翻牆

翻⫽牆 (verb-object) (intransitive)

1. (literal) to scale a wall
   • 2024 December 5, Choe Sang-Hun, “韓國戒嚴令風波：尹錫悅為何孤注一擲進行政治豪賭？ [Why South Korea’s Leader, Desperate and Frustrated, Made a Fateful Decision]”, in Cindy Hao, transl., The New York Times‎^[1]:

     在民眾攔擋警察的同時，反對派議員翻牆進入國會。 [MSC, trad.]
     在民众拦挡警察的同时，反对派议员翻墙进入国会。 [MSC, simp.]

     Zài mínzhòng lándǎng jǐngchá de tóngshí, fǎnduìpài yìyuán fānqiáng jìnrù guóhuì. [Pinyin]

     Opposition lawmakers climbed the walls into the National Assembly as citizens pushed back police.

2. (neologism) to circumvent Great Firewall of China or (by extension) other censorship of the Internet

   翻牆軟件／翻墙软件  ―  fānqiáng ruǎnjiàn  ―  Internet censorship circumvention software

   • 2023 September 27, 察客, “下午察：程序員翻牆被罰 還能“科學上網”嗎？”, in 聯合早報‎^[2]:

     在中國，所謂翻牆，即使用技術工具，例如虛擬私人網路（VPN），繞過網路審查封鎖，存取在中國國家防火牆之外的網路內容。這個詞近年來也變得敏感，有些人於是改用「科學上網」「梯子」代替。 [MSC, trad.]
     在中国，所谓翻墙，即使用技术工具，例如虚拟私人网路（VPN），绕过网路审查封锁，存取在中国国家防火墙之外的网路内容。这个词近年来也变得敏感，有些人于是改用「科学上网」「梯子」代替。 [MSC, simp.]

     Zài Zhōngguó, suǒwèi fānqiáng, jí shǐyòng jìshù gōngjù, lìrú xūnǐ sīrén wǎnglù (VPN), ràoguò wǎnglù shěnchá fēngsuǒ, cúnqǔ zài Zhōngguó guójiā fánghuǒqiáng zhīwài de wǎnglù nèiróng. Zhège cí jìnnián lái yě biàndé mǐngǎn, yǒuxiē rén yúshì gǎi yòng “kēxuéshàngwǎng” “tīzǐ” dàitì. [Pinyin]

     In China, "climbing wall" means using technical tools, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), to bypass Internet censorship blocks and access Internet content outside China's GFW. This word has become sensitive in recent years, and some people have used "scientific Internet access" or "ladder" instead.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:翻牆.
3. (Xianyou Puxian Min) to renovate the walls

• 莆田市政协文化文史和学习委员会 [Culture, History and Learning Committee of Putian CPPCC], editor (2021), “翻墙”, in 莆仙方言大词典 [Comprehensive Dictionary of Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 294.