WhatsApp down: China users report disruption amid censorship fears

Users of WhatsApp in China and security researchers have reported widespread service disruptions amid fears that the popular messaging service may be at least partially blocked by authorities in the world's most populous country.

WhatsApp users in China reported today on other social media platforms that the app was partly inaccessible unless virtual private network software was used to circumvent China's censorship apparatus, known colloquially as The Great Firewall.

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook and offers end-to- end encryption, has a relatively small but loyal following among users seeking a greater degree of privacy from government snooping than afforded by popular domestic app WeChat, which is ubiquitous but closely monitored and filtered.

Questions over WhatsApp's status come at a politically fraught time in China. The government is in the midst of preparing for a sensitive party congress while Chinese censors this week revved up a sprawling effort to scrub all mention of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who died Thursday in government custody.

A report this week by the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab detailed how Chinese censors were able to intercept, in real time, images commemorating Liu in private one-on-one chats on WeChat, a feat that hinted at the government's image recognition capabilities

It appeared that pictures were also the focus of the move to censor WhatsApp. Late today, users in China could send texts over WhatsApp without the use of VPNs, but not images.
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China says awarding Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo was 'blasphemy'

China said today that awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo amounted to "blasphemy" and lodged protests with several countries, including the US, for making "irresponsible statements" on the death of the prominent dissident.

Liu, China's best-known human rights prisoner, died yesterday at age 61 following a battle with liver cancer. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate who spent his last eight years as a prisoner of conscience died at a hospital in Shenyang, China.

He was granted medical parole in June after receiving his diagnosis in prison, but China did not let him seek treatment abroad despite Liu's wishes and international pressure.

Liu's death led to international criticism of China's handling of the issue. The leader of the Norwegian Nobel committee Berit Reiss-Andersen said the Chinese government bore a "heavy responsibility" for Liu's death.

Answering a barrage of questions today over the death of Liu, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China had lodged protests with "certain countries" for interfering in its "judicial sovereignty".

"Liu is a prisoner who was sentenced to imprisonment in accordance with Chinese law...Conferring the prize to such a person goes against the purposes of this award. It's a blasphemy of the peace prize," Geng said, referring to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Liu in 2010.
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