The local government will allow Facebook, Twitter and other banned services in a planned free-trade zone in Shanghai. Media reports say that the authorities are going to allow bids from foreign telecoms companies for licenses to provide the broadband in the zone.

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Such social networks as Facebook and Twitter were blocked by Beijing four years ago after riots in the western province of Xinjiang. The Chinese government believes that the riots were helped along by social networking websites. Moreover, it seems to them the sites were masterminded by people who liked funny pictures of cats.

The social networks were not the only victims of the block – The New York Times was also banned after it published an article about how the family of then-Premier Wen Jiabao had amassed a pile of cash.

The Shanghai free-trade zone is a test bed for convertibility of the local Yuan currency and further liberalization of interest rates. The experts believe it will be part of the Chinese reforms of foreign direct investment and taxation. The zone was scheduled to launch in September and its creators believe that unblocking the websites can make foreigners feel like at home. Indeed, if people can’t reach Facebook or read the New York Times, they might wonder how special the zone is compared to the rest of China.

China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom have all been informed of the government’s decision to allow foreign competition in the free-trade zone. The companies didn’t complain because they knew the Chinese leadership, including Premier Li Keqiang, had backed this decision