A Chinese man who helped thousands of citizens bypass China’s Great Firewall has been forced to flee to the United States, over fears for his family’s safety.
The Chinese government built this digital border in 2014 to control the internet, but Zou Chengfeng began teaching people how to get past it. As demand for uncensored content grew with the crackdown of internet freedom, Mr Zou created a free tutorial in 2016 for people who approached him on Chinese messaging app WeChat.
Mr Zou was inspired to take on the project because of his belief in democracy. “Internet in China is completely an intranet—the content you are able to see is only what the government allows.”