海角大神

China has cemented another brick into the Great Firewall of censorship that blocks its citizens鈥� access to large swaths of the Internet, sealing off Google鈥檚 Gmail service.

Google traffic in and out of China plummeted on Dec. 26 and has flatlined since, according to Google鈥檚 records.

鈥淲e鈥檝e checked and there is no problem at our end,鈥� said Taj Meadows, Google spokesman for Asia. The Chinese Ministry of Information and Technology, responsible for the technical aspects of Internet censorship, did not reply to faxed questions.

The abrupt halt in services left millions of Chinese Gmail users stranded. Among them was Song Ming, a furniture trader in Bengbu in the southern province of Anhui, who suddenly found himself cut off from his customers. 鈥淚 had no time to inform my clients,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f Gmail has problems 鈥� it is too risky to keep using it.鈥�

Also angered by the censors鈥� move was a travel agent in the western city of Xian. 鈥淭his really affects my business very much,鈥� he said asking not to be identified for fear of official retribution. 鈥淚鈥檇 switched to Gmail because I thought it was worldwide.鈥�

It had been getting harder and harder to use Google products such as Gmail, Search, and Google Docs since the summer. Now only special Virtual Private Network software, which circumvents the censor, gives access to those services in China.

Gmail does not have a huge number of users here. The service enjoys less than 2 percent of the Chinese e-mail market, according to a study by Internet traffic analyst Hitwise reported last year.

But the new block is symptomatic of the Chinese authorities鈥� attitude to the Internet. 鈥淭his is not a major blow to the business, but it is a further tightening of the screw,鈥� said one source familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

鈥淚t is as if they have decided Google is the enemy, it is really grim,鈥� added Jeremy Goldkorn, an Internet entrepreneur in Beijing.

It is clear that the Chinese government led by President Xi Jinping sees the Internet as a key battlefield in its ideological struggle with the West.

鈥淭he Internet has become the main battlefield in the struggle for public opinion,鈥� President Xi told fellow leaders at a meeting to discuss ideology in August last year. 鈥淥n this battlefield of the Internet, whether we can stand up and gain victory relates directly to our country鈥檚 ideological security and regime security.鈥澛�

Beijing鈥檚 strategy depends on shutting China off from the rest of the world鈥檚 Internet when it is seen as a threat to the government.

鈥淚 can choose who will be a guest in my home,鈥� said Lu Wei, the government鈥檚 top Internet regulator last month, justifying blocks on such websites as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

At an international Internet conference in November held in the southern city of Wuzhen, Chinese organizers promoted a statement calling on nations to 鈥渞espect Internet sovereignty of all countries."

This was seen as a bid to block international criticism of the Chinese government鈥檚 strict web censorship. The statement was eventually withdrawn; conference participants said it had been clumsily presented with no opportunity for debate.

But with or without international approval, Beijing is clearly determined to build China鈥檚 Internet according to its own model, said a businessman in the industry.

鈥淐hina is a country with its own rules and if you want to do business here, you have to abide by them,鈥� said Lawrence Sheed, founder of a company that hosts websites and mail service in China. 鈥淭hey want to control the information. If they cannot approve it, if it is not under their control, it is not allowed."