A programmer in northern China has been ordered to pay more than 1 million yuan to the authorities for using a virtual private network (VPN), in what is thought to be the most severe individual financial penalty ever issued for circumventing China’s “great firewall.” The programmer, surnamed Ma, was issued with a penalty notice by the public security bureau of Chengde, a city in Hebei province, on August 18. The notice said Ma had used “unauthorised channels” to connect to international networks to work for a Turkish company. The police confiscated the 1.058m yuan ($145,092) Ma had earned as a software developer between September 2019 and November 2022, describing it as “illegal income,” as well as fining him 200 yuan ($27).
Charlie Smith (a pseudonym), the co-founder of GreatFire.org, a website that tracks internet censorship in China, said: “Even if this decision is overturned in court, a message has been sent and damage has been done. Is doing business outside of China now subject to penalties?”
Abstract credit: https://slashdot.org/story/420019
All countries will confiscate illegally obtained income. Want to work cross-border? Do it with the proper visas, permissions, tax reporting, residencies, etc. There’s no story here, just more China hate to help beat the drums of war.
Gee I wonder if you’re a tankie or not
Or you could abolish the state, like a normal, non-cucked person.
I’m open to suggestions as to how one does that while class still exists.
Viral meme that causes people to cease believing in the meme of the nation and the state. They’re basically like Santa Claus, they vanish once a certain critical mass of people cease believing in them.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/
Only if the country in question is sanctioned and I don’t think Turkey is sanctioned by China.
This is just a Chinese government doing whatever the hell they want and not thinking through / caring about the consequences.
The specific laws vary of course, but a person cannot receive work related income from a foreign entity without reporting it correctly, both in the country in which the company is located and the country in which the employee is located. Even within the EU for example, with its freedom of movement for people, goods, and capital, cross border income must be correctly accounted for by both parties.
This is just a sovereign government doing what all sovereign nations do. If nations didn’t do this the consequences for even just tax collection would be immense, not to mention the many other negatives.
There’s no need to throw China bashing into every subject under the stars just because that’s apparently what counts for journalism these days.
China is an authoritarian government who commits sins against its own people. This has nothing to do with Taxes. Its illegal to seek the truth in China, that’s why the media is so censored and VPNs are illegal
That’s not true at all, but I know the China bashing illness is resistant to facts.
china supporter in a privacy community 🤓
I don’t get it; if I pay my taxes in my country of residence, how is it illegal to work for a foreign entity ?
Why would I need a visa if I stay in my own country ?
It seems the person in question didn’t report this income and therefore didn’t pay taxes on it.
And the title is the clickbait.
Its not illegal to use VPNs in free counties. In China the government is in absolute control over the people and they use brainwashing techniques to keep everyone in line.
VPNs allow people to see options outside the state sanctioned media which is a threat to the people in power.
That’s not true at all, but the China bashing illness is immune to facts.