HONG KONG: The Chinese government is shutting down the
mobile service of residents in Xinjiang who use software that lets them
circumvent internet filters, escalating an already aggressive electronic
surveillance strategy in the country's fractious western territory. Starting
last week, shortly after terrorist attacks in Paris, the local police began
cutting the service of people who had downloaded foreign messaging services and
other software, according to five people affected.
The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity over
concerns about retaliation from local security forces for speaking to foreign
media, all said their telecommunications provider had told them to go to a
local police station to have service restored.
"Due to police notice, we will shut down your cellphone
number within the next two hours in accordance with the law," read a text
message received by one of the people, who lives in the regional capital of
Urumqi. "If you have any questions, please consult the cyberpolice
affiliated with the police station in your vicinity as soon as possible." The
person said that when she called the police, she was told that the service
suspensions were aimed at people who had not linked their identification to
their account; used virtual private networks, or VPNs, to evade China's system
of internet filters, known as the Great Firewall; or downloaded foreign
messaging software, like WhatsApp or Telegram.
With debates continuing in Europe and the United States
about how heavily to encrypt communications sent through smartphone messaging
applications that could mask terrorist plots from law enforcement, the move in
China underlines Beijing's determination to control and monitor information
online. The debate in the West also has influence in China, said Nicholas
Bequelin, the East Asia director for Amnesty International in Hong Kong.
"With the West generally going backward in terms of
protecting privacy and freedom of expression, China is comforted in its
long-standing position that it is the arbiter of what can be said or not,"
he said.
He said he used a virtual private network to get access to
Instagram, and that at the police station, an officer "took away my ID card
and cellphone for a few minutes and then gave them back to me." He added,
"They told me the reason for my suspension is that I 'used software to
jump the Great Firewall.'"
He said he was told that his phone service would be
suspended for three days, and that he would no longer use virtual private
networks. "It is too troublesome," he said. "I just have to give
up my Instagram from now on."
Others said it was less clear when their phone numbers might
be restored. A man who lives in the town of Yining said the police there first
checked his social media postings to see whether he had written anything
delicate, then said they would report his case "for further
examination."
