Chinese netizens have mixed reactions to PTT after Great Firewall of China is lowered
Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/26
By Renée Salmonsen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s popular Bulletin Board System PTT (台灣批踢踢實業坊) has been
PTT now accessible in China. (photo from PTT)
removed this month from China’s virtual blacklist.
There is much speculation about the catalyst of this decision. No official statement has been made. The absence of the firewall was first noticed and spread by Chinese bloggers on Weibo beginning June 13.
PTT is a forum for public discussion and advice on a wealth of topics, often given anonymously, in Taiwan. Begun by a group of students at National Taiwan University in 1995, PTT is the largest bulletin board system (BBS) in Taiwan.
PTT’s interface is renown for it’s old-school design, a feature many find bespoke and quirky, emphasizing the content and not web design.
Several Chinese bloggers did not share the nostalgic sentiment however, calling the website “a living IT fossil” or “the screen that pops up when a computer crashes.” Speculation is circulating that the Chinese government anticipated such negative reactions and subsequently lowered the block. [FULL STORY]
