You will casually breach the GFW if the VPN you pay for is not blocked yet.

Beware when using VPN to breach the GFW. Recently a Chinese netizen had to pay over 1 million yuan (>145K USD) for using VPN [1][2]. Before this incident, only VPN service sellers were prosecuted [3]. Beware when doing this casually.

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37787205 "Chinese Netizen Fined Over 1 Million Yuan for Using VPN"

[2]: https://here.news/post/93c46bbd-ea0d-48e2-bba6-135e58887f81/... "Chinese Netizen Fined Over 1 Million Yuan for Using VPN"

[3]: https://www.zdnet.com/article/chinese-man-arrested-after-mak... "Chinese man arrested after making $1.6 million from selling VPN services"

A foreigner won’t be treated in the same way. The Chinese government is cruel to its own people but quite friendly to outsiders.

Foreigners need to worry about the new Chinese anti-espionage law instead [1]: at least 17 Japanese nationals have been recently accused of spying in China [2], and a US citizen jailed for life [3]. The German car industry is worried [4].

    The law broadens the scope beyond what it originally sought to prohibit – leaks of state secrets and intelligence – to include any “documents, data, materials, or items related to national security and interests.” [1]

Beware when bypassing the GFW.

[1]: https://theconversation.com/chinas-new-anti-espionage-law-is... " China’s new anti-espionage law is sending a chill through foreign corporations and citizens alike"

[2]: https://www.dw.com/en/japanese-companies-fear-chinas-draconi... "Japanese companies fear China's draconian espionage laws"

[3]: https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/11/china/china-john-leung-mms-sp... " Beijing claims US citizen jailed for life in China was decorated spy who worked undetected for decades"

[4]: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/german... "German car industry urges Berlin to address anti-spy laws with Beijing"