Beijing-based Tibetan writer/blogger Woeser has been writing the “Tibet Update” series on her Middleway blog, hosted outside of China. At about 3 am Beijing time on May 28, 2008, her blog was hacked by a group calling themselves “Chinese Red Hacker Alliance.”
(A profile of Woeser, written by Washington Post’s Beijing correspondent Jill Drew is here.)
The following photos and slogans are from the hacked Middleway blog front page.
“Long Live the People’s Republic of China! Down with all Tibetan independence elements!!!”
“Can everybody please remember the stinking face of Tibetan separatist Woeser below. Whoever sees her, beat her hard like a dog in the water (bad person).”
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Woeser just issued the following statement from Beijing:
TEXT OF WOESER’S STATEMENT
Woeser warning her correspondents on Skype!
Dear friends, in order to spy on me and others on my Skype contact list, someone has for a while on Skype claimed that he or she is an overseas Tibetan, an officer from the Tibetan government-in-exile, or having secrets to pass on etc. It looks that he or she has stolen the list of my Skype contacts. Yet, after I posted a warning to inform my contacts of such a development, someone hijacked my account around 10 pm on May 27th. My password has been changed and I can no longer log in. As far as I can tell, the hijacker has begun to make contact with people in my account. This places me and my contacts in an extremely dangerous situation. Therefore, I am sending the strongest warning. Please stop any communication with “Degewa” on Skype, delete or lock out this user’s name from your Skype account, warn anyone you know who might try to contact me through Skype, tell them to cease contact with “Degewa.”
From now on, if you receive any Skype message from “me” in any other users’ name, please speak first (Tibetan friends, please speak in Tibetan) to verify “my identity.” If the other side of the contact refuses to talk, it means you are not in touch with me.
Also, I suggest you and other friends to avoid this kind of trap by talking, rather than writing, via Skype.
Woeser
Early morning in Beijing
May 28th 2008
UPDATE on May 29, 2008:
Woeser’s blog is back working now. PLease also read the Rueters report: Tibet dissident writer under cyber-attack.
