Why China suddenly blocked Wikipedia in all languages


China has expanded its country-wide Wikipedia ban to include all non-Chinese languages versions of the website.
The full Wikipedia ban comes on the cusp of the Tiananmen Square protests' 30-year anniversary, when Chinese authorities killed thousands of students protesting. It's not uncommon for China's government to add heightened censorship ahead of major political anniversaries or milestones, reports the South China Morning Post.
Wikipedia's Chinese-language site has been banned in the country since 2015, but the proliferation of easy-to-use translation tools likely contributed to the language-wide ban, per the Morning Post. Additionally, blocking the Chinese-language version of the site doesn't stop users from seeing images of the Tiananmen protests that are available on Wikipedia pages in other languages.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The ban, which reportedly went into effect in late April, shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone familiar with China's internet censorship history, since the one-party country has given LinkedIn, Twitter and Snapchat some variation of the censorship treatment over the last several years. The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, said in a statement that it didn't receive any advance warning about the ban, reports Time.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Marianne is The Week’s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.
-
The US-China trade war comes to Hollywood
Under the Radar China's retaliatory restrictions on foreign films will hurt the US film industry
By Genevieve Bates
-
Ione Skye's 6 favorite books about love and loss
Feature The actress recommends works by James Baldwin, Nora Ephron, and more
By The Week US
-
Book review: 'Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus' and 'When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines'
Feature The college dropout who ruled the magazine era and the mysteries surrounding Jesus Christ
By The Week US
-
'New firms are created to serve the economy of which they are part'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Did China sabotage British Steel?
Today's Big Question Emergency situation at Scunthorpe blast furnaces could be due to 'neglect', but caution needed, says business secretary
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Taiwan's tricky balancing act
The Explainer The island nation, no longer certain of US backing against a hostile China, is quietly looking for other solutions
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK
-
America's woes are a foreign adversary's spy recruitment dream
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As federal workers reel from mass layoffs, the United States is becoming ground zero for international adversaries eager to snatch up disgruntled spies-to-be
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US