Nerdy Science Blog

Recently many China bloggers had told me that they’ll slow down their blog publishing progress, some even stop writing. Some of them shut down their commentary system preventing anyone posting any sensitive keywords in their blog posts. Although some of them experienced difficulties after posting certain keywords on their blog (it became normal after they remove the post or remove the sensitive words), the legend of GFW (Great FireWall) might be a fraud.

The “Great Firewall of China,” used by the government of the People’s Republic of China to block users from reaching content it finds objectionable, is actually a “panopticon” that encourages self-censorship through the perception that users are being watched, rather than a true firewall, according to researchers at UC Davis and the University of New Mexico.