As the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong intensify, China has allegedly gone on the defensive and blocked photo-sharing service Instagram.
Facebook-owned Instagram has reportedly been blocked by China in a bid to curb the spread of violent images such as police firing tear gas, which show the clash of the protesters and police. Several protestors have taken to social networking platforms using the #OccupyCentral hashtag to label videos and photographs to express their displeasure, urging the government to let them exercise "full democracy."
The protests are being led by younger people who are not in favor of the new proposal that will enable Beijing officials to approve of the candidatures prior to elections. This system, many believe will make the elections a farce.
News that the Chinese government had blocked Instagram in mainland China was first reported by New York Times' reporter Alan Wong. Wong has been tweeting updates on the protest live from Friday, Sept. 26, and on Sunday, Sept. 28, posted a screenshot that revealed that Instagram had been blocked.
"Instagram is now blocked in mainland China," tweeted Wong.
However, Instagram is not the only site that has been blocked in mainland China. Weibo, which is China's answer to Twitter, had the phrase #OccupyCentral accompanying photos blocked on Sept. 28 as well.
Moreover, website monitoring services such as greatfire.org and blockedinchina.net indicate that Instagram has been blocked in several places like Beijing, Inner Mongolia and Shenzen.
A local news agency - HK Apple Daily - has posted a 4-minute long video taken by a drone that shows the scale of the protests in Hong Kong, which aims to preserve democracy. The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong are so massive that 17 banks in the business district have closed down temporarily.
By keeping social media messages and inputs in check, the Chinese government is probably hoping that the enormity of the situation does not spread and the images are not viewed by people in other countries. Whether the blockages will curtail the spirit of the people in Hong Kong, however, is another matter.
