BEIJING: Chinese users are finally able to access their Gmail accounts through the use of third party email applications. However, Gmail was not accessible even through third-party applications couple of days back.
According to the Chinese tech experts, Gmail was blocked by the Great Firewall of China. The firewall is part of the world’s most sophisticated internet censorship mechanism. The communist government of China maintains a tight control over the nation’s internet. It is always quick to act against any signs of dissent or criticism of its party’s leadership. China has also banned sites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. This year, which also marked the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations, has seen heavy censorship of the foreign media by the Chinese authorities.
The Global Times added that the decision by government was justified and was taken due to new reasons relating to security. It also urged the citizens of the country to accept the reality. It added that the Chinese citizens should have faith in the government’s decision regarding regulations on the internet. It stated that all decisions taken by the Chinese government are taken with the fundamental interests of the country in mind.
Google has been facing problems in the country, since June this year. However, its users could still access email downloads via protocols like Imap, SMTP and Pop3, which let people communicate using Gmail on apps like the Apple iPhone’s Mail and Microsoft Outlook.
Tech experts believe that Gmail will slowly resume normal services in the country. However, there is no time frame that has been provided by the company’s engineers.
