It would've been interesting if they had made the 301 point back to Baidu.

While fun, it almost certainly would have resulted in China moving to the Syn flood stage faster. That being said, I'm always a fan of the classics, and would have probably gone for a redirect to goatse or the like. Given that the script was giving github full control of the page, a bit of shock and awe would have been rather fun.

Not really it's technically deflecting the attack back at your opponent just like martial arts. I would more likely call it active defense. :)

Note: Journalists whil always go for the sensational that's no reason not to do it.

Do you honestly believe that is how the average journalist would report it and the general population would perceive it?

'cause I immediately see headlines like:

"Github hacks China over censorship!"