Damn you, China Telecom!

China's internet thugs are are it again, this time attempting to block popular internet telephony services, namely Shanghaiist favorite Skype:

China Telecom, the nation's biggest fixed-line telephony provider, is working to shut down computer-to-telephone call services, to force people to pay for its much more expensive offering, state press said.

China Telecom is presently experimenting with blocking computer-to-telephone and computer-to-computer services in the major urban centers of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Beijing Business Today reported.

Reuters is reporting that Shenzhen is the first city to be hit by Beijing's blockade, which comes less than a week after Skype announced a partnership with popular Chinese internet service provider Tom Online.

As Shanghaiist was walking home last night, past the half-dozen or so brothels on our block, we were thinking that authorities really needed to clean this city up -- and people who communicate legally over the internet seems like the perfect place to start. We also would like to see similar crackdowns on sunshine, ice cream and cute little puppies.

Shanghaiist tested Skype this morning with a phone call to mom. It worked fine. And if you care, the weather is "lovely" in Pennsylvania.

UPDATE: Ebay set to seal Skype deal for over $2.6bn

Related:
Chinese Phoneasaurus Flails Against Rise of VoIP (Imagethief)
VoIP calls may be banned (Shanghai Daily)
Telco's block Skype-out (China Herald)
The Sky(pe) is no longer the limit: Beijing attack VoIP in its newest media crackdown (Angry Chinese Blogger)