The latest drawing from CDT’s resident cartoonist, Badiucao, comments on new rules designed to limit the use of VPN services to evade government censorship of foreign websites:
VPN Disaster, by Badiucao for CDT:
The VPN, depicted as a ladder to help internet users “scale the Great Firewall,” is about to be chopped down by a chainsaw-wielding Xi Jinping.
As part of recent efforts to reinforce the Great Firewall, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced last month the launch of a 14-month campaign to “clean up” unauthorized internet connections. According to a Reuters report, the rules forbid the “creation or renting” of communication channels, including VPNs, “without government approval.” Many people in China depend on VPNs to access websites that are otherwise blocked in the country. In recent years, both domestic and foreign VPNs have faced periodic interference from government authorities.
CDT is now selling t-shirts and iPad covers featuring Badiucao’s work in our Zazzle store. See also a Q&A with Badiucao in which he discusses his artistic and personal influences, and his earlier cartoons for CDT.
