SupChina and What's on Weibo Blocked in Mainland China
China watchers and news junkies were irked to see that two popular outlets, What’s On Weibo (whatsonweibo.com) and Sup China (supchina.com) fell victim to China’s notoriously restrictive firewall late last week.
On Jul 6, Jeremy Goldkorn, editor-in-chief at the current affairs and analysis outlet Sup China, informed readers via Twitter (@supchinanews) that the site had been blocked on the Mainland since the preceding Monday. He added that “this is the reality of doing honest news coverage about China, and we don’t feel all that upset – after all, we’ve joined a club that includes the likes of the New York Times, Wikipedia, YouTube, and my old site Danwei [which translates and reports Chinese media for English readers].” He added that Sup China’s podcast streams – where users can listen to the outlet’s popular Sinica cast, among others – as well as Sup China’s WeChat account, have not been affected.
Our world wide web site being blocked was inevitable. The only question was when it would happen.
Goldkorn tells the Beijinger: "Our world wide web site being blocked was inevitable. The only question was when it would happen." He added that aside from Sup China's officially approved WeChat account, the outlet may also "launch a China-based website in the coming years."
That defiant tone wasn’t exactly echoed by Manya Koetse, editor-in-chief at What's on Weibo, a-self-billed outlet that “reports on social trends in China” mostly through the lens of viral topics on the widely used microblogging platform Weibo. She took to Twitter (@manyapan) on Jul 7 to let followers know that her site is also now “blocked in China – feel bad for those readers in PRC who enjoy the site. Thanks for the support!”
She goes on to tell the Beijinger that, “I feel sad because I know there are many Chinese people who read it, both to learn English and because they like to see the topics trending on Weibo from another perspective. I got some sad messages from Chinese friends and followers on WeChat, and I feel bad because many of them won’t have another way to read the website.”
I feel sad because I know there are many Chinese people who read it, both to learn English and because they like to see the topics trending on Weibo from another perspective. I got some sad messages from Chinese friends and followers on WeChat, and I feel bad because many of them won’t have another way to read the website.
Disappointing as these developments have been for Koetse, she was by no means surprised by them. “I already thought it was going to happen the moment I heard Sup China was blocked. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it happened at the same time,” she says. “I had this feeling. Of course, you never know what the censor orders are, but English blogs are being targeted as they are becoming more influential. You can see that a lot of mainstream media are looking at blogs like What’s On Weibo and Sup China in their reporting.”
This is not the first time that Koetse and her What’s On Weibo team have contended with such censorship. In November of 2015, the site was blocked for the first time, only becoming unblocked for VPN-deprived users in the summer of 2016. Koetse adds that she hopes this new ban will also be temporary, though like Sup China, she plans to soldier on and continue posting content for readers with VPNs on the mainland and other followers watching China from abroad.
The only thing that I’m not thinking of that’s a plus in this sh*tty situation: people now know we’re independent and not affiliated with Chinese state media. Some people have accused me of that in the past, and this is the proof that it’s not the case.
Aside from that, Koetse has one positive to take from her otherwise helpless circumstances: “The only thing that I’m not thinking of that’s a plus in this sh*tty situation: people now know we’re independent and not affiliated with Chinese state media. Some people have accused me of that in the past, and this is the proof that it’s not the case.”
Photos: world.wng.org (edited), Twitter
Always something fresh
Long press the QR code above to follow us!
Tap on the cover to access the latest print issue.