The Tibetan Protest Videos That Made China Ban YouTube

Is switching off the Internet for 1.3 billion people the ultimate demonstration of power since the Atomic Age? The Chinese government has blocked YouTube across the country since this weekend. The censorship campaign is blocking reporters (both foreign and domestic) from covering the story and blocking Chinese residents from hearing about it, apparently trying to kill the story at both ends. Below are the videos that allegedly made the government ban YouTube.

The videos show some of the violence of the March 15 protest in Lhasa.

Of course international media still got reports out:

Al Jazeera:

Police harass a British journalist:

Meanwhile, there are many ways to break through the Great Firewall of China and bypass all its filters, including the YouTube block.

So no, blocking the Internet and trying to hide massive protests from reporters isn't much of a demonstration of power if you can't pull it off.