Online Encyclopedia ‘Wikipedia’ Blocked in China

In China, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are long been blocked. Now the authorities have blocked the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Wikipedia’s articles on sensitive issues like pro-democracy protests of Tiananmen Square in 1989 and the Himalayan kingdom Tibet, are banned in China for a long time, however, the main site was accessible.

In late April, suspicion of a total block on Wikipedia surfaced when some Chinese internet users complained that the site was no longer accessible. Accordingly, a test run by an organisation that tracks Internet censorship in China, GreatFire.org was conducted, which revealed that the site had not been accessible from within China since April 23rd.

Samantha Lien, Spokesperson of the Wikimedia Foundation that owns Wikipedia said, “In April, the Wikimedia Foundation determined that Wikipedia was no longer accessible in China. After closely analyzing our internal traffic reports, we can confirm Wikipedia is blocked across all language versions”.

The Cyberspace Administration of China, which oversees China’s Internet censorship, has so far did not responded on the issue.

Wikipedia’s Chinese-language site was blocked by China since 2015. Other languages versions are however largely remained accessible, with occasional interruptions.

Lien also said that the Wikimedia Foundation had not received any official notice from the authorities explaining why the block had been imposed on Wikipedia. As She says, “When one country, region, or culture cannot join the global conversation on Wikipedia, the entire world is poorer”.

In the past, before any major political events or sensitive celebrations, Chinese authorities have ramped up censorship. Experts are of the view, maybe, for this reason, the censorship has been imposed. As this June, marks the 30th years of the pro-democracy protests centered on Tiananmen Square, which was suppressed by force using the army.

The month of May, also marks the 100th anniversary of the 4th May movement, which began as a student movement against imperialism but gradually turned into widespread protests against the government. Later this year, China will also celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Maybe because of all these events, Wikipedia is banned by China, though it would get cleared only when authorities came up with a valid reason, as to why the block had been imposed on Wikipedia. Meanwhile, it may be said, that by controlling the internet you cannot suppress the voice of the people and stop their quest for information.