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cross-posted from: https://links.hackliberty.org/post/181356

In a precedent-setting verdict, a programmer identified by his surname, Ma, from northern China has been slapped with a fine exceeding 1m yuan by the authorities for using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), marking a stark example of the stern measures taken to uphold China’s great firewall. This sets a new record for the harshest financial penalty ever imposed on an individual for bypassing the nation’s stringent internet censorship regime.

Chengde’s Public Security Bureau in Hebei province held Ma accountable on 18th August for using “unauthorized channels” to connect to worldwide networks while being employed by a Turkish firm.

The authorities confiscated Ma’s earnings of 1.058m yuan ($144,871.96), which he’d accrued from September 2019 to November 2022, labeling it as “illegal income.” Along with this, he was fined an additional 200 yuan ($30).

Shining a spotlight on the erosion of free speech and blatant censorship in China, Ma’s case exemplifies the lengths to which the state will go to muzzle the open exchange of ideas and information. Ma expressed on Weibo that he was initially approached by the police approximately a year ago, under the belief that he was responsible for a Twitter account under investigation. The account, according to Ma, was not his.

VPNs, a lifeline for ordinary citizens striving for information access in the face of the great firewall, are existing in a legal soup. Officially, the government has green-lighted VPN usage for commercial purposes. However, the narrowing leeway for VPN usage signals a sinister trend, as in recent times, firm steps have been taken to restrict access, and even penalize its usage in specific instances.

    • 000999@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      10·
      1 year ago

      They would denounce it as western propaganda then proceed to make a completely irrelevant, but in no way incorrect, critique of NATO, USA and then call you a “lib” whilst all the replies would reinforce the inside jokes of the echo chamber.

    • stillwater@lemm.eeEnglish
      8·
      1 year ago

      They’d first ask other people who also haven’t read the article if the guy is a lib first to check if they should read the article or just jump straight into circlejerking.

    • Jose@lemmy.worldEnglish
      62·
      1 year ago

      I think they are getting defederilized by lemmy, so they can’t see it.

    • lemmyvore@feddit.nlEnglish
      1936·
      1 year ago

      The 30 quid is the actual fine for using the VPN. The rest of the money was his ill gotten gains from his fraudulent online activity, which they confiscated because duh. Not sure why the media insists on spinning it the other way around.

        • FireTower@lemmy.worldEnglish
          82·
          1 year ago

          I don’t think he’s making that claim. I interpreted him as meaning that because his income was obtained as a result of the prohibited use of a VPN that income would be subjected to forfeiture, in addition to any punitive fee for simply using a VPN.

  • Haui@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    132·
    1 year ago

    Please don’t kill me but does anyone else find this story missing some steps?

    Like if vpns are actually legal (which they should be imo) and he has not done anything wrong why dont we get the legal reason for this confiscation?

    I can understand that china is brutal but they will definitely veil their anti information countermeasures a bit better than „you used vpn! That is illegal! Pay all your income! Although vpns are legal here!“

    It does read weird.

    • VikingHippie@lemmy.wtfEnglish
      342·
      1 year ago

      1: apparently they’re legal for commercial use only, not personal

      2: since when does an all-powerful oppressive government have to be consistent in their oppression? Their original justification was suspicion of running a twitter account ffs!

    • wahming@monyet.ccEnglish
      122·
      1 year ago

      That’s because you’re used to the rule of law. Things can be… different, in Asia. FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) is part of governance here, where the little people are expected to know their place and not dabble in practices the govt frowns upon. Self-censorship is the most effective form of censorship, after all.

    • Alien Nathan Edward@lemm.eeEnglish
      9·
      1 year ago

      I mean, generally the fine for tax avoidance is the sum of taxes owed, maybe with an additional flat fine. What did he actually earn in all that time and what would the total taxes owed be had he decided to pay them up front, versus what he was fine which seems to be >100% of all earned income