It is believed that China perpetrated the act after Telegram refused to give up records of chats by Chinese citizens and aided human rights lawyers who the state party believed to be a threat. The messenger service has never worked again in China.
A brief history of Telegram
Telegram is a favorite messenger service of individuals concerned with privacy as it uses end to end encryption, making it popular with human activists, journalists, and whistleblowers who did not want to be outed to the government. With the messages encrypted, Chinese ISPs and government officials could not understand what they meant. Telegram also has a “secret chat” feature where messages can self destruct after a period of time, much like on America’s Snapchat. A big part of Chinese Internet censorship is being able to monitor what citizens are saying and writing. Telegram was keeping that from happening. Telegram was replaced popularity by WeChat, which is closely monitored and even censored by the Chinese government.
Censorship in China
The result is a combination of legislation and technology that blocks foreign websites, slows down Internet across its borders, and forces foreign companies to adapt to domestic regulations or be knocked offline. The DDoS attack on Telegram in 2015 wasn’t just about a few human rights’ lawyers but rather an opportunity for China to wipe out a subversive means of communication for good.
How to pick a good VPN to use when visisting China
A built-in firewall is also a nice touch. Chinese VPNs should have multiple quality servers to choose from, as the Chinese security will knock some offline to fail to respond to them if they suspect them of being fake. Speed is always going to be a problem when using VPNs in China because your signal is going a long way to find a remote server outside of China’s borders.
Best VPNs for using Telegram in China
1NordVPN
NordVPN is the standard-bearer for all commercial VPN systems, combining speed, customer service, number of servers, and security all into one powerhouse package. Its customer service is unparalleled, mostly because no matter when you call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, a real person is going to answer the phone. It installs quickly and has an easy setup, then gives you the choice of more than 5,100 servers stretched across more than 60 countries. For protection, NordVPN has a kill switch and IP leak protection. It has one of the strongest reputations for defeating tough censorship, both in China and Russia, and for handling geoblocks like Netflix and Hulu. And if you’re not satisfied, there’s even a 30-day money-back guarantee in place. Get it Now
2ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is well known for its blazing fast speed but it has great security options as well. It features unlimited bandwidth and server switches and tremendous encryption and security. Its speed make it a top VPN for mobile use. Try Now Risk Free
3PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN doesn’t have the biggest number of servers in the world but it has great security features with leak protection, a kill switch, and a no-logs policy. It allows up to six simultaneous connections and is great for torrenting features. It cannot access Netflix, but a simpler service like Telegram is no problem for this VPN. Get it Now
