Does the Chinese government monitor phone calls, msn chats, hotmail emails, etc?

[Max]

I have a friend who lives in Shanghai who I chat with on msn everyday while at work, and talk to on the phone twice a month. We are both Christians and occasionally discuss our faith, our churches, and political issues. Most of my friend's political views are complete opposite of how her governemnt is. I've told her that we should be careful when talking about these things, because I've seen videos about the persecution of Chinese Christians and Chinese people who disagree with their government, and there is even a Chinese lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, who has been kidnapped and beaten by the CSP several times for defending Chinese Christians. He is still missing since the last time he was kidnapped back in Feb. Anyway, I always worry about my friend's safety when she starts talking about religion and politics, and I think about telling her we shouldn't talk about these topics anymore. Am I just being paranoid? How easy is it for the Chinese government to monitor my friend's phone calls (both cell phone and landline calls), msn chats, and hotmail emails?

 

[scott b]

No, you're not being paranoid, and yes they do monitor. And, I've got news for you too.....since the "Patriot Act", there's also a chance that OUR government is monitoring you as well...

 

[VisualEcho]

I'm sorry, I was going to type out a nice answer for you, but there's someone pounding on the door...

Try TOR:
http://www.torproject.org/

TrueCrypt:
http://www.truecrypt.org/

 

[Deleted member 79939]

I have a friend who lives in Shanghai who I chat with on msn everyday while at work, and talk to on the phone twice a month. We are both Christians and occasionally discuss our faith, our churches, and political issues. Most of my friend's political views are complete opposite of how her governemnt is. I've told her that we should be careful when talking about these things, because I've seen videos about the persecution of Chinese Christians and Chinese people who disagree with their government, and there is even a Chinese lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, who has been kidnapped and beaten by the CSP several times for defending Chinese Christians. He is still missing since the last time he was kidnapped back in Feb. Anyway, I always worry about my friend's safety when she starts talking about religion and politics, and I think about telling her we shouldn't talk about these topics anymore. Am I just being paranoid? How easy is it for the Chinese government to monitor my friend's phone calls (both cell phone and landline calls), msn chats, and hotmail emails?

They don’t
That is illegal and no good for gosiping wives