Many friends want to ask, and also worry, whether “crossing the wall” is illegal or a crime. Today I’ll talk about what I’ve seen and heard over the years and give my analysis of how serious “crossing the wall” really is.
Straight to the Point — the Conclusion First
- First: If your “crossing the wall” is just using Google search, watching Youtube, browsing Twitter, not posting content, and not bringing content back into the country — pure browsing — it’s a minor violation but not a crime. Such cases are generally left alone, not filed; even if you go too far, it starts with a phone call and verbal warning, a written pledge, deleting what you posted, and they won’t come to your door. Once they come to your door, a case has been filed.
- Second: You not only “cross the wall” but also write tutorials, write scripts, teach others to “cross the wall,” or even directly build servers to provide “crossing the wall” services. This is not only a violation but a criminal act! Students with this kind of behavior, please note: with a large enough user base, this can be filed for investigation.
- Third: After “crossing the wall,” you leak state secrets, even betray the country and oppose the party, participate in cult or terrorist activities, espionage, discuss sensitive political topics, etc. This is rather extreme; there shouldn’t be such people, right? Needless to say, this is an extremely serious criminal act!
The State’s Attitude Toward “Crossing the Wall”
A decade or so ago the state’s attitude toward “crossing the wall” was tougher, but it has relaxed somewhat in recent years. For example, official organizations like CCTV and spokespersons have started creating accounts and channels on Youtube and Twitter, which was impossible before — showing the state is slowly approaching the international internet. Every time there’s a sensitive event, the GFW blocks a large number of IPs and ports, but afterwards many IPs and ports are restored, showing the GFW also has give and take and doesn’t kill everyone with one blow.
National Strength and the Improvement of Public Education
With the growth of national power and the rise of the state’s international standing, and with the 90s and 00s generations born in better economic times, the public’s support for the country and pride in the motherland have risen greatly. So the urgent international situation of a decade ago is gone; most people “cross the wall” to learn more, not to mess around.
“Crossing the Wall” Filters Out Low-Quality People
Those who can “cross the wall” are often relatively advanced intellectuals who have received higher education. These people think clearly and aren’t easily deceived or led by overseas thinking; they know what they want and don’t have much idle time for unreliable things.
The Hard Demand for “Crossing the Wall”
Another group is small and medium enterprises that can’t afford dedicated-line bandwidth but want to do foreign trade, so they have to “cross the wall” for foreign-trade activities. This group does no harm and can even raise GDP.
Then there are people in academia and research who must use Google and must keep up with the latest international academic journals and latest technology — they are the hope of the country’s future, and they have a hard demand too; they can’t all be killed.
Finally, programmers like me: domestic IT technology basically comes from abroad. If we don’t open up foreign docs and latest technology and work behind closed doors, the country and society can hardly progress. This group is also a good direction.
On Information Exposure and Face Recognition
Some netizens worry that their photos, phones, and emails on Facebook and Twitter will be found via face recognition or big-data tech. Actually face-recognition matching does exist, but ordinary “crossing the wall” behavior isn’t enough to use such tech, because law enforcement also has costs. If your harm is small, the police don’t have time to find you. Do no wrong, fear no knock at the door.
Summary
“Crossing the wall” is definitely illegal, but whether it’s a crime depends on the degree of harm of your behavior. If you only browse some information yourself and don’t spread it, it basically won’t constitute a crime. But it’s best not to write tutorials or build “crossing the wall” tools — that kind is suspected of being a crime. Most importantly, don’t participate in and don’t spread things involving national interests and security.