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Navigating the bamboo scaffolding of China's rapid-rising tower of technology
by Steven Millward, China
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Opera accused of censorship, betrayal by Chinese users
Nov 22, 2009 15:06
Opera, the maker of Web browsers such as the popular "Opera Mini" for Java-based mobile phones, has been accused of betraying its users in China, by apparently caving in to top-level demands to stop allowing China-based users to use the international version of the Opera Mini browser.
This stems from a unique feature of Opera Mini, where the traffic is sent via Opera's own servers, for the speed and convenience of its users, most of whom use the slowest GPRS mobile connection. But in China, the pleasant side effect of that rerouting has been that Opera Mini is effectively allowing users in China to easily circumvent the so-called Great Firewall of government-implemented Web filtering. Thus, Chinese users, up until yesterday, were merrily logging into Facebook--which has been blocked here pretty much all year--on their mobile phones using Opera Mini. Not any more.
Of course, the Norwegian software company is not the one who enforces the nationwide censorship of hundreds of Web sites--it's yet another company which has had to comply with local laws and idiosyncrasies, however uncomfortable it feels about this--but now Opera has become somewhat complicit in it.
Anyone now trying to access any Web site at all on the Opera Mini browser (versions 4 or 5 Beta), when inside China, gets the "friendly" notice, in Chinese and English: "For better browsing experience, please upgrade to Opera Mini China version on mini.opera.com." That message, however, is clearly a lie, as the Chinese version of the browser no longer reroutes traffic via Opera's 100 proxy servers worldwide. So, it'll be slower than before. Instead, the newly enforced Chinese-language version uses only locally based servers, and hundreds of Web sites are now inaccessible with it. That's hardly a "better browsing experience".
So, Opera's users in China are now being held at software update gunpoint, and must use the Chinese-language version of their browser.
According to a recent Opera press release, China is number 4 on its list of the most Opera Mini users worldwide. So that's a large number of angry customers today who are being forced to "upgrade" to an inferior version of the browser, and many Chinese users are feeling betrayed, as if they're second-class users.
PR nightmare for Opera
On Twitter today and yesterday--yes, there are clever ways of getting on Twitter in China, without a VPN--many of the tweets using the "gfw" (Great Firewall) hashtag were talking about Opera Mini, why the international version was no longer working, and some were even venting anger at Opera for seemingly kowtowing to an oppressive law. Here are a selection of the tweets:
@stinson--"Got hit by Opera's forced upgrade too. Disgraceful if Opera chose to cooperate with censorship."
@stinson--"Just noticed the URL for the Opera Mini redirect: "/error/blocked_country/china.html"
@ullrich--"How Opera betrays it's Chinese users http://ow.ly/EcsW"
@roadtom--[Translation] "...national web-filtering has been built by Cisco and is now being helped by Opera"
@toadloading--[Translation] "Opera has also been hit by The Wall..."
The grim reality...
In practice, Opera likely had little choice but to comply with local laws, and make a new version for Chinese users that cannot access all the "filtered" sites, same as any other Web browser. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft (with Bing, especially) have all likewise faced compromises when doing business in China, and have suitably modified and "harmonized" their search results in the Chinese versions of their search engines.
I contacted Opera's director of Communications at its Oslo HQ just over 24 hours ago, via email, but have had no response (though it is the weekend). The only dialog with a member of the Opera team has been via Twitter, where one of Opera's "Desktop QA" people spoke out. Though, by that individual's admission, he does not work on the Mini browser, and is not familiar with the situation. Nonetheless, @opvard defended Opera's enormously difficult situation:
"Regarding Opera and the #gfw of China I'd guess that [the] only alternative to this would be no Opera Mini at all for China... What do u suggest that Opera does about China? Ignore [the] government & be completely blocked instead?"
Between a rock and a hard place, indeed. The Opera staffer, @opvard, did later concede that more communication with users would've been nicer, and speculated that Opera may not be able to reveal how exactly it got its arm twisted so that it complied.
On a final note, the Chinese-language version of Opera Mini 4, and 5, works fine in China, minus the blocked sites; but life goes on, and Opera can be relieved if it doesn't lose any Chinese users over this confusion. But a weird spinoff is that if you're a foreigner in China, your non-Chinese language version of Opera Mini will not work. To quote Homer Simpson: "D'oh!"
Here's a 25-second video showing how the international version of Opera Mini 5 Beta no longer works in China:
- Talkback
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Sepanta says...
when they will tire of filtering , censorship ... ? maybe tomorrow , maybe never !
Nov 23, 2009 05:01
when they will tire of filtering , censorship ... ? maybe tomorrow , maybe never !
Nov 23, 2009 05:01
aboutblank says...
Actually, I don't think users should blame Opera too much, they have been threatened by doing this, otherwise, they die in China. the root cause is the GFW and the government, people should point to them, strike the censorship.
Blame Opera? That's exactly what chinese government want to see!
Nov 23, 2009 11:54
Actually, I don't think users should blame Opera too much, they have been threatened by doing this, otherwise, they die in China. the root cause is the GFW and the government, people should point to them, strike the censorship.
Blame Opera? That's exactly what chinese government want to see!
Nov 23, 2009 11:54
sirsteven says...
@aboutblank Sure, Opera are not ultimately to blame. Much of the original anger came from people who of course realised that Opera was in a difficult position; it's just all so frustrating... Not even Google dare make a stand, at risk of their business in the country.
Nov 23, 2009 16:48
@aboutblank Sure, Opera are not ultimately to blame. Much of the original anger came from people who of course realised that Opera was in a difficult position; it's just all so frustrating... Not even Google dare make a stand, at risk of their business in the country.
Nov 23, 2009 16:48
scoobydoo says...
Individuals and companies alike must all abide by the rules and regulations of the country where they reside in, be it the U.S. of A. or China or anywhere else in the world. Even if Opera decides to pack their bags and head for home, I'm quite sure there'll be local Chinese startup companies just waiting in the wings to take up the void left behind.
We all have to play by the rules. There's no such thing as a free lunch if you're trying to break into someone's backyard.
Nov 23, 2009 18:00
Individuals and companies alike must all abide by the rules and regulations of the country where they reside in, be it the U.S. of A. or China or anywhere else in the world. Even if Opera decides to pack their bags and head for home, I'm quite sure there'll be local Chinese startup companies just waiting in the wings to take up the void left behind.
We all have to play by the rules. There's no such thing as a free lunch if you're trying to break into someone's backyard.
Nov 23, 2009 18:00
tvnewswatch says...
The list of companies complicit in helping support China's restrictive Internet policy grows year by year. Many say they are just protecting business interests and that they would lose an otherwise lucrative market. That may be so, but there is a moral as well as a financial factor that should not be ignored. Back in 2005 Cisco fought a shareholder action that urged the company to adopt a comprehensive human rights policy for its dealings with the Chinese government. At the time it was acknowledged that the resolution would not be binding on Cisco's executives. But Dawn Wolfe, a social research and advocacy analyst at the firm, which prides itself on its socially responsible investments, said the action sent "a strong message to management, and it gets across the sentiment of shareholders in a way that writing a letter can't do." Opera, Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and others should take note. as regards China, they are playing a game of protectionism of sorts. They are trying to force out competition by blocking competitors or making it more difficult for them to operate. Hu Jintao's comments, prior to Obama's arrival, when he said, "we must oppose protectionism in all its manifestations" is laughable given the 'attacks' on western Internet companies.
Nov 24, 2009 14:51
The list of companies complicit in helping support China's restrictive Internet policy grows year by year. Many say they are just protecting business interests and that they would lose an otherwise lucrative market. That may be so, but there is a moral as well as a financial factor that should not be ignored. Back in 2005 Cisco fought a shareholder action that urged the company to adopt a comprehensive human rights policy for its dealings with the Chinese government. At the time it was acknowledged that the resolution would not be binding on Cisco's executives. But Dawn Wolfe, a social research and advocacy analyst at the firm, which prides itself on its socially responsible investments, said the action sent "a strong message to management, and it gets across the sentiment of shareholders in a way that writing a letter can't do." Opera, Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and others should take note. as regards China, they are playing a game of protectionism of sorts. They are trying to force out competition by blocking competitors or making it more difficult for them to operate. Hu Jintao's comments, prior to Obama's arrival, when he said, "we must oppose protectionism in all its manifestations" is laughable given the 'attacks' on western Internet companies.
Nov 24, 2009 14:51
sirsteven says...
Slashdot has picked up on this story, and there's a big debate raging there over this Opera incident, with nearly 300 comments: yro.slashdot.org...
@scoobydoo & @tvnewswatch Sure, we all have to abide by local laws. So, there is only a moral aspect as a counterbalance, which is ignored by commerce most of the time even in the best of situations (see: banking sector). Interesting overview of Cisco battling against its shareholders. I believe they still publicly deny having been a part of building the Great Firewall system...?
Nov 24, 2009 15:40
Slashdot has picked up on this story, and there's a big debate raging there over this Opera incident, with nearly 300 comments: yro.slashdot.org...
@scoobydoo & @tvnewswatch Sure, we all have to abide by local laws. So, there is only a moral aspect as a counterbalance, which is ignored by commerce most of the time even in the best of situations (see: banking sector). Interesting overview of Cisco battling against its shareholders. I believe they still publicly deny having been a part of building the Great Firewall system...?
Nov 24, 2009 15:40
tvnewswatch says...
As regards Cisco and other tech companies, yes Cisco do indeed deny having a part in the building of China's Golden Shield Project. However, they do not deny supplying the original equipment. What Cisco Systems say is they did not tailor its equipment specifically for the Chinese market.
Juniper, an information technology and computer networking products company, is also said to have aided the Chinese in building the most sophisticated Internet censoring and monitoring infrastructure. Reporters Sans Frontieres alleges that Cisco is suspected of giving Chinese engineers training in how to use its products to censor the internet. Cisco strenuously denies the allegations, but as the US Council for Foreign Relations reported back in early 2008, "China relied on two US companies â Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks â to help carry out its network upgrade, known as CN2, in 2004. This upgrade significantly increased China's ability to monitor internet usage [although] Cisco has denied charges it adapted its equipment."
Cisco's Terry Alberstein, director of corporate affairs for the Asia Pacific region, said in 2005 that the company had never helped the Chinese government suppress free speech. "Cisco does not participate in any way in any censorship activities in the People's Republic of China," Alberstein said. "We have never custom-tailored our products for the China market, and the products that we sell in China are the same products we sell everywhere else."
In essence it may be true that Juniper, Cisco, Sun Microsystems and other technology providers did not "custom-tailor" products for use in China. But it should perhaps have been clear that China and similar countries would use such equipment for Internet censorship and control. To say they have no responsibility is somewhat like weapons' dealers claiming they did not know they were arming terrorists or criminals.
Mirroring routers, on which the Great Firewall is based, were sold at a time when Chinese authorities could not easily have produced the systems on their own. The likely use of the routers was well understood, and it should be obvious why selling them to a government which intends to monitor its citizens is different from selling them to some company that wants to monitor its on-the-clock employees. But whatever the merits of the argument back then, the entire question is now moot. The Chinese authorities could now buy the necessary routers from a variety of sources â notably from the homegrown firm Huawei, the largest networking and telecommunications equipment supplier in the People's Republic of China.
Nov 24, 2009 17:40
As regards Cisco and other tech companies, yes Cisco do indeed deny having a part in the building of China's Golden Shield Project. However, they do not deny supplying the original equipment. What Cisco Systems say is they did not tailor its equipment specifically for the Chinese market.
Juniper, an information technology and computer networking products company, is also said to have aided the Chinese in building the most sophisticated Internet censoring and monitoring infrastructure. Reporters Sans Frontieres alleges that Cisco is suspected of giving Chinese engineers training in how to use its products to censor the internet. Cisco strenuously denies the allegations, but as the US Council for Foreign Relations reported back in early 2008, "China relied on two US companies â Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks â to help carry out its network upgrade, known as CN2, in 2004. This upgrade significantly increased China's ability to monitor internet usage [although] Cisco has denied charges it adapted its equipment."
Cisco's Terry Alberstein, director of corporate affairs for the Asia Pacific region, said in 2005 that the company had never helped the Chinese government suppress free speech. "Cisco does not participate in any way in any censorship activities in the People's Republic of China," Alberstein said. "We have never custom-tailored our products for the China market, and the products that we sell in China are the same products we sell everywhere else."
In essence it may be true that Juniper, Cisco, Sun Microsystems and other technology providers did not "custom-tailor" products for use in China. But it should perhaps have been clear that China and similar countries would use such equipment for Internet censorship and control. To say they have no responsibility is somewhat like weapons' dealers claiming they did not know they were arming terrorists or criminals.
Mirroring routers, on which the Great Firewall is based, were sold at a time when Chinese authorities could not easily have produced the systems on their own. The likely use of the routers was well understood, and it should be obvious why selling them to a government which intends to monitor its citizens is different from selling them to some company that wants to monitor its on-the-clock employees. But whatever the merits of the argument back then, the entire question is now moot. The Chinese authorities could now buy the necessary routers from a variety of sources â notably from the homegrown firm Huawei, the largest networking and telecommunications equipment supplier in the People's Republic of China.
Nov 24, 2009 17:40
sirsteven says...
Finally some official words from Opera, 4 days late, and to the BBC: "[Opera:]"The difference between the Chinese and the international version is that the former connects to compression servers within China.....benefits are higher speed, lower costs and an overall improved mobile web browsing experience," the firm said in a statement. It was not prepared to discuss the "background for this decision"..."
That's all.
Nov 24, 2009 23:39
Finally some official words from Opera, 4 days late, and to the BBC: "[Opera:]"The difference between the Chinese and the international version is that the former connects to compression servers within China.....benefits are higher speed, lower costs and an overall improved mobile web browsing experience," the firm said in a statement. It was not prepared to discuss the "background for this decision"..."
That's all.
Nov 24, 2009 23:39
KentFKruhoeffer says...
MAKING DEALS WITH THE DEVIL would be a more appropriate title for this story. I am in China, and when Opera directed me to the 'switch to the China server message', I was so shocked and pissed off I switched over to BOLT, although it's probably only a matter of time before the China Internet Nazis block access to BOLT as well. All this talk in the media about how China is leading the economic recovery and opening up to the west. Yeah, right. Opera should be ashamed for agreeing to their demands.
Nov 25, 2009 11:34
MAKING DEALS WITH THE DEVIL would be a more appropriate title for this story. I am in China, and when Opera directed me to the 'switch to the China server message', I was so shocked and pissed off I switched over to BOLT, although it's probably only a matter of time before the China Internet Nazis block access to BOLT as well. All this talk in the media about how China is leading the economic recovery and opening up to the west. Yeah, right. Opera should be ashamed for agreeing to their demands.
Nov 25, 2009 11:34
RonaldReagan says...
President Hu Jintao, Tear down this wall!
Nov 25, 2009 13:04
President Hu Jintao, Tear down this wall!
Nov 25, 2009 13:04
sirsteven says...
@KentFKruhoeffer Good to know that BOLT browser still has that useful loophole. The very best alternative, though, is to upgrade phones to Android or iPhone, which nicely supports VPNs, and buy a VPN service.
@RonaldReagan Thanks for coming back from the dead to reapply your Berlin Wall message to this new global barrier!
Nov 25, 2009 19:34
@KentFKruhoeffer Good to know that BOLT browser still has that useful loophole. The very best alternative, though, is to upgrade phones to Android or iPhone, which nicely supports VPNs, and buy a VPN service.
@RonaldReagan Thanks for coming back from the dead to reapply your Berlin Wall message to this new global barrier!
Nov 25, 2009 19:34
tvnewswatch says...
I would just like to point out that BOLT is not available to download within China. The main site opens but the download link returns the usual errors: ERROR..The requested URL could not be retrieved..While trying to retrieve the URL: boltbrowser.comdownload.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">boltbrowser.com... The following error was encountered: Read Error The system returned: (104) Connection reset by peer...
There is some confusion as to whether the browser itself works if already installed. tvnewswatch [blog] has received 3 comments which differ on this. All posted anonymously, one says "Uh, the Bolt is blocked in China too asshat." While another responds "That's tremendous, I've never been called an asshat before. Great word! Actually, Bolt is not blocked in China. I was using it to access both Facebook and YouTube earlier today. Bolt even has its own built-in video player, cool eh? So I'm afraid you are totally wrong. Does that mean I can call you "asshat" too? Please?"
A third comment also sings the praises of Bolt over Opera. "Opera Mini is so over. Disappointed and angry Opera users can switch to Bolt Browser: the uncensored mobile browser (at least for the time being). boltbrowser.com "
While Bolt, at least from this consensus, may work in China, it is not possible to download. At least not from the official site.
Nov 25, 2009 20:18
I would just like to point out that BOLT is not available to download within China. The main site opens but the download link returns the usual errors: ERROR..The requested URL could not be retrieved..While trying to retrieve the URL: boltbrowser.comdownload.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">boltbrowser.com... The following error was encountered: Read Error The system returned: (104) Connection reset by peer...
There is some confusion as to whether the browser itself works if already installed. tvnewswatch [blog] has received 3 comments which differ on this. All posted anonymously, one says "Uh, the Bolt is blocked in China too asshat." While another responds "That's tremendous, I've never been called an asshat before. Great word! Actually, Bolt is not blocked in China. I was using it to access both Facebook and YouTube earlier today. Bolt even has its own built-in video player, cool eh? So I'm afraid you are totally wrong. Does that mean I can call you "asshat" too? Please?"
A third comment also sings the praises of Bolt over Opera. "Opera Mini is so over. Disappointed and angry Opera users can switch to Bolt Browser: the uncensored mobile browser (at least for the time being). boltbrowser.com "
While Bolt, at least from this consensus, may work in China, it is not possible to download. At least not from the official site.
Nov 25, 2009 20:18
Sepanta says...
@ RonaldReagan ; Nice To Meet You Here , This Post Going To Wonderful . Even A Dead Guy Has Told His Opinion !
Nov 26, 2009 04:10
@ RonaldReagan ; Nice To Meet You Here , This Post Going To Wonderful . Even A Dead Guy Has Told His Opinion !
Nov 26, 2009 04:10
RonaldReagan says...
Hello sirsteven: Dead but not forgotten, eh? :-)
Nov 26, 2009 10:30
Hello sirsteven: Dead but not forgotten, eh? :-)
Nov 26, 2009 10:30
Zelin says...
åµåµï¼äººçå°±æ¯è¿ä¹æ¯å ·ï¼operachinaå®ç½å论åå°ç°å¨é½ä¸ä¸å»~
Dec 23, 2009 08:34
åµåµï¼äººçå°±æ¯è¿ä¹æ¯å ·ï¼operachinaå®ç½å论åå°ç°å¨é½ä¸ä¸å»~
Dec 23, 2009 08:34
djiba says...
I am chinese,i used to using opera mini.But now,i begin to use UCweb,because opera mini could not suffer internet as usual.I
think we should not balme opera,just government.I hope opera could
come back soon
Dec 23, 2009 17:22
I am chinese,i used to using opera mini.But now,i begin to use UCweb,because opera mini could not suffer internet as usual.I
think we should not balme opera,just government.I hope opera could
come back soon
Dec 23, 2009 17:22
Zelin says...
Hope so...â®(â¯ï¹â°ï¼â i want to watch the video on youtube~~~~~~
Dec 23, 2009 20:58
Hope so...â®(â¯ï¹â°ï¼â i want to watch the video on youtube~~~~~~
Dec 23, 2009 20:58
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About Steven Millward
Six years after arriving in China to 'check it out', Steven Millward has decided to stay put, and is hooked on the fast-changing dynamic of mainland China. He's not too intimidated that his current city of residence has a greater population than his entire homeland of Wales. A freelance editor, lifestyle magazine writer, English teacher, and enthusiastic blogger, he can also be found on twitter (as @SirSteven) discussing media, tech and music. You can email him with any tips, queries or feedback.
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