China’s censors face a major test in 2019. But they’ve spent three decades getting ready

Editor’s Note: James Griffiths is a Senior Producer for CNN International and author of “The Great Firewall of China: How to Build and Control an Alternative Version of the Internet.” Hong Kong CNN — The internet blackout began with no warning. Video Ad Feedback China exports its model of internet sovereignty 02:31 - Source: CNN Internet maintenance day Every year, just as summer is really starting, sections of the Chinese internet become almost unusable. But they will face a Great Firewall that is even more ironclad than it was in 2009, when multiple foreign services – including Facebook and Twitter – were blocked and dozens of Chinese sites went temporarily offline, leading users to coin the term “Internet Maintenance Day” for the many error messages they encountered. Spreading worldwide According to the most recent report on internet censorship by Freedom House, a US government-funded NGO, China remains the “world’s worst abuser of internet freedom.” Beijing is also increasingly exporting its model to authoritarian and even nominally democratic governments worldwide, providing training, technology and ideological support for countries to adopt their own internet systems. For the censors overseeing that effort, 2019 could become a year-long roadshow demonstrating the effectiveness of their internet controls, showing they can stifle any criticism of the government around the key anniversaries of Urumqi and Tiananmen in time for a propaganda extravaganza in October for the 70th birthday of the People’s Republic of China.