because you never asked for it or demand it? 
From President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech to reporters’ access to blocked websites, the opening day of a keenly awaited global internet conference in eastern China is already stirring debate and courting controversy over the use of secret new technology and what some claim are double standards.
Cybersecurity and global internet governance are expected to be among the key themes at the 2nd World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, where all overseas guests and tech tycoons have been given a Mi Note LTE by Xiaomi, China’s top vendor of smartphones, to use Wi-fi and make calls.
The phones come pre-installed with an app offering helpful information such as the conference agenda, and are theirs to keep, they said.
Moreover, guests from overseas who are attending the annual three-day event say they have been granted special access to websites that are usually blocked on the Chinese mainland, including Facebook, Twitter and Google.
One attendee representing a Hong Kong media outlet at the annual conference told the South China Morning Post that he was put in a hotel near the WIC and offered an individual account and password for his in-room Wi-fi.
Once in the room, he found he could use the account to reach Facebook and other blocked sites, he said. But if he switched the account off and tried to use the internet as normal, the sites were unavailable.
READ MORE: VPN services blocked in China as Astrill warns of ‘increased censorship’ following WW2 parade
The man said the same applied to other foreign media in his group.
When the Post asked several Chinese reporters if they were able to access the blocked sites, they all said the sites were still not reachable and that they had not received a Xiaomi phone or special Wi-fi access code.
“What are you talking about? A special account and password?” replied one Guangzhou-based reporter.
“None of us has it. Maybe it’s only for guests in other hotels.”
Moreover, some local reporters were disgruntled at how the organisers had arranged their accommodation further away from the venue than for those journalists working for foreign media.
From President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech to reporters’ access to blocked websites, the opening day of a keenly awaited global internet conference in eastern China is already stirring debate and courting controversy over the use of secret new technology and what some claim are double standards.
Cybersecurity and global internet governance are expected to be among the key themes at the 2nd World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, where all overseas guests and tech tycoons have been given a Mi Note LTE by Xiaomi, China’s top vendor of smartphones, to use Wi-fi and make calls.
The phones come pre-installed with an app offering helpful information such as the conference agenda, and are theirs to keep, they said.
Moreover, guests from overseas who are attending the annual three-day event say they have been granted special access to websites that are usually blocked on the Chinese mainland, including Facebook, Twitter and Google.
One attendee representing a Hong Kong media outlet at the annual conference told the South China Morning Post that he was put in a hotel near the WIC and offered an individual account and password for his in-room Wi-fi.
Once in the room, he found he could use the account to reach Facebook and other blocked sites, he said. But if he switched the account off and tried to use the internet as normal, the sites were unavailable.
READ MORE: VPN services blocked in China as Astrill warns of ‘increased censorship’ following WW2 parade
The man said the same applied to other foreign media in his group.
When the Post asked several Chinese reporters if they were able to access the blocked sites, they all said the sites were still not reachable and that they had not received a Xiaomi phone or special Wi-fi access code.
“What are you talking about? A special account and password?” replied one Guangzhou-based reporter.
“None of us has it. Maybe it’s only for guests in other hotels.”
Moreover, some local reporters were disgruntled at how the organisers had arranged their accommodation further away from the venue than for those journalists working for foreign media.
