We are delighted to announce that GreatFire.org is now delivering uncensored, Chinese-language information from the BBC to Chinese netizens behind the great firewall.

The BBC’s Chinese language news website was blocked in China shortly after its launch. Users in China have been able to access content using VPNs. The BBC has also recommended the Psiphon app as a circumvention tool.

The Greatfire.org initiative, with the BBC’s support, makes the content available to users who just want the content to work, without needing special tools.

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This initiative coincides with the run up to the local elections in Taiwan. This gives Chinese netizens a rare opportunity to glimpse how their cross straits cousins elect local officials in a transparent and open democratic process.

BBC Chinese is providing unique coverage of the elections with detailed candidate profiles and in-depth analysis. If you want to know what makes people stand for office in Taiwan and how they become a candidate this is the site to read. If you want to understand more about the democratic processes and the impact, both locally and nationally that the newly elected councillors can have, look no further.

Few foreign media properties produce Chinese-language content for audiences in China. This is largely due to the high likelihood of this content being blocked by the Chinese authorities. Sadly, the actions of the Chinese censors have dissuaded other foreign media from launching their own Chinese-language products.

As a result, Chinese netizens are left with fewer options when it comes to reading Chinese-language news sources other than the state-sanctioned media. Among foreign media outlets with Chinese-language properties, the Chinese Wall Street Journal and the Chinese New York Times are both blocked. The Chinese Financial Times and Reuters Chinese see selected sensitive stories blocked by the great firewall.

Many people in China are now fluent in English and the blocking of English-language international news websites has become more common. However, the BBC’s English news site has largely been available to Chinese internet users, despite a recent disruption in service. The image below shows the past availability of BBC Chinese in China (red indicates the site is blocked).

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GreatFire.org will be using its “collateral freedom” method of unblocking websites in China, leveraging global content delivery networks (CDNs) to host a mirror website for the BBC’s Chinese-language content.

Users who want to access a range of international news sources in Chinese, including the BBC, can also download the Psiphon app by sending an email to zhongwen@psiphon3.com. Web addresses for the unblocked BBC content can be found via GreatFire.org's Github page.