Wikipedia founder commented on Chinese blockade of access to Wikipedia


ByNiccolò Caranti

For some services on the Internet in ChinaAccess restriction, And from the country in the country, Google and Twitter etc can not be used. A service that knows which site is blocked in such a single shot is "GreatFire.org"is. GreatFire who monitors censorship situation in China and publishes which site is under what limit from when and when Wikipedia is unavailable from China, Jimmy Wales who is the top of the Wikimedia Foundation I'm asking Mr. Direct directly.

GreatFire Q & amp; A with Jimmy Wales on China Censorship | GreatFire.org
https://en.greatfire.org/blog/2015/sep/greatfire-qa-jimmy-wales-china-censorship

In June 2015, I run Wikipedia etc.Wikimedia FoundationTo all the sites operated by the foundationBy adopting HTTPS by defaultWe announced that. A scheme for securing HTTP communication using encryption is called "HTTPSThat is why, as a result of introducing this, the Chinese government can not censor the content of Wikipedia, and as a resultAccess to the Chinese version of Wikipedia is blockedIt was done.

On this, GreatFire is the honorary president of the Wikimedia Foundation on TwitterJimmy WalesQuoted Ms. Past's remarks, "Tweeting access to Wikipedia is nothing but admitting that information based on fair facts is a threat to China."


Wales replied, "How can I email Charlie (the founder of GreatFire)?"


After this interaction, Mr. Wales of the Wikimedia Foundation seems to be in direct contact with GreatFire, among which questions asked by Mr. GreatFire against Wales are published.

GreatFire:(Q)
How does Wikipedia fight censorship in China and other regions?

Jimmy Wales:(Hereinafter referred to as A)
Wikipedia is in the opposite position to censorship. We have a firm policy and we will not bend this policy in any case. Also, we do not have cooperative relationships with censorship in any regional government agencies around the world. In my opinion, access to knowledge, especially access to the encyclopedic knowledge in which the truth such as Wikipedia was written is considered to be included in "freedom of speech" of fundamental human rights .

I personally continue lobbying to several government agencies around the world and have continued to appeal to change policies (like censoring Wikipedia). Also, at Wikipedia, in order to oppose the SOPA bill by the copyright protection bill (a bill leading to the censorship of the Internet)Temporarily stop serviceI have done it.

ByDavid Holmes

Q:
In 2012, you nailed Spy acts by British government by making UK version of Wikipedia HTTPS compliant by default. By encrypting HTTP communication, we counteracted spying acts against British authorities' behavior on the public web and mobile phones. You suggested that this type of activity will also occur in Iran and China, why did not you do the same in China?

A:
In England, we never threatened the government. In addition, all communication of Wikipedia is now switched to HTTPS. We are following the principle of our 100% self-organization and are consistently showing the opposite position to the act of spying Internet users using technology. But like many people, weEdward SnowdenHe did not recognize the importance of communication until he leaked a large-scale spy act of NSA, and Wikipedia did not encrypt for many yearsClear textCommunication was done in. That's why I challenged a big challenge of migrating all communications to HTTPS. Even if you know that Wikipedia will be completely blocked in some countries.

Q:
We believe that you will not voluntarily agree with censorship. However, being able to censor individual content by Chinese government authorities is also seen in the strategy of several press organizations. In other words, if you prepare two versions of the full version site and "Clean (clean site with no government-friendly information)" site, even if full version sites are blocked by censorship, Clean one can be left accessible. However, in this method it seems that there seems to be no choice but to set up a version that conforms to Chinese censorship criteria eventually. Also, were there any such methods in Wikipedia's strategy in China?

A:
We will not allow censorship of individual content by Chinese government authorities. Therefore, this question is very ridiculous and there is no debate. Also, I think that the best strategy for promoting 'freedom of speech' in China is to respect the opinions of members within the Wikipedia community in China.

ByJoi Ito

Q:
Were you concerned that Wikipedia would be completely blocked by the Chinese government, did Chinese community members oppose full response to HTTPS? Also, what is the reaction of the current community where the site has been completely blocked?

A:
If you hear the discussion in multiple communities, you will find that there are various opinions. However, even though access to Wikipedia has been blocked for a long time, many communities support our movement towards HTTPS compliance.

Q:
What do you think will be the future of Internet censorship in China? Will regulations relax? Or will it get worse?

A:
This will be due to reactions from all over the world. If western countries quit pretending not to be seen against China's censorship and continue to put pressure on the Chinese authorities in China, censorship will change in a positive direction. We all have to keep aloud for change.

Q:
If you are a tyrant who handles the Internet related in ChinaRu WeiIf I sat next to him, what do you say to him?

A:
As I told his predecessors and people who stand in the same position all over the world, he says, "You are standing on the wrong side of history." In fact, the reason for censorship in China is "to promote the formation of a harmonious society". However, I often talk about "how the censorship program disturbs harmony" in the discussion. I would like to encourage them to rethink their claims from scratch.

ByGiulia Forsythe

Q:
If you say that Lu Wei does not release access restrictions on Wikipedia unless you release "Content Censored" or "Encrypted by default" in Wikipedia "to you, will you do?

A:
We will not compromise. We are far more patient than they.

Q:
What kind of advice would you send if foreign foreign companies providing user-created content are about to enter the Chinese market?

A:
I can not give any special advice besides telling me that it is very difficult.

Q:
In what way do you think the companies in which countries are standing around in China?

A:
It may not be appropriate for me to comment on that details. Among the cases that I personally know, some companies take measures to invalidate censorship of the Chinese government. However, speaking about a specific part, I will waste efforts of those companies, so I can not talk about it. However, I think that activists trying to regain "freedom of speech" by naming people's names and insulting should draw back from here.

Q:
If you can return the time, what would you like to change Wikipedia's approach to China?

A:
I think Wikipedia's approach was better than anywhere else. What I can say is that if I want to run "X" and "Y" in a different way, there is no guarantee that the other approaches will work. I am proud that I have always advanced 100% without compromising and I am confident that I have dealt with this problem better than other major websites.

ByWilliam Brawley

in Note, Posted by logu_ii