China restricts VPN usage to keep coronavirus news under wraps

For new expat arrivals in China, the recent crackdown on VPNs is making life more difficult.

Immediate internet access can be crucial for new expat arrivals in China as regards the ease of contacting their banks and other necessities back in the home country, as well as being able to assure friends and family they’ve arrived safely and are settling in. Obviously, the reason behind the crackdown on Virtual Private networks is to prevent negative news about the coronavirus outbreak from reaching Western news sources.

For digital nomads and online English teachers, it’s even worse news than the increasing risks of contracting the deadly virus. China’s obsession with blocking both incoming and outgoing news is well-known to expat professionals and tech entrepreneurs, but the recent drastic slowdown of existing services is causing chaos for many. The majority of expat businesses need to use the internet on a daily basis with China formerly turning a blind eye, especially as Chinese companies have a strong presence on social media sites such as Twitter via the use of a VPN.

One website tracking VPN performance in China has stated users are having increasing problems using the service ever since the coronavirus outbreak became general knowledge. It’s now obvious the government is throttling the use of VPN, making contact with the foreign internet nigh on impossible. Of the 15 top VPNs in China, 10 are now reporting a significant decline in performance. In addition, the online coronavirus panic has seen attempts by scammers to trick expat victims into revealing personal and banking information.