On Monday, that window slammed shut when
Chinese users lost access to Clubhouse, adding it
to thousands of websites and social media apps
the ruling party blocks the public from seeing
using the world’s most extensive system of
internet filters.
Service in China was cut off at about 7
p.m. (1100 GMT) on Monday, according to
GreatFire.org, a nonprofit U.S. group that
monitors Chinese internet filtering and tries to
help users circumvent it.
Clubhouse didn’t respond to requests
for comment.
Xi’s government refuses to acknowledge the
existence of its internet filters, known informally
as the Great Firewall of China. Researchers
abroad trace blockages to servers at state-
owned China Telecom Ltd. through which
internet traffic is required to pass.
Xi’s government is trying to promote the notion
of “internet sovereignty,” or the right of political
leaders to limit what their publics see online.
A foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin,
said Tuesday he had no information about
Clubhouse. He said the internet in China “is
open” but is managed “in accordance with
relevant laws.”
“We are determined to safeguard national
sovereignty, security and development interests
and oppose foreign interference,” Wang said.
Clubhouse allowed many mainland users their
first direct communication with people in
Hong Kong and Taiwan and with exiles from
the Uighur minority in the northwestern region
of Xinjiang.