The digital architect of China’s ‘great firewall’ was publicly embarrassed this week after he was forced to use a forbidden tool to access a website during a public lecture.

Earlier this week, Hong Kong media reported that Fang Binxing, who is credited with helping institute the filters that prevent Chinese internet users from visiting many international websites, had run into some trouble trying to access a South Korean site during a public discussion of internet security at the Harbin Institute of Technology.

Finding his path to the site blocked, Fang turned on a Virtual Private Network (VPN), the digital workaround employed by countless Chinese – 29% of the country’s internet users in Q4 2015, according to Statista – to access forbidden URLs (including online gambling sites). A self-conscious Fang reportedly urged his audience not to emulate his example.

After deploying the VPN, Fang struggled with the inconsistent connection, another familiar sight to many in the bemused audience. Fang eventually gave up trying to reach the forbidden site and a Q&A scheduled for after his presentation was cancelled.