China blocks Economist, Time websites over Xi Jinping articles

The Times of India

Emily Feng

NYT News Service

April 9, 2016

The Economist and Time have joined the list of foreign news websites currently blocked in mainland China. The sites appear to have been censored as a result of recently published cover articles in the magazines critical of the growing power of China’s president, Xi Jinping.

According to GreatFire.org, a website that tracks internet and social media censorship in China, The Economist’s website and its cover article have been completely censored since April 2. The Economist’s mobile app, through which users can download the magazine and read its online articles, has also been censored. Several public accounts managed by The Economist on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media app, have also been suspended. However, the websites of the publication’s umbrella company, The Economist Group, and the group’s consulting arm, The Economist Intelligence Unit, have not been blocked.

GreatFire.org also shows that those searching for the Time website or the magazine’s cover article have experienced frequent connection resets since April 5. China’s system of internet controls, known as the Great Firewall, resets the connections of web requests that contain certain censored keywords. The two magazines published cover articles online this week examining the tightening control Xi has exerted over Chinese politics and the cult of personality he has built around himself.

“He has retreated into the world of Mao: personality cults, plaudits to the state sector and diatribes against foreigners supposedly intent on destroying China,” Hannah Beech of Time wrote. “Mr. Xi has acquired more power than any Chinese leader since Mao Zedong,” The Economist article states. “It was supposed to let him get things done. What is going wrong?”