While we are used to thinking of the Internet as a single network that puts everyone on an equal footing, nations can control internet traffic inside their borders much in the same way they can control roads and airports. China's government exerts extreme control on the internet inside China. This is known colloquially as the Great Firewall of China.
This control includes monitoring and selectively blocking internet communications within China and across Chinese borders. WeSpire is often blocked from access by normal methods inside China.
Read More
Beijing Plans Stringent Norms and Massive Crackdown to Curb Internet Misuse - The EurAsian Times, 1/14/21
In China, the ‘Great Firewall’ Is Changing a Generation - Politico Magazine, 9/1/20
The Great Firewall - Wikipedia
Which websites and online services are banned in China? - TechRadar, 8/20/20
In China, Github is a free speech zone for COVID-19 information - Wired.com, 9/9/20
WeSpire's technology resides on servers physically located within the United States and is delivered to users all over the world by different networks (collections of fiber optic lines, routers, and computers) depending on where the user is. If a user is located within China, then their device, be it a phone, laptop, or tablet, has to connect first to networks controlled by the Chinese government and then, if the government allows it, to networks outside of China.
While internet traffic has always been filtered in China, the extent of the filtering has been markedly increasing since 2017: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Netflix, Wikipedia, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and all US government websites, as well as many thousands or millions of others, are blocked from access inside China.
The Chinese Government has chosen to block or at least seriously restrict the ability for Chinese users to reach WeSpire's technology as well.
Comparitech - Blocked In China is a tool you can use to check if your WeSpire domain is currently blocked in various mainland Chinese provinces. The results of this tool do not indicate that, if accessible, WeSpire will work perfectly however, as the tool only tests if Chinese users can load the landing page. Advanced features like Single Sign On, image upload and display, and giving/matching functionality are not testable except by someone with the appropriate credentials inside China. Work with your Customer Success Manager and a member of your organization inside China for more extensive testing.
If WeSpire doesn't work over the main Chinese internet, there is no appeal, no notification, and no redress for this blocking. The blocks are instituted not just to block access to "inappropriate" information against Chinese values but also (in our case, primarily) as a form of internet protectionism. This benefits Chinese internet companies that do not have to compete with foreign technology companies. The government may lift or impose blocking at any time.
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a method of routing internet traffic securely from a device to a special designated server outside a controlled area and then from that server to the internet at large. Many internet users inside China use VPNs to access work and personal websites that are otherwise blocked by the Great Firewall.
WeSpire does not track VPN usage or make recommendations for how to get access to our sites inside China. People should follow the recommendations of their employers when deciding to use a VPN to access WeSpire.