How Chinese Internet Users Bypass Website Blocks

BBC analyst explains how Chinese residents bypass foreign website blocks using VPN services today.

VPN services and the Tor network make it possible to remain completely "invisible" online. Such government measures are not new—China has enforced similar restrictions for over a decade. Yet local residents continue finding ways to circumvent these blocks and access the information they need. BBC Chinese media analyst Kerry Allen provided more detailed insights on this phenomenon.

Modern Chinese, especially younger generations, love traveling and understand the importance of learning English. To achieve this, they often read English-language websites and news outlets. During international trips, they discover that media access in other countries is far more open. For example, Facebook—the world's most popular social network—is officially blocked in China. While abroad, they learn that methods exist to bypass these restrictions and access needed information, often discovering VPN services for the first time. These tools help circumvent the "Great Firewall of China."

They then use VPNs to access Twitter or Facebook. At one point, a VPN service that could be installed directly from the Chinese version of Google worked quite successfully. Government authorities constantly monitor such services and block them. But when one is shut down, several new ones appear immediately—often based overseas, making them harder to block, with the vast majority located in the United States.

Kerry Allen adds: essentially, it's a real conveyor belt—as soon as authorities block one VPN, a new one emerges.

In 2017, Chinese authorities launched an aggressive campaign against anonymizers. Hundreds of VPNs are blocked daily. Someone might even pay for a service, but upon arriving in China to use it, they discover it's already blocked. Yet users can quickly find an alternative VPN.

China bans all foreign media outlets broadcasting in Chinese. So people resort to accessing BBC in English instead, often not even realizing that foreign media services operate in Chinese. To them, such a thing is simply unimaginable—that working foreign news outlets exist in their language.

Popular messaging apps in China are also blocked, though not completely—often their functionality is simply restricted.

WhatsApp is permitted, but users cannot view videos from foreign media or create live streams. However, messaging apps themselves don't concern Chinese authorities much, as they're difficult tools for organizing public demonstrations or mass mobilization. Additionally, WeChat, the popular Chinese messenger, limits the reach of political criticism—if you write something critical of the government, only a few hundred people see it. It lacks the global reach of platforms like Twitter.

All messenger communications are unencrypted for Chinese law enforcement. Authorities monitor group chats in popular messaging apps, searching for any signs of anti-government propaganda.

This is why modern Chinese citizens wishing to access Western social networks—which are blocked throughout China—must bypass the Great Firewall using VPN services. While the government certainly attempts to restrict VPN activity in China, analysts warn that new methods to access blocked content will always emerge.