to be censored anytime soon.

[toadhall]

Well, censorship wasn't what I had in mind. Interesting though that it should be interpreted as such, given that it is merely an endorsement of bathrobe's evaluation of "what works for them and what doesn't" (message #81)

Sniff.

[Chico_Loco]

Forgive my complete ignorance here but

why the he** could a country block internet sites (or IP address)??

Does google know about this (no doubt they do), but can they not file some international law suit to sew for loss of revenue??

Like I said forgive my ignorance, I'm just a young teenie bopper with somewhere bout 3 braincells!

[edited by: Chico_Loco at 2:04 am (utc) on Sep. 5, 2002]

[Woz]

bathrobe, as Sgt Shultz would say, "I Know Nothing!"

Chico_Loco, "file some international law suit", it would cost them more than they would ever hope to recoup. Not worth it.

Onya
Woz

[rwired]

Could someone "in the know" inside Google post a message to this group to let us all know what Google is doing about being blocked in China.

I'm managing a software company in Shanghai at the moment, and lack of access to Google, particularly Google Groups is causing me, and all my staff a great deal of distress.

[Woz]

rwired, welcome to WebmasterWorld.

as far as we know media reports, Google is talking with the powers at be to try to recitify the situation. However, we have no official word from Google itself.

People seem to be finding workarounds though. I know how frustrating it can be. Hang in there.

Onya
Woz

[mack]

"file some international law suit"

I honestly dont think this would be possible. The chineese government have been doing this sort of thing for a long time, not just online but with lots of different links of media. They really do pretty much control what their citizenss are allowed to know or research about. If google where to file a law suit i feel that it woudl simply be a case of, there is no law that ststes that all countries must allow access to google.