Modern World

Chinese censors blocked access to Twitter and other popular online services on Tuesday afternoon, two days before the twentieth anniversary of the crackdown on democracy protests in Tiananmen Square which cost hundreds of lives.

The move came as authorities detained a leading dissident and ordered another to leave Beijing in an indication of the intense sensitivity around Thursday's anniversary.

Users reported that the photo-sharing site Flickr, Google-owned video service YouTube, Microsoft's new search engine Bing and its email service Hotmail, and other services were also unavailable across the mainland.

"Twitter is a tool which can put all the sensitive things and sensitive guys together, very quickly. That's the very thing that the Chinese government doesn't want to see in China," said blogger Michael Anti, who had predicted that Twitter would not be allowed for long. "They needed time to figure out what it is and whether it needed to be controlled."

He added: "I don't know whether they will reopen Twitter after June 4. I hope they will, for Twitter is a crucial icon for the new internet era on which many innovations emerge. China can't block their young generation from the future."

While most Chinese internet users rely on domestic services which are heavily monitored and controlled, Twitter had become hugely popular among an urban elite. They used the site to share information on sensitive issues in recent months, such as the fire at the Chinese state television complex in February. Some had also referred to the coming anniversary.

While people could not access twitter.com this evening, some users were still able to tweet - sending their complaints about the ban.

"Four famous websites - twitter.com, flickr.com, bing.com, live.com - are all blocked. We netizens were beaten by a 'combination blow'. So many famous websites are not accessible now... This time, it is huge," wrote Twitter user williamlong.

One of the inaccessible sites – Microsoft's new search engine, bing.com – was launched only on Monday, leading one user to describe it as Microsoft's shortest-lived product.

"This afternoon, Chinese government had announced a list of outstanding internet companies all over the world," Lianyue, a columnist, wrote on fanfou, a Chinese mini-blog similar to Twitter.

Reuters reported that the email service Hotmail was also blocked across the mainland, while some internet users said they were unable to access Microsoft's Windows Live.

Access to online services is often restricted, especially at sensitive times.

The free blogging site Blogger.com was blocked last month and access to YouTube, owned by Google, has been blocked since March, after Tibetan exile groups posted graphic footage which they said showed Chinese abuse of Tibetans.

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk