Fang Binxing was giving a speech on internet security at the Harbin Institute of Technology when he tried to access a South Korean website, but was blocked by the system, according to the Hong Kong-based Ming Pao website . To continue with his speech, he was forced to set up a virtual private network (VPN) - a common practice used to skirt state censorship - in full view of the audience. Perhaps to avoid embarrassment, the university scrapped a scheduled question-and-answer session.