Claim: In 2012, both the Chinese and English Wikipedias were accessible in China except for political articles, but on April 23, 2019, all versions of Wikipedia were blocked in China, then on September 23, 2020, Wikimedia’s application for the status as an official observer at the World Intellectual Property Organization was rejected by the Chinese government.
Evidence: On September 23, 2020, Wikimedia's application for the status as an official observer at the World Intellectual Property Organization was rejected by Chinese government because China's representative claimed that they had "spotted a large amount of content and disinformation in violation of [the] One China principle" on webpages affiliated with Wikimedia, and Wikimedia's Taiwan branch has been "carrying out political activities… which could undermine the state's sovereignty and territorial integrity". On 23 April 2019, all versions of Wikipedia were blocked in China. In 2012, both the Chinese and English Wikipedias were accessible in China except for political articles.