I don't have a facebook, instagram or twitter account (yes, really) - but now I'm afraid that China immigration won't believe me if I claim that I use no social media. I assume this hasn't been tested very often...
(I do use WhatsApp, might keep them happy?)
I didn't see any phone checking channel in the passport section today
I have not seen a good account of how they do it - but that could be one way.
Another simply to rely on the foreign SIM in the phone.
But in general it's not difficult for them to provide unfiltered Internet access.
5* Hotels in China have done that for a long time.
In fact during the Beijing Olympics most hotels did it - so nobody noticed the firewall.
When they can send you back, or detain you I guess most would 'consent' to logging in.
A decoy account is one option - but takes a lot of effort to set one up with a long history.
How many are self censoring now? Quite effective what they are doing.
Meanwhile in good old US of A
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49493886
My view is that every border force has the right to determine whether someone is fit for entry or a potential threat to society
Now we may not agree with the reasons why China would reject people or confiscate phones but I’m sure we’d all agree it would be equally stupid to turn up with a phone full of pro democracy chats etc