Working online in China
Thread poster: ChristopherLord
ChristopherLord
ChristopherLord  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:45
French to English
+ ...
Jul 31, 2017

I translate online from French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese to English. This means that I use a lot of online resources, including daily use of Google Translate, plus regular use of various on-line CAT tools that different agencies insist on. I am thinking about spending some time in China to improve my Chinese, travelling on a tourist visa but continuing to work with agencies in the UK, USA and various countries in Europe. Does anybody have any experience with this? Is there any problem in ... See more
I translate online from French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese to English. This means that I use a lot of online resources, including daily use of Google Translate, plus regular use of various on-line CAT tools that different agencies insist on. I am thinking about spending some time in China to improve my Chinese, travelling on a tourist visa but continuing to work with agencies in the UK, USA and various countries in Europe. Does anybody have any experience with this? Is there any problem in accessing translation sites, Google Translate and so on?
Thanks
Christopher Lord
France
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Gleyse
Gleyse  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 12:45
Member (2013)
English to French
+ ...
v-p-n Jul 31, 2017

You need a VPN for Proz, Google Translate...

[Modifié le 2017-07-31 12:56 GMT]

[Modifié le 2017-07-31 12:56 GMT]


 
Yehua Jiang
Yehua Jiang
Germany
Local time: 12:45
Member (2015)
English to Chinese
+ ...
100% agree with Gleyse Jul 31, 2017

With the new policy of banning vpn in China, the difficulty is increasing. While I don't think it is impossible, it is indeed a pain as all the good stuff (google.com, almost all cloud services, some chat services) are banned. It means you need a good VPN with fast speed and large data amount if you need to be online all day.

[修改时间: 2017-07-31 18:37 GMT]


 
zanzuli
zanzuli
Argentina
German to Spanish
+ ...
Been there, done that Aug 1, 2017

Beware that the Chinese government is capable of blocking VPNs.

I was in Beijing there during the last National Congress in 2012 and during the ASEAN meeting in 2014, and the commercial VPN catered to end users like you and me were a real mess. Basically, they were slowed down to a crawl during working hours.

The next Chinese National Congress is scheduled for the second
... See more
Beware that the Chinese government is capable of blocking VPNs.

I was in Beijing there during the last National Congress in 2012 and during the ASEAN meeting in 2014, and the commercial VPN catered to end users like you and me were a real mess. Basically, they were slowed down to a crawl during working hours.

The next Chinese National Congress is scheduled for the second semester of 2017, so be careful:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_National_Congress_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-10/27/c_135785420.htm

I do not know how the situation is right now, but you may well find yourself uploading data at 2 o'clock in the morning. At least, I did...
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Gleyse
Gleyse  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 12:45
Member (2013)
English to French
+ ...
Chinese New Year Aug 1, 2017

During the Chinese New Year (January, February), VPNs don't work very well.

 
Shouguang Cao
Shouguang Cao  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 19:45
English to Chinese
+ ...
That's because you didn't get the right one Sep 15, 2017

The good ones are all in hiding, to stay away from attention so that they can stay alive in crack-downs. Mine is by invitation only. Send me messages for invitation.

Google Translate is accessible through its API, but not the website. You can use productivity or CAT tools that integrates Google Translate like CafeTrans or GT4T.

[Edited at 2017-09-15 20:42 GMT]


 
Vivian Du (PhD)
Vivian Du (PhD)  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:45
English to Chinese
+ ...
Be aware that online CAT tool may not be working in China Sep 18, 2017

Hello Christopher,

I am based in the Netherlands. I was in China this February for a long-stay family visit, during which I planned to translate a booklet online for a US client. It took ages for the web interface to load and sometime even fail to load. In the end, I had to quit trying and ask my client to arrange someone else.

On the other hand, since there are a lot of China-based translators who are working for US or Europe clients, I guess it is still doable. If you
... See more
Hello Christopher,

I am based in the Netherlands. I was in China this February for a long-stay family visit, during which I planned to translate a booklet online for a US client. It took ages for the web interface to load and sometime even fail to load. In the end, I had to quit trying and ask my client to arrange someone else.

On the other hand, since there are a lot of China-based translators who are working for US or Europe clients, I guess it is still doable. If you wish to do this, it will be great if you can get technical help from a translator colleague who is based in China.

Regards,
Vivian Du
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