LINE app blocked in China
 

Since yesterday night (July 1), it seems that LINE has been blocked by the Great Firewall of China. Without a VPN, it's possible to see that messages are coming in (alerts are shown), but messages can't be read nor sent. A VPN allows access as usual.
Hoping that this will be only temporary but I'm not optimistic...

Some reference articles:
http://shanghaiist.com/2014/07/02/li...p_banned_i.php
http://www.techinasia.com/japanese-c...ainland-china/

Eeesh, really????

I use LINE for Japanese and Taiwanese contacts and Weixin for Mainland Chinese contacts.

Most of my Taiwanese friends refuse to use Weixin because it is "Chinese".

I've had no problems at all accessing line even during the first ten days of last month when the censors cranked the dial way up.

Use WeChat or what is locally know as Weixin.

WhatsApp worked last time I was there (March 2014). Skype, too.

All of us here use wx but since it takes two to tango, if your counterparts is not into wx you need to be able to communicate on their chosen platform.

True. I use WeChat for talking with my girlfriend and some other Chinese friends - mostly.

To be honest I thought 'most' European people (and possibly Americans) use WhatsApp.

What about the good ol' fashioned text message, assuming you've got a China Mobile SIM or the like! :rolleyes:

PS: moondog - you're up early!

How about Viber? Anyone know if this works as a lot of my family uses it and I will be in china in the next 2 weeks

In beijing (BJ) the cencors have turned up the summer blocks. On July 1st even the US embassy site was blocked, (maybe too much July 1 HK chaos !).
Its online now, but had to use chinese firefox for a browser, IE is a no go in BJ.

Yes, we-chat is truly great.

Google "Occupy Central" for your answer.

Or a 404 error.

WeChat is better anyway. #1 app in P.R. China and chinese speaking areas (like Singapore)

I have never heard about this "LINE" thing before - apparently some japanese app, so it doesn't surprise me it's blocked within China. Maybe a reaction on japanese recent aggression?

I prefer wx to line but there isn't unanimous consensus on this and line is faaar more popular than wx in Taiwan. It also dwarfs wx in terms of international user numbers. Never is a Korean company btw.

Line had been down once, or maybe twice, here in Taiwan during the last couple of days. Based on PRC's track record, I am not surprised if China decides to block Line permanently.

I don't think so. WeChat is obviously not #1 app in Taiwan, where Chinese language is spoken. I don't know how popular WeChat is in Hong Kong.

You apparently have been hanging out with the wrong crowd. :p

Facebook isn't any Japanese app but is blocked in China except for the 17-square-mile free-trade zone in Shanghai.

BTW, both Line and Facebook are VERY popular in Taiwan. And as mentioned, The mother company of Line is Korean (Naver Corporation) and LINE Corporation has successfully become a spinoff company based in Japan since April 2013.

Politicizing benign threads such as this one is extremely shameful on both sides.

Whenever I see terms like "Japanese War of Aggression" or "Communist China" put on the table for no plausible reason apart from pot stirring, I simply shrug.

Very bad form, guys.

Although perhaps put out there in pot-stirring fashion, there certainly is decent evidence that China uses various tools to undermine foreign competitors to certain Chinese companies, particularly competitors from countries like Japan and the US. Whether that's happening in this case is not clear, but it's a plausible explanation.