WHY PULL DOWN THE BLINDS?

China has not always been a supporter of open information sharing although this has taken a weird turn now that they have blocked Tripadvisor as it considers it ‘illegal’. Nearly every traveller would look at that site to get some idea of accommodation and local attractions, however it does also include a ‘traveller’s forum’ and that may be the problem as a cursory glance shows that not all feedback is positive. Having visited China twice and enjoyed these visits I am aware that there is a range of accommodation levels, as in all countries, and not all match up to the photos in their brochures or on their websites.

In reality people will still be able to find out about China and its activities when this site is blocked but it is only one of many attempts to stop people criticising the country and its leadership. If they are blocking comments about hotels what else are they blocking? Also hasn’t China heard of VPNs and many other ways of accessing the Internet?

If there is nothing to hide, then why pull down the blinds?

Dennis Fitzgerald,
Melbourne, Australia

Related Articles