China blocks WikiLeaks website

China, in its usual heavy handed manner has blocked all links to the WikiLeaks websites after potentially embarassing claims were made in leaked U.S. diplomatic cables.

People in China who tried to access either wikeleaks.org or cablegate.wikeleaks.org were delivered a page saying that the connection had been reset. This is a standard response from a website is blocked by the Chinese authorities.

It isn't sure when these blocks were imposed, however a large portion of the net is now inaccessible from China via their firewall system, including Facebook, Twitter and even Youtube.

Using proxy servers has reported to be successful according to sources, although it certainly highlights that the Chinese government aren't willing to let their citizens view material that they deem unsavoury.

The Associated Press said “WikiLeaks may have been singled out because of some of the assertions made in the leaked cables, including some sent from the U.S. Embassies in Seoul and Beijing focusing on China's ally North Korea.

Those included suggestions that North Korea's communist regime would likely collapse within three years of the death of ruler Kim Jong Il, and that Chinese leaders were prepared to accept South Korea's eventual rule over the entire Korean peninsula.

In one, a Chinese diplomat is quoted describing North Korea as a “spoiled child” for attempting to win U.S. attention with a provocative missile test.

The leaks also claimed that China's Politburo directed a cyber intrusion into Google's computer systems, and expressed concern over attempts by Iranian front companies to obtain Chinese nuclear technology.

China's government has taken a low-key approach to the leaks, with the Foreign Ministry saying it would not comment on specific assertions in the cables.”

KitGuru says: Blocking doesn't always help a situation.

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