

China is blocking most Google search queries - garply
http://shanghaiist.com/2010/03/30/the_googlecn_googlecomhk_lockdown_h.php

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garply
More specifically, all queries entered from the Google html web forms. I can
still search from the search / url bar in Chrome. The block is indeed, as the
article states, keyed off of the rfai parameter in the queries.

Also, Forbes picked up on the story quickly as well
([http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/30/china-blocks-google-tech-
ma...](http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/30/china-blocks-google-tech-markets-
firewall.html?boxes=techchanneltopstories)), but I found the info from The
Shanghaiist more useful.

------
alexbosworth
Amazon S3 has recently started to come under the block here, which is making
Shanghaiist not work for me - their static CSS files are served direct from S3
buckets.

~~~
c1sc0
This is the kind of thing worrying me more than a single search engine being
shut out. Once infrastructure services start to suffer it becomes effectively
impossible to do (internet) business in China without VPN.

I've been thinking about setting up a 'dashboard' website much like Google's
services dashboard that goes beyond Google's services and includes access to
websites essential to run a modern internet business.

Here's my list, please add to it:

    
    
      Google search
      Wordpress / Tumblr / Other blog services
      Twitter
      Facebook
      Google Appengine
      Amazon AWS / EC3 / Mturk / etc ...
      other cloud service providers?

~~~
garply
Even with a VPN, the Chinese environment is harmful because VPNs are slooow
(relatively speaking).

------
ck2
Is this a surprise? Who exactly is going to stop them?

They own half the world's debt and most of the USA's including the trillions
borrowed to fund the two wars going on. They will just get a severe finger
wagging from the state department.

What can anyone do to change this, we can't even support the people in Iran
when they are actively fighting their government.

If half the American corporations left China, China would simply make clones
of those companies or just seize their remaining assets and use them for
themselves (like Russia does).

------
UmYeah
Google is now saying that this is a technical glitch on their end.
[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230473910457515...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304739104575153360362231700.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection)

