The Difficulties of Reporting When China Limits Your Internet

A Q&A with Jane Perlez, The New York Times’s bureau chief in Beijing.

Asked, "As Beijing bureau chief, what is it like to try to get information online given China’s Great Firewall, the system of filters and controls that can limit what people see on the internet there?" Perlez responded, "We live and die by the strength of virtual private networks, or VPNs. The Chinese government is always trying to disrupt VPNs. Some work relatively well for a few months, then all of a sudden they slow down, a sign that the government has successfully interfered with them. As journalists, we feel frustrated by the instability of the internet, the overall slowness. But we are not the only ones affected. Businesses operating in China have the same problems. So do researchers, scholars and scientists, all people who need to get information from websites — including Twitter, Facebook and Google — that the government blocks."