Chinese censors have blocked since June 3 access to Chinese Wikipedia , a Chinese-language version of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, according to several contributors to the site.

All versions of Wikipedia aim at reflecting a neutral point of view for all entries and the content is copyrighted under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Chinese Wikipedia, which had not previously been blocked by Chinese censors, was viewed as a gauge of government tolerance for the free flow of information on the Internet in China.

The very fact that the access was blocked on June 3 is politically significant since June 4 was the 15th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Chinese authorities typically take severe measures against dissidents and increases censorship efforts each year in the run up to the anniversary.

On Sunday, the block was expanded to all other versions of the online encyclopedia.

“There may be little that Chinese Wikipedia can do to resolve the problem of being blocked by Chinese Internet censors without compromising its commitment to being an open encyclopedia with a neutral point of view”, declared one of the wiki’s contributor.

From IT World, via Ars Technica.
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