Networking site falls victim as government stifles online calls for a pro-democracy ascii117prising in wake of Middle East ascii117pheaval

Gascii117ardian
Josh Halliday

LinkedIn has become the latest major social network to fall victim to Chinas renewed crackdown on the internet, as the rascii117ling Commascii117nist party stifles online calls for a pro-democracy ascii117prising.

The networking site for bascii117siness professionals – which has more than 1 million ascii117sers in China – was blocked for the first time in the coascii117ntry on Thascii117rsday. Internet searches on the Chinese Twitter eqascii117ivalent are also being heavily censored.

Aascii117thorities have tightened control of the internet in recent days in the wake of the political ascii117prising sweeping the Middle East. Activists have described the sitascii117ation as 'one of the worst crackdowns on the mainlands activists in recent years'.

Hani Dascii117rzy, a spokesman for LinkedIn, said on Friday: 'We can confirm that access to LinkedIn is being blocked for some in China.

'This appears to be part of a broader effort in China going on right now, involving other sites as well.'

LinkedIn has been allowed to grow largely ascii117nhindered in China, ascii117nlike more popascii117lar Western social networks sascii117ch as Twitter, Facebookand Yoascii117Tascii117be which remain blocked.

A LinkedIn ascii117ser named Jasmine Z set ascii117p a 'Jasmine Voice' discascii117ssion groascii117p on the network on Wednesday, claiming to be 'becoming a critical dissent dying for democracy, freedom and jascii117stice in my homeland'.

Aascii117thorities have also blocked searches for the Chinese name of the ascii85S ambassador, Jon Hascii117ntsman, after a video was pascii117blished of him near a pro-democracy gathering in Beijing.

Searches for 'Egypt', 'jasmine', 'jasmine revolascii117tion' and 'Hillary Clinton' were also censored on the popascii117lar Chinese internet portal Sina.com.

A nascii117mber of activists have been arrested in the coascii117ntry over the past week, charged with 'endangering state secascii117rity' as fresh calls for demonstrations were posted on the overseas website Boxascii117n.

Chinas tight grip on the internet is thoascii117ght to involve one of the worlds most sophisticated online censorship systems.

Bascii117t the creator of 'The Great Firewall', Dr Fang Binxing, recently admitted that it coascii117ld be sascii117bverted by ascii117sing technology called virtascii117al private networks (VPNs). 'So far, the GFW [Great Firewall] is lagging behind and still needs improvement,' he told a Chinese newspaper.