Last week, the central government blocked access to the New York Times. Then a few days later, unblocked access. No one really knows why, but personally I think it has something to do with negative coverage of China on the website. Right after access is restored, the Times publishes an article about releasing a political dissident in China. The site hasn’t been blocked again, but I thought it was ironic that:
a. the Times posts a politically sensitive article after it was blocked for political reasons
b. the indirectly anti-China article was surrounded by a pro-China advertisement:
According to the Shanghaiist, these ads are paid for by the Chinese government to spread their interpretation of Tibetan history and development.
I wonder how East-West tensions will escalate (or ease) as a new President transitions into power, as the financial crisis continues, and as China transitions into post-Olympics 2009.