You can bet your last dollar that it's only a matter of time China blocks it

Millennium · Jun 5, 2015

FireTweet app aims to let Chinese access Twitter freely on June 4 'internet maintenance day'

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 04 June, 2015, 1:21pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 04 June, 2015, 1:21pm

James Griffiths [email protected] @jgriffiths

Twitter is one of many services blocked by China's so-called ''Great Firewall''. Photo: Reuters

A new app developed by a US State Department-funded anti-censorship organisation allows users in countries where Twitter is blocked, such as mainland China, to access the social network.

FireTweet is built on the Lantern anti-censorship architecture, a peer-to-peer-based system which allows users in China to bypass the so-called Great Firewall, which blocks services such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as many major news and media organisations, including the South China Morning Post.

"Lantern's basic approach is to use redundant strategies to get around blocking," said chief executive Adam Fisk. "If one strategy fails, another kicks in and it keeps working."

By using a trust-based peer-to-peer based system, rather than traditional virtual private network (VPN) tools, Lantern is harder for censors to detect and block, said Fisk.

This will come in particularly useful for Chinese users this week, as censors step up efforts to filter and block discussions of the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown of June 4, 1989.

The date has been sarcastically dubbed "internet maintenance day" by Chinese online commenters for the number of websites which are taken down for "maintenance" around the anniversary.

On Weibo, China's domestic version of Twitter, mention of "六四事件" (June 4th incident) and related terms is not allowed. In 2013, even searches for "big yellow duck" were blocked, after users began sharing a modified version of the iconic "Tank Man" image with ducks instead of tanks.

FireTweet uses the Lantern anti-censorship protocol to give Chinese users unfiltered access to Twitter. Photo: SCMP Pictures

FireTweet, currently only available on Android devices, works like a standard Twitter app, "just not quite as polished" as the official software, Fisk said. Lantern plans to release an iOS version of the app later this year.

Released in mid-2013, Lantern receives funding from the US State Department as part of a programme run in conjunction with the US Agency for International Development which awards money to groups working to advance internet freedom.

After widespread media coverage, including from the Post, Lantern saw a marked uptick in downloads from China, and attracted the attention of the authorities.

"[The SCMP] article definitely put us on the radar of the censors," Fisk said, adding that it was the only time the service has been completely blocked.

The service has around 150,000 total users, with 8,000 weekly active users in China alone, according to internal Lantern figures.

Fisk said that the service has struggled to match its early levels of growth, as distributing the software has proven difficult in the face of censorship.

"We didn't really have things in place widely to distribute it without the website."

The software is currently available to download via GitHub, the US-based open-source code repository which suffered repeated distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks in March which researchers said were linked to China.

GitHub itself was blocked entirely by Chinese authorities in early 2013, but access was restored after widespread outcry from domestic internet companies and software developers.

tanwahtiu · Jun 5, 2015

this is a n interesting analogy why Qianlong says China don't need Westerners products.

We can use this to seek wisdom why China don't need British industrial revolution products back in the 1800s.

Chinese is a huge market

1. Angmohs know China vast lands and huge market for consumers products.

2.Chinese has 5,000 years of civilization beyond any races I the world.

3. Chinese are warlords.

4. Chinese are inventors.

To get into the Chinese markets must understand 合作 with the Chinese is more important than just selling to the Chinese. Want Chinese must rely on your company products and services technical support?

Westerners already copied Chinese inventions in the early thousands of years and don't see why Chinese cannot copy or do the same Westerners did to Chinese.

This fucking one-side patent law from evil Brit can shaft it into the own arse.

Copy Chinese innovations the Chinese trades and 连合作 no restriction but come to the evil Pommies innovation turned their backs using laws against ALL races. Chinese has own laws and fucking Brit don't accept like 'kowtow' to Chinese Emperor. Fucking no respect to other country quality way of life to respect authority then go fuck off sell to poor countries like wild Africa and corrupt Ah Neh India.

Sneaky bastard Westerns Brit still at it trying to get into China the backdoor way instaed of 合作 with the Chinese and Overseas Chinese.

Drugged the Chinese and Overseas Chinese in Singapore and Borneo in 1800s - 1945, are they not ashamed of their evil history of making drug money to expand their British Empire?

British Empire Funded by Opium

Still, the real narco-republic in world history isn’t the United States, Mexico, Colombia or other transit points to the artificially created drug epidemic in the United States. This dubious honor actually goes to the British Empire, as their Bengal-to-China opium business during the time of Queen Victoria grew into the world’s largest commodity trade during the 19th century. Opium accounted for almost 20 percent of the Empire’s total revenue, yet opium was just the tip of the addictive trade.

In the United States and the British Empire addictive substances were the major business of British mercantilism. For example, the original British colonies like Jamestown and Virginia were economically unfeasible before the smoking of tobacco caught on in Europe and smoking and snuff created a cash crop from America.

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2012/09...f-conflict-anglo-american-and-chinesehistory/