Andrew Jacobs The New York Times

Until now, the authorities had effectively tolerated the proliferation of VPNs as a lifeline for millions of people.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China, well known for baring his emotions in public, has displayed a blend of defeatism and defensiveness as he winds down his decade in office. During a visit last month to a Muslim neighbourhood here, Wen lamented that he "fell short in some tasks" to improve people's livelihoods.

The Chinese Communist Party has long felt threatened by overseas Web sites and social media outlets, but the recent detention of a California physicist who says he was beaten by Chinese security agents seeking the password for his Twitter account suggests how far the government will go in its battle against a freewheeling Internet available only be...

In the end, it was not the overabundance of sequins or the cringe-worthy ballads that doomed "Super Girl," one of China's most popular televised talent extravaganzas.

Imprisoned in China  and with close family members forbidden to leave the country, the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo  was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, his absence represented at the prize ceremony here on Friday by an empty chair. (Read: Who is Liu Xiaobo?)In Beijing, the Chinese authorities, who have been incensed by the choic...

With an empty chair on the podium, Norway's Nobel Committee braved furious Chinese protests on Friday, preparing to honor the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in his absence, without handing over its coveted, golden peace medal to a named winner for the first time in over 70 years. Around a third of the 64 invited countries with embassies in Osl...

A Chinese woman was sentenced to one year in a labor camp on Wednesday after she forwarded a satirical microblog message that urged recipients to attack the Japanese Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, human rights groups said Thursday.The woman, Cheng Jianping, 46, was accused of "disturbing social order" for resending a Twitter message from her ...

Google's declaration that it would stop cooperating with Chinese Internet censorship and consider shutting down its operations in the country ricocheted around the world on Wednesday. But in China itself, the news was heavily censored.

Until now, the authorities had effectively tolerated the proliferation of VPNs as a lifeline for millions of people.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China, well known for baring his emotions in public, has displayed a blend of defeatism and defensiveness as he winds down his decade in office. During a visit last month to a Muslim neighbourhood here, Wen lamented that he "fell short in some tasks" to improve people's livelihoods.

The Chinese Communist Party has long felt threatened by overseas Web sites and social media outlets, but the recent detention of a California physicist who says he was beaten by Chinese security agents seeking the password for his Twitter account suggests how far the government will go in its battle against a freewheeling Internet available only be...

In the end, it was not the overabundance of sequins or the cringe-worthy ballads that doomed "Super Girl," one of China's most popular televised talent extravaganzas.

Imprisoned in China  and with close family members forbidden to leave the country, the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo  was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, his absence represented at the prize ceremony here on Friday by an empty chair. (Read: Who is Liu Xiaobo?)In Beijing, the Chinese authorities, who have been incensed by the choic...

With an empty chair on the podium, Norway's Nobel Committee braved furious Chinese protests on Friday, preparing to honor the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo in his absence, without handing over its coveted, golden peace medal to a named winner for the first time in over 70 years. Around a third of the 64 invited countries with embassies in Osl...

A Chinese woman was sentenced to one year in a labor camp on Wednesday after she forwarded a satirical microblog message that urged recipients to attack the Japanese Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, human rights groups said Thursday.The woman, Cheng Jianping, 46, was accused of "disturbing social order" for resending a Twitter message from her ...

Google's declaration that it would stop cooperating with Chinese Internet censorship and consider shutting down its operations in the country ricocheted around the world on Wednesday. But in China itself, the news was heavily censored.