Censor This
So – they finally got me. We had a good run for a while, longer than I expected, but I’m proud to announce that I have officially been censored by the Chinese government. I have been unable to access my administrative blog page for over a month now, and after some conversations with tech support at wordpress.com, they have confirmed that it is not wordpress that is blocked, but rather my site in particular. My words have been judged unfit for Chinese consumption and I am hereby not allowed to publish in this country.
My first thought was, “what the hell did I say? I was being so careful…” and then it occurred to me that it probably has less to do with what I’m saying than who I am, which, honestly, there’s not much I can do about, nor do I want to. The good news is, if this is the worst that happens, I find my cyberexile to be tremendously liberating, and I am now free to write whatever I damn well please.
Henceforth all Chengdu Letters will be sent surreptitiously via crow and steamship to an anonymous accomplice in the States, a brave ghosthacker who has agreed to be my publishing proxy until I am either back in America or off the blacklist. Let’s hear it for friends! Thank you, mysterious helper, and thank you readers for your patience.
As Billy Bragg would say: “If you’ve got a blacklist, I want to be on it.” Congratulations for being considered a subversive, Lara. I can’t imagine what it is about your beautiful prose that triggered this response, but I for one and very impressed. Glad to see your blog is back online. Please tell Paul I winced at your description of his fried hand, and I hope he recovers soon.
Miss you,
Julia