Hacking Freedom City

Awesome!

Via Andrew Leonard, a Chinese blogger fights his way into the Orwellian-named Freedom City to get powdered milk to an imprisoned dissident and her baby. It's part Matrix, part Mission Impossible, part Underground Railroad (kind of). Passages like this prepare the author for the fight:

As you are about to expend a significant effort in the invasion, the greater the return the better. So in addition to delivering the milk powder, relaying information is just as important. Preparations needed to be made:

Several copies of that day's newspaper, printouts regarding Zeng Jinyan's blog tucked inside, and copies of those printouts saved on a memory card; prepare two digital camera memory cards, one with sensitive content to be kept hidden in your sock at all times; a mobile phone—buy a new number; do not carelessly leave fingerprints behind—wear gloves; food, water, sheets of paper, a felt marker, binoculars, mobile phone battery, batter recharger, money, toilet paper, batteries; no ID whatsoever must be carried; a topographical map and the SSP license plate numbers marked down in a notebook; a fake name—choose characters homophonic to your name (this may not be of use); check keychain for any identifying markers; last, milk powder. Carry all this in a backpack, although be sure to note the necessity of keeping the bag as separate from your person to the greatest extent possible (SSP will wonder: ‘what's a resident doing toting around a backpack? What's stored in there?').

Wow. Evidently this is all part of a black-ops manual being P2P'd around Chinese dissident circles. As for the 'invasion' itself:

A direct breakthrough seems difficult, so I decide to wait until the morning shift change on day two to look for loopholes. I move to the back of the building, and see that residents on the ground floor have doors which connect directly to the garden, so I duck to the bottom one resident's stairwell and wait until a light comes on, then I knock on the door and ask if I can be let in: “one of the residents on the fourth floor's kid has no milk powder, I want to go up and deliver some, but those people at the unit entrance won't let me in, and if they catch me, I'll get taken down to the police station……” The resident refuses my request: “the police department already warned us that we're not to let you in (anyway, I was refused, who knows if there really had been a warning or not). Behind the building there also appeared to be no way in, so I'd just have to wait until the SSP changed shifts. Aye, pitiful, cowardly self-defence.

So he gets little sympathy from other residents. But eventually - after more than 24 lurking around the compound - he's able to contact the apartment, and the mom is sent down

she didn't appear to have been followed. I came out. I saw her, and she saw me. The SSP were still in front of the building eating dinner, and 京F E6034 was still by the perimeter with its engine running.

Were you followed? No. Does she need milk powder? Yes. I took it out. Thank you so much. How has life been? Okay. How's the kid's condition? Okay. Have the information channels been opened? (I guess she didn't fully understand this question). So far, so good. Do they let you go out to go shopping? I can go out with no problem, they just don't let Jinyan go out. Are you followed when you go out? No. (I take out my camera) Can you pull this up with a rope and take a few pictures? No, we can't rope things up, they'll notice…..(I didn't understand how they would be able to notice) Have the phones been tapped? (Just now I hadn't understood) Yes. Your means of communication have all been cut off, right? Right. What other information do you want me to help you get out, what else do you want to say? ….There's nothing else we can do, just wait for the government's final decision….you get out of here now, I'm worried you'll be in danger. No problem, I've already been here for 24 hours, and I've scouted things out pretty well, it's no problem.

Jinyan's mom looked shocked. Even if there was no danger, the joy of victory still had me hurrying away and out of the compound.

Jinyan's mom probably won't arouse any suspicion. Judging from her appearance, she's been through a few battles. She even came down carrying a handbag, to put the milk powder in without catching the SSP's attention.

All the way back to Dongguan Bridge I kept chanting Seek and Destroy out loud.

Inspiring!