So if you are travelling in China and working remotely, there are some essential tools which may not work.
#RANT – you can skip this paragraph if it annoys you 🙂 – As my tour guide said yesterday, ‘if Google won’t abide by the laws of China then they can expect to not be allowed to operate here.’ I totally agree – F@#$ off Google and Facebook if you won’t accept China’s censorship laws. Who are you to dictate Western perversion on another country. ‘Free speech’ is so subjective. Do people really need to know EVERYTHING? For example, we all know about SOME of Australia’s human rights abuses, but does that change anything? <> I love that China has chosed to draw the line.
However, it leaves people like me in the position of having to find ways to work around it so I can operate my business and also keep up with my family (especially the grandkids!) while overseas.
I started with a VPN – pureVPN. You have to use special IP addresses for China and they do work but you can’t always connect. I don’t know where the issue originates. When it connects correctly, I can access Facebook.
BIG PROBLEM in China – my email is hosted by G Suite – YES! google! so I can only access it when the VPN is working. Also Dropbox doesn’t work unless I use the VPN. Not good, really not good…
Google Search? nope.. I’m using good OLD old old yahoo.com for my searches.
Another problem – GOOGLE MAPS doesn’t work. I have come to rely on google maps because I like to walk the streets of cities. It tells me how long it will take to walk somewhere or tells me the train times. It suggests combinations of walk/ride etc. It doesn’t work in CHINA! So what is the work around when you have a dodgy VPN and safety is important when travelling alone.
SOLUTION!
Someone has just put me on to BaiDu Maps which works like Google Maps (except they obey the laws of China) – if you go to the BaiDu.com web site all the info is there in Chinese characters so not particularly accessible. I have now found a useful guide here – http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2014/12/how-to-use-baidu-maps/
I have heard that BetterNet VPN works really well and may try it if the frustration continues.
