Did China just block Gmail?

Where would we be without Gmail?

China. That's where. We would be in China. Right now.

The world's largest email service has reportedly been unavailable in the world's most populous country since Friday, seemingly adding another exhausting chapter to the story of Chinese internet censorship. Google Transparency Report, as well as a search on greatfirewallofchina.org — which tests website accessibility in China in real-time — offered confirmation of the block.

After Google spokesperson confirming that "there’s nothing wrong on [their] end," and a Chinese Foreign Ministry rep offered no clarity, China is once again in the spotlight for censorship.

Up until a week ago, the status quo was merely an informal block on Gmail in China, which could be worked around by way of downloads via protocols like IMAP, SMTP and POP3 (through mobile mail clients). The Google-China relationship has been an uneasy fit since its start in 2000, and even if the current block falls, the outlook shows more browsing trouble ahead in China, a country expected to have twice as many internet users as the entire U.S. population by 2016.

The news is surprising, given that there was a November change in reciprocal U.S.-China visa policy, which allows citizens of both countries to obtain multiple-entry visas good for travel in the other for up to ten years. But while China continues to open itself up to a growing number of U.S. business and leisure travelers, its internet policy remains relatively closed, leaving potential visitors asking how much restricted internet access will affect their experience.

Westerners who have spent considerable time in China have probably used a Virtual Private Network (VPN)—which remains an option—to get to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the rest of the internet's cash points. But such workarounds are not easily arranged for short-term visitors, and are also not sustainable over the long haul.

Standing beside the affected Googlers are Chinese freedom of speech crusaders GreatFire.org, a member of whom expressed real concern in response to the outage:

"I think the government is just trying to further eliminate Google’s presence in China and even weaken its market overseas."