China has taken steps to make sure that ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hongkong will not be seen by people in the Chinese Mainland. One such step is to block Instagram services across China. Websites such as greatfire.org and blockinchina.net have confirmed the report, that people in the mainland will no longer have any access to Instagram.
Instagram is a photo sharing service, in which, a user can send pictures using computers and mobile devices with internet access. The Chinese authorities normally do not block Instagram services but the sheer volume of Hongkong protest pictures being shared in Instagram has prompted the Chinese censors to block the picture sharing site, at least inside the mainland. The government of China routinely censors and blocks websites and online services it believes are inappropriate, or those that may pose a threat, to the communist party's rule in China.
The Hongkong protestors have occupied the main business district of the city. They opposed the Beijing plan that candidates must first seek consent from Beijing before running for election in Hongkong. The protestors have occupied the business district since Friday. The dissent in Hongkong is reminiscent of the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square more than two decades ago. The rally at Hongkong is being led by the younger generation.
The Verge reports that the Instagram block does not seem to apply on Hongkong itself. Hongkong residents can still post pictures of the pro-democracy protests in Instagram. The blocking seems to suggest that Hongkong authorities are preparing to launch a major effort to stop the protest and disperse the protestors.
A post from the New York Times reported that the Hongkong police have started dispersing the protestors with the use of tear gas. However, the dispersal operations seem to have the opposite effect, as more people joined the protests. As of Monday morning, the Hongkong authorities backed down and had withdrawn the anti-riot police. The local government is instead issuing a public appeal to the demonstrators to leave the business district.
