By Jerome Auza
Last week I went to Shanghai China to install software one of the customers of our client. My first impression as I was on the taxi on the way to the hotel was that the city was so massive. Construction was going on on both sides of the road and that was in addition to the already tall and numerous buildings along the way.
The biggest surprise though was that many commonly used websites like Google, Twitter, Facebook and many more were completely blocked by the so called “great firewall of China”. I had prepared for that by installing virtual private network (VPN) software on my computer which would theoretically get through the firewall.
However, the VPN software and services I prepared were blocked also. It took me several hours before I figured out a work around. And not only was it a bit difficult to do, I managed only to get Google search and Google mail to get through. Google Drive, Facebook and many other sites were still blocked or very slow to load
As I experienced this restriction, I can’t imagine if this was the case in the Philippines. Many people would go crazy not being able to share stuff on Facebook.
Filipinos complain of many inconveniences that we experience. But we should be grateful that at least our freedom is a right rather than a privilege. China remains to be a communist country.
Arriving back in Manila was a relief. I could now access my stuff.
